Alan Good
INTERPRETATION is something of a dirty word in Irish rugby union at the moment, albeit for two very different reasons.
The apparent decision by the IRB to enforce a new interpretation of the breakdown laws midway through the Six Nations is baffling in the least.
Croke Park groaned collectively every time Craig Joubert pinged Ireland at the breakdown on Saturday. Crowd reactions suggested a sense of bafflement, but those who keep half an eye on the Super 14 will know that the attacking side has been receiving the benefit of the doubt in this area down south.
This centres on the increasing desire to prevent the tackler from contesting the ball until he is clearly back on his feet, and while Joubert applied the interpretation consistently and effectively, it drew exasperation from fans amid the confusion, and even annoyed the normally unflappable Declan Kidney. We'll be watching with interest how this one develops.
Equally as controversial - especially for those currently feeling a sense of injustice - is the debate over how teams who claim to have insufficiently experienced front-row players to contest a match.
Again, the interpretation by different bodies here is causing problems, not least for Cork Constitution.
They have been booted out of the Munster Senior Cup - of which they are holders - after failing to fulfil a semi-final fixture against Young Munster, citing the above excuse regarding front-row cover.
The club's argument is that playing insufficiently experienced front-rowers in such a tie could pose safety problems for the scrummaging novices, but the Munster Branch has had little sympathy.
However, Con must have been even more sickened to see the Ospreys cite the same excuse for their forthcoming Magners League clash with Ulster, only to see Celtic Rugby agree to a postponement.
What's more, the Welsh region refused the suggestion that they might use players from their feeder clubs, even though one such outfit, Aberavon, were happy to pack down against an Ulster Ravens front row containing the likes of Tom Court, Andy Kyriacou and Declan Fitzpatrick.
It all begs a couple of questions. Firstly, why are the paid professionals in the Magners League - for whom it's part of the job to ensure their proficiency in the scrum - seemingly better protected than the amateurs in the AIB All-Ireland League?
Will Irish clubs now risk throwing in a youngster at the coalface when they are short of their big guns for whatever reason, just to avoid expulsion from a competition?
A dangerous precedent may have inadvertently been set here due to this ruling; like the tackle law, we can only hope that common sense eventually prevails.
