Eye-gouging (rugby union)

Eye-gouging is a serious offence in rugby union where a player uses hands or fingers to inflict pain in an opponent's eyes. The game's laws refer to it as "contact with eyes or the eye area of an opponent" but such incidents are usually referred to as "eye-gouging" among players and in the media.^[1]

Contents 1 Definition 1.1 Scales of the offence 2 History 3 Examples 3.1 High-profile cases 4 References 5 External links

Definition

The laws of rugby union define foul play as: "Anything a player does within the playing enclosure that is against the letter and spirit of the Laws of the Game. It includes obstruction, unfair play, repeated infringements, dangerous play and misconduct which is prejudicial to the Game". Specifically, they state that "A player must not do anything that is dangerous to the opponent".^[2]

International Rugby Board Regulations provide for punishment for contact with eyes or the eye area of an opponent.^[3]

Although this is usually called "eye-gouging" by the media, fans and players, the term "gouging" is not used in the IRB's laws or regulations, which do list degrees of gravity of the offence. The IRB themselves have used the term in a 2009 statement: "The IRB are firmly of the view there is no place in rugby for illegal or foul play and the act of eye-gouging is particularly heinous".^[4]

Scales of the offence

Following two high-profile test match incidents, involving Schalk Burger and Sergio Parisse, during the same week in June 2009, the IRB stated that it would review the sanction structure for this type of offence "in order to send out the strongest possible message that such acts will not be tolerated".^[4]

The regulations provide a scale of seriousness:^[3]

• Lower end: up to 12-week ban.
• Mid range: up to 18-week ban.
• Top end: greater than 24-week ban.

The maximum sanction is a 156-week (3 year) ban.

History

Eye-gouging in Rugby Union is a relatively modern development in the British Isles and Northern Hemisphere. Punishments for eye gouging in the Northern Hemisphere are seen by some journalists as being harsher than for similar offenses seen in Southern Hemisphere countries.^[5][6] South African national coach, Peter De Villiers stated he did not believe that an incident for which Schalk Burger was yellow carded merited any punishment.^[7] In 1992, Richard Loe made contact with Greg Coopers eyes in the National Provincial Championship.^[8] The event took the New Zealand Rugby Union's disciplinary committee nine hours to come up with a punishment.^[8] According to John Daniell, a New Zealand lock who played for nearly a decade in France, eye gouging is fairly common and considered "a way of life" in French rugby, where it is known as "la fourchette".^[9]

Punishment for eye-gouging has been subject to debate depending on interpretation.^[10]

Examples

As well as many cases involving professional rugby union, the case of Clarence Harding, an amateur player, has received considerable coverage due to the extreme damage caused to his eye.^[11][12][13] Harding was left without sight in his right eye and can no longer play rugby, and the injury has affected his livelihood and has since had the eye removed due to the pain.^[14] Although Matt Iles, the player alleged to have injured Harding, was found not guilty by the RFU, who could not determine which player was responsible,^[15] Maidstone RFC were fined £2,000 and deducted 50 points after being found "guilty of conduct prejudicial to the interests of the game".^[16]

On 2 October 2010, Gavin Quinnell suffered an eye injury during a game between Llanelli and Cross Keys, from which he lost the sight in his left eye.^[17] The incident was under investigation by the Welsh Rugby Union and Gwent Police, with the police arresting the perpetrator. However, the Crown Prosecution Service advised against prosecution, leading to the dropping of criminal charges, and the WRU eventually dropped its citing complaint, to the self-described shock of the Quinnell family, one of the most prominent in Welsh rugby.^[18]

An "eye-gouging" incident in the Rugby World Cup Final on 23 October 2011 has led the IRB to reevaluate its disciplinary procedures. During the match, France centre Aurélien Rougerie apparently made contact with the eyes of New Zealand captain Richie McCaw, who would later reveal that he had been "half-blinded" for the last few minutes of the match.^[19] The original camera angles provided by host broadcaster Sky NZ showed no apparent foul play, and no citing occurred within the 36-hour window allowed by IRB rules at the time. Three days after the match, new Sky NZ footage emerged which showed Rougerie apparently raking his hand across McCaw's eyes. The IRB could not cite Rougerie, as the 36-hour window had passed, and the exception allowed in its rules for "exceptional circumstances" did not include the emergence of new evidence. Since then, the IRB has announced that it will reconsider its procedures to address similar situations in the future.^[20]

High-profile cases

This is a list of cases where eye-gouging has happened at top level or international rugby union matches. It is shown in chronological order; international matches are highlighted. Players banned for contact with eyes or the eye area of an opponent as well as eye-gouging are included.

