Dean Richards Return

Did anyone hear the Dean Richards interview with BBC live. What were your thoughts? I didnt think he seamed particularly contrite and while making the right sounds there was a lot of self justifacation going on. The next thing i would like to ask, while he is undoubtedly an excellent coach would you want him at your club/region/province. For me its up there with drug taking as a form of cheating. Were do you think he will show up next

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/18012123

"Were do you think he will show up next"

Where will he show up next?

Erm...Newcastle Falcons, wild guess.

yeah i read that after i posted Would you want him at your club?

Falcons are my club and yes.

I think most people would say yes. He's paid for what he's done.

Worcester in particular may really regret passing him up as DoR.

Sgt_Pooly wrote:Falcons are my club and yes.

Wouldnt want him at my club i would of liked to see him get a lifetime ban

Fair enough, luckily he's not at your club so no to worry.

He's an old school mate of mine but his record of coaching teams to the top speaks more than I could post here but to answer your question.......yes of course!

tigerleghorn wrote:He's an old school mate of mine but his record of coaching teams to the top speaks more than I could post here but to answer your question.......yes of course!

I dont doubt his coaching qualifications what annoys me about it is the fact that he still cant quite throw his hands up and saw my bad still looking to deflect

I doubt that there is a single top flight team in AP/Rabo/T14/SXV that has never stepped over the line with injury replacements etc.

We have had faked injuries to get uncontested scrums, players pulling out stitches, players playing poorly suddenly getting injured so they can be replaced by a previously replaced player.

Richards was wrong, but I suspect it grates with him that he was made an example of to stop pretty much everyone else cheating.

LondonTiger wrote:I doubt that there is a single top flight team in AP/Rabo/T14/SXV that has never stepped over the line with injury replacements etc.

We have had faked injuries to get uncontested scrums, players pulling out stitches, players playing poorly suddenly getting injured so they can be replaced by a previously replaced player.

Richards was wrong, but I suspect it grates with him that he was made an example of to stop pretty much everyone else cheating.

Are you Dean Richards? Thats the same Mealy Mouth excuse he came up with.

tecphobe wrote:

LondonTiger wrote:

Are you Dean Richards? Thats the same Mealy Mouth excuse he came up with.

Damn, and tarnation. My secret identity has been revealed.

If we didn't have O Shea I'd have him back

People need to stop being so sanctimonious the man done his time, and he's put his hands up to going over the line to win, let him try and prove himself again. After 3 years out it will be tough enough anyways, I would suggest you support a running rugby team in the final!!!!!!
big love
Wyddy

Wydnej wrote:People need to stop being so sanctimonious the man done his time, and he's put his hands up to going over the line to win, let him try and prove himself again. After 3 years out it will be tough enough anyways, I would suggest you support a running rugby team in the final!!!!!!
big love
Wyddy

Yes but it would be nice if he actually held his hands up without smearing loads of other sides. Its the kind of argument that gets my 5 year old a slaped arse daddy he did it.

Well that depends on whether they were cheating or not. If they were, why should they get away with it? Doesn't stop Richards from being in the wrong but the fact that he got caught should exonerate any other wrongdoers so it really depends on whether it is a "smear" or an accurate comment. Which he's kind if screwed himself on as his word will now be taken as false as he was caught cheating in what is basically a circular argument unless he can demonstrate the guilt of other managers

I think anyone who has played Rugby knows when teams have cheated. I don't mean the laying on a ruck or using the occasional hand on the ball. The big stuff. And at one time or another teams have tried different things.

What made Richards' actions so bad was it was on the biggest stage, and on TV with millions watching. The man had no idea, no awareness of the big picture. It was one of the most uncomprehendingly stupid things I have seen in my life, whether in Rugby or not. He should have been banned for being mind-numbingly brainless, let alone the cheating and the callous use of people during and after.

In complete hindsight, this was good for Rugby. It helped purge Rugby of one of the real negative sides of the olde boy club Rugby ethos and helped propel us to be a modern competently run professional sport. And, fortunately, it did not destroy one of the old terrific clubs.

To me, the real question is whether someone who will forever be the poster child for cheating and stupidity should be allowed back to coaching at a high level. I will always look at him as being somehow mentally deficient.

I do feel that sometimes it depends if you believe purely in punishment or also in rehabilitation.

In the end Richards let his overwhelming desire to win, outweigh everything else. It was wrong.

Does that outweigh the positive things he has done in the game?

