11:19am Friday 6th March 2009
By John Payne
Watching someone be hung, drawn and quartered was once a favoured medieval past-time and has long since been banished to the history books.
But, flicking through the sports pages at the weekend, I genuinely feared for Harlequins scrum-half Danny Care’s safety.
Considering some of the hysteria surrounding his yellow card in England’s 14-13 defeat in Ireland, he may just as well have been an axe-wielding murderer, according to some sections.
London Irish player-coach Mike Catt, perhaps with his club’s number nine Paul Hodgson in mind, was particularly harsh on the 22-year-old, claiming he should have been sent to the looney bin for his much-publicised clash with Irishman Marcus Horan.
A stint in the stocks back at the Stoop seemed to be his prescribed method of rehabilitation.
The reality is Care’s dismissal was for the sort of incident that is seen up and down the country at all levels of the game, a fact acknowledged this week by his Quins team-mate Tom Williams.
According to the letter of the law, it was a yellow card offence, but similar incidents go unpunished or simply penalised on a weekly basis, and even in the same game.
Was Riki Flutey’s shoulder-to-cheek hit on Ireland skipper Brian O’Driscoll any more or less dangerous, or deserving of further punishment?
If you are caught out infringing the rules, you are branded a fool. If you aren’t, you are given a pat on the back for bending them to your advantage or being an onfield enforcer. Simple.
England legends Neil Back, Lawrence Dallaglio – and probably Quins director of rugby Dean Richards before them – made glorious careers out of both.
Care’s exit wasn’t the reason England lost. His side’s penalty count – a wapping 17 – was more to blame and served to hasten his departure from proceedings after the match officials had clearly had enough.
Paul Ackford branded England’s indiscipline a national disgrace. I wonder what he makes of city bankers?
Yes, it must be addressed, but there is an argument that says, without the odd penalty to break up play, Martin Johnson’s men may well have been on the receiving end of bigger defeats to both Wales and Ireland.
The pen has always been deemed mightier than the sword, and I fear the witchunts – that have blighted football – will soon claim another victim elsewhere.
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