Do two incidents during England’s defeat of Ireland at Twickenham highlight issues of playacting in rugby?
Tadhg Furlong in the driving seat for Ireland during their 23-22 Six Nations defeat to England in Twickenham
No good deed goes unpunished, as you know. With the concerted effort in recent years to issue more severe punishments to players for making contact with the heads of their opponents in a bid to reduce serious long-term injury, a new trend has crept in.
‘Playacting’ or ‘diving’ used to be words that rugby scoffed about when discussing a certain other sport, but an increasing file of evidence is undeniable, combined with players now regularly appealing to referees for instances of possible head contact to be reviewed, soundbites which are being picked up over referee microphones in most Test matches.
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