Gouging incident in the T14 this weekend

[Groundhog]

Well it's not poaching as so many PI players have benefited from the rugby infastructure and resources in New Zealand, before playing internationally for their home countries. Sure a couple might play for the All Blacks, but the fact is that Samoa, Fiji etc while they produce very gifted athletes, don't have the money or expertise to make the best out of these players, and often New Zealand is their only route to a rugby career. I think the NZ poaching thing is the most trotted out fallacy in rugby at this point.
But I digress. It makes me sad that you've managed to drag this thread onto this national mud flinging route you so desperately wanted, when all it started as was people rightly criticising a very short ban dished out in the Top 14. I have no ill will towards France or French rugby. I admit I am not a fan of a dew teams, but that's just a European rivalry thing, and it's not exclusive to France. Honestly I don't have any interest in the Top 14 as a competition. What I do have an interest in is players across the globe being protected by their governing bodies and an example being made of thugs who put others at risk in a game whose foundations are all about a physical game balanced by constant respect for your opponent. If it happened in England I would say the same thing. If it happened in Ireland I would say the same thing.

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

Gaston seriously wtf is wrong with you? You are so tetchy and have the most incredible victim complex. As for biting vs gouging, it was a bit on an arm (that had been shoved in front of his mouth anyway) with a mouthguard on. At most it will leave some teeth marks in his arm. The gouge was vicious and he continued going for it even as players tried to drag him off. The consequences could be permanently blinding a player. Add to this the recent controversies regarding gouging and the disparity in the sentences and that is why you have such a long topic. It has NOTHING to do with some anti-French bandwagon apart from the fact that the French don't punish players as harshly as international bodies or English bodies do.

But no, you've dragged this whole thread into an "everyone hates France waa waa" slagging match and accuse everyone else of being immature... You are the most partisan poster here.

 

[Cruz_del_Sur]

assisting the pacific nations = poaching....... you're not serious i hope, utter bull****.!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not gonna make a judgement call on this, but will merely state some facts.

Vincent Debaty was born in Belgium
Uini Atonio was born in New Zealand
Thierry Dusautoir was born in Cote d’Ivoire
Bernard le Roux was born in RSA
Yannick Nyanga was born in DRC
Fulgence Ouedraogo was born in Burkina Faso
Rory Kockott was born in RSA
Sofiane Guitoune was born in Algeria
Noa Nakaitaci was born in Fiji
Scott Spedding was born in RSA

All memebers of France's 2015 RWC squad.

One question i just have to ask. Since you said

whether its one or 100 poaching is poaching

and since Atonio was born in NZ, would it be fair to say that france is poaching from NZ?
Anxiously awaiting for your answer.