Every one will have there own view on this. I guess mine is obvious - but you know what, I too have made mistakes in my life.

I agree there are two parts to Richards' case: First the crime/punishment/rehabilitation. That has been dealt with.

The second is judgement and awareness. This is why I question his competency. If you were prone to steal a radio from a shop with security cameras watching, would you do it? Of courst not - would be idiocy. If you were prone to cheat on the pitch, would you do it with tv cameras focusing so closely on each player, watching almost everything? The chances of getting away with it would be almost nil. Of course not. And not understanding that would happen, especially with a blood capsule for gosh sakes, shows the incredible lack of understanding of what was going on. Even the commentators at the time knew what it was right away.

It's the guy's judgement I question. His ability to read situations and make decisions where I think he has issues. All the punishment or rehabilitation in the world won't change a person's inate character, personality, or most importantly, reaction to stress.

doctor_grey wrote:I agree there are two parts to Richards' case: First the crime/punishment/rehabilitation. That has been dealt with.

The second is judgement and awareness. This is why I question his competency. If you were prone to steal a radio from a shop with security cameras watching, would you do it? Of courst not - would be idiocy. If you were prone to cheat on the pitch, would you do it with tv cameras focusing so closely on each player, watching almost everything? The chances of getting away with it would be almost nil. Of course not. And not understanding that would happen, especially with a blood capsule for gosh sakes, shows the incredible lack of understanding of what was going on. Even the commentators at the time knew what it was right away.

It's the guy's judgement I question. His ability to read situations and make decisions where I think he has issues. All the punishment or rehabilitation in the world won't change a person's inate character, personality, or most importantly, reaction to stress.

I honestly don't know, but other than the bloodgate incident does he have a bad past?

Lots of really great comments on here i particularly agree with docotor gray about judgment and also chequered jersey about whether we can believe him about other teams when he's been caught out himself, was just interested to get other views, such is his status in the English game that i thought it merited an article

I'm not saying it was right or excusable, but in terms of Richards doing something that was stupidly obvious, it was Williams winking that alerted the TV production team that something was amiss and started them looking for and piecing things together.

I'm pretty sure it came out in the inquiry that blood capsules were something Quins and a number of other teams had used before without getting caught. Save for Williams' wink it would probably still be going on.

I'd take him back



But i'm a Newcastle Falcons fan......

Disgraceful by Richards to try to diminish his actions by saying everyone does it. He obviously feels hard done by, but his lack of remorse should concern the IRB as to whether he is a fit person to be head coach of any side. Surely winning at any cost is not acceptable?

"I felt very guilty," he told BBC Sport. "I put a lot of people in a position where they could have lost everything.

"I'm not the type of person to go match-fixing. I am very competitive and the reason I did it is because I wanted to win a game. I shouldn't have done it.

"We all felt that this was something that was happening on a regular basis at other clubs. We felt it was common practice. But that's not an excuse. It should never have happened."


Asked if he appreciates that there will be those who will always look upon him as a cheat, Richards replied: "They may do. That's up to them, if they want to. I have no issues if that's the way they feel.

"I know who I am, and I know what I did. I wasn't particularly pleased with myself. I wasn't proud of myself. But you move on and you look forward rather than back."

The Great Aukster wrote:Disgraceful by Richards to try to diminish his actions by saying everyone does it. He obviously feels hard done by, but his lack of remorse should concern the IRB as to whether he is a fit person to be head coach of any side. Surely winning at any cost is not acceptable?

That was my gut reaction to the interview when i listen to it

I'd love him at the Ospreys

tecphobe wrote:

Wydnej wrote:People need to stop being so sanctimonious the man done his time, and he's put his hands up to going over the line to win, let him try and prove himself again. After 3 years out it will be tough enough anyways, I would suggest you support a running rugby team in the final!!!!!!
big love
Wyddy

Yes but it would be nice if he actually held his hands up without smearing loads of other sides. Its the kind of argument that gets my 5 year old a slaped arse daddy he did it.

He did put his hands up to it, he isn't smearing loads of other sides and he seems more than sincere. He was (and probably will be again) a great director of Rugby and i'd have him back at my club without question. Not that he'd want to go there.

It was as much cheating as players used to fake injury for a front row replacement if one had been yellow carded. It's as much cheating as a prop going off early for a breather and then coming back on against after the other prop gets 'injured'.

It's not like he was training his players how to cheat at the ruck or scrum is it. Now that WOULD be cheating.