Thursday, February 27, 2014

Respect in Rugby

France drops star for disrespect


Picamoles

The annual Six Nations tournament is well underway in Europe with Ireland, Italy, England,France, Scotland, and Wales battling it out.   One story from this year's tournament stood out to us as we gathered for a drink at the watercooler in the break room of the WGR offices. 

France coach Philippe Saint-Andre caught everyone's attention when he dropped their starting #8 from the team.  Toulouse No 8 Louis Picamoles was dropped for showing a lack of respect towards the referee during the team’s loss to Wales.

Picamoles mock-applauded Alain Rolland after being sin-binned.

Saint-Andre asserted, ‘Respect is the foundation of our values. It is vital to send a signal to all players and remind them having the privilege of wearing the jersey imposes duties and obligations.’

Even at that professional level, it's reassuring to know that values are important and that it's not all about winning or losing.

For the record, France along with England, Ireland, and Wales are all tied at 2-1 going into the last two weeks of the tournament which concludes annually on St Patrick's Day weekend.

No comments: