Connacht head coach Pat Lam has been hauled before the disciplinary committee to answer for the comments he made about Welsh touch judge Leighton Hodges after his side’s last gasp loss to the Cardiff Blues at the weekend.
Lam was left devastated after touch judge Hodges intervened in the 83rd minute to advise the referee to award a penalty against his side, a decision which also saw one of his players yellow-carded. From the ensuing phases of play, Cardiff scored the winning try in the 88th minute.
“It is the biggest call and I am absolutely gutted,” Lam said. “There is a changing room there that deserved more.”
Lam brought out a laptop to show the assembled media the incident, before adding: “The ball comes back, it’s 83.27 minutes into the game. Cardiff knock the ball on, there is no ruck, our hooker picks the ball up, it is cleared, the ref is just about to blow and then Leighton Hodges, the touch judge, says it’s hands in the ruck.
“A, clearly no ruck. B, clearly he [the Cardiff player] knocked the ball on, and the referee is one metre away to call that. I’ve had texts from quite influential people agreeing that the decision is wrong.
“That is a massive call and it [the game] should be over and finished. I will go through the process now, but it was the wrong call and it cost us the game. The bottom line is that is a massive call to make in a game. To make a call like that which is completely wrong is disappointing.
“I believe we have to be accountable. We’re talking livelihoods here so officials need to be accountable too. I have full faith Ed Morrison will follow this up.”
Lam has confirmed that he is planning to make a formal complaint to referees commissioner Morrison, but in the same startling post match press conference, Lam went on to reveal that this not the first time he has made a complaint about Hodges this season.
“When we had the Edinburgh game, I went through the processes there that he made a comment before the game,” revealed Lam. “He was late. Our stewards told him where he had to park and he made a comment ‘that’s going to cost your team seven points at least’.
“He made that to our stewards who made a complaint and I made a complaint to Ed Morrison about that because it’s out of order. It’s the equivalent of calling a bomb at an airport even if it’s in jest. They [the rugby authorities] agreed that it wasn’t on. Again that’s factual. This is the next game we have now got Leighton. As you can see based on facts it is an extremely wrong call. It cost us the game.”
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9 replies on “Poll: Should Pat Lam be disciplined for his post-match comments?”
I have no problem with his views. I did not watch the game so I do not have a view on whether he is right or wrong. BUT