Mark Cueto has been busy getting himself into hot water with his eye-rubbing against Northampton Saints Christian Day. The Sale man has since been sentenced to nine weeks on the naughty step, prompting quite the fervor amongst rugby fans.
Cueto has been saved from a longer ban for two main reasons. The first is a remarkable example of the 'rugby fraternity' in action with Christian Day simultaneously helping out the England winger, and helping himself to a lifetime of goodwill from his fellow players.
For a fascinating insight into how the citing process in rugby works, and the attitudes displayed by various officials; take a look at the full transcript published by RugbyWorld.
Nine weeks, however, pales to insignificance against the LIFE BAN for punching the ref recently dished out to a player from New Zealand.
Ledley King, Frank Lampard and Gary Lineker all feature in "The Y Word" short film put together by David and Ivor Baddiel. All the boxes are ticked, with players from Spurs, Chelsea and Arsenal all featuring to show solidarity despite the rivalry.
Since the release of the video, all football clubs have outdone themselves to try to earn themselves as many morality points as possible, which if it prevents examples of the chanting in the video, can only be a good thing.
The most controversial element of the video is the call for Spurs fans to also reject the use of 'Yid' and treat it as a racial slur. 'Yid Army' is a tag that Tottenham fans have long held dear and it would be surprising to see it disappear quickly from the stands of White Hart Lane. On the plus side, given the standing he has at the club, Spurs fans are liable to follow Ledley King's every word.
Sale Sharks take on London Irish at Bolton's fancy-pants Reebok stadium this weekend. Given the success of last years fixture which saw England take on Argentina at Old Trafford, one would suspect that the North has finally thrown off the shackles of its greyhound-and-gravy induced depression and is ready to embrace a carnival of rugby. Only they really aren't.
As any rugby fan will attest to, when England play; every part -time rugby watcher ,who once bought a shirt back when it was flavour of the month in late 2003 and has kept it in the cupboard save for those few glorious weeks in February ever since, comes out of the woodwork when the national team runs out. Sale, missing the gleam of the star names that once used to draw the crowds, are struggling with league form and attendances. The "Big Game" between them and arch-rivals (?!) London Irish may have been a good idea back when it was conceived, but neither Sale nor Irish quite have the same draw of old.
Having said that, there will be some stars on display. Charlie Hodgson is a world-class player and has been vital to Sale's survival this season. Number 8 and resident eating machine Koyamaibole is a giant of a man, weighing in at the 'touring bus' class, and is surprisingly pacey for a man who looks far more like a lounge singer from a South Sea jazz club than a professional athlete.
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| Looks like the Last Mohican. Can run fast |
Irish have the more exciting backline with Armitage, Ojo and Mapusua able to pull metaphorical rabbits out of metaphorical hats, and they will look to put pressure on the less-experienced Sale backs who are missing Cueto (obviously) and Ben Cohen. Tony Soprano-alike Alex Corbisiero is back in the starting line-up after a cheeky little holiday and will be hoping to maintain the form that he has already shown this season.
Prediction
Sale 7 - 21 London Irish
This will definitely be wrong.