Offence date	Offender	Victim	Length of ban (weeks)	Playing
				For	Against
1992	Loe, RichardRichard Loe[21]	Cooper, Greg !Greg Cooper[21]	26	Waikato	Otago
1997	Flavell, TroyTroy Flavell[21]	Sinkinson, Steve !Steve Sinkinson[21]	3	North Harbour	Wellington
1999-11-26	Nones, Richard !Richard Nones[22]	Cronk, Sven !Sven Cronk[22]	104 (2 years)	Colomiers	Pontypridd
2003-08-02	Botha, BakkiesBakkies Botha[23]	Cannon, BrendanBrendan Cannon[23]	8	South Africa	Australia
2003-10-26	Grau, RobertoRoberto Grau[24]	Wood, KeithKeith Wood[24]	9	Argentina	Ireland
2003-10-26	Reggiardo, MauricioMauricio Reggiardo[24]	Corrigan, ReggieReggie Corrigan[24]	6	Argentina	Ireland
2007-01-20	Larrechea, Daniel !Daniel Larrechea[25]		6	Sale Sharks	Ospreys
2007-04-20	Hartley, DylanDylan Hartley[26]	Haskell, JamesJames Haskell and Johnny O'Connor[27]	26	Northampton Saints	London Wasps
2008-02-23	Bergamasco, MauroMauro Bergamasco[28]	Byrne, LeeLee Byrne[28]	13	Italy	Wales
2008-03-15	Rabeni, SeruSeru Rabeni[29]	Kyriacou, AndyAndy Kyriacou[29]	14	Leicester Tigers	Saracens
2008-07-12	Du Plessis, BismarckBismarck du Plessis[30]	Thomson, AdamAdam Thomson[30]	3	South Africa	New Zealand
2008-09-20	Best, NeilNeil Best[31]	Haskell, JamesJames Haskell[31]	18	Northampton Saints	London Wasps
2008-10-18	Tincu, MariusMarius Tincu[32]	James, PaulPaul James[32]	18	Perpignan	Ospreys
2009-01-24	Corry, MartinMartin Corry[33]	Hibbard, RichardRichard Hibbard[33]	6	Leicester Tigers	Ospreys
2009-04-18	Azam, OlivierOlivier Azam[34]	Roberts, JamieJamie Roberts[34]	9	Gloucester	Cardiff Blues
2009-05-02	Quinlan, AlanAlan Quinlan[35]	Cullen, LeoLeo Cullen[26]	12	Munster	Leinster
2009-06-26	Parisse, SergioSergio Parisse[36]	Ross, IsaacIsaac Ross[36]	8	Italy	New Zealand
2009-06-27	Burger, SchalkSchalk Burger[37]	Fitzgerald, LukeLuke Fitzgerald[26]	8	South Africa	British and Irish Lions
2009-10-09	Jennings, ShaneShane Jennings[38]	Kennedy, NickNick Kennedy	12	Leinster	London Irish
2009-12-12	Dupuy, JulienJulien Dupuy[39]	Ferris, StephenStephen Ferris[39]	24	Stade Français	Ulster
2009-12-12	Attoub, DavidDavid Attoub[40]	Ferris, StephenStephen Ferris[40]	70	Stade Français	Ulster
2010-08-28	Leguizamón, Juan ManuelJuan Manuel Leguizamón[41]	Bouilhou, JeanJean Bouilhou[41]	12	Stade Français	Toulouse
2010-12-19	Rees, RichieRichie Rees[42]	Hartley, DylanDylan Hartley[42]	12	Cardiff Blues	Northampton Saints
2011-04-02	Cueto, MarkMark Cueto[43]	Day, ChristianChristian Day[43]	9a	Sale Sharks	Northampton Saints
2011-10-02	Ghiraldini, LeonardoLeonardo Ghiraldini[44]	Healy, CianCian Healy[44]	15	Italy	Ireland

References

^ Note a: Prior to the announcement of the RFU's nine-week ban on 11 April 2011, Cueto had received a six-week ban from his club. The bans ultimately ran concurrently.

External links

• International Rugby Board - Laws of the Game 2010