Six Nations sees respect jettisoned for ill-feeling, as evidenced by Eddie Jones’s name-calling and fans jeering goalkickers
Few sports tread the fine line between love and hate as precariously as rugby union. It is part of its attraction: beauty and the beast occupy the same arena, passion and restraint are essential requirements. What has traditionally bound everything together is the realisation that, ultimately, it is a game that relies not only on the “rugby” for its enduring appeal but the collective power of “union”.
Essentially it boils down to a single word: respect. The code used to be simple: regardless of the intensity of the contest, be respectful to the referee, your opponents and the game itself. Increasingly, though, rugby is drifting in the opposite direction. Abusing the goalkickers, gesticulating at officials, booing players from a rival nation off the bus and blaming the media have become an all-too familiar part of the Six Nations backdrop.
Written by Robert Kitson
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/feb/11/murrayfield-atmosphere-rising-noise-bile-spite-rugby-union-six-nations-england-scotland under the title “Murrayfield atmosphere reflected rising noise, bile and spite in rugby union | Robert Kitson”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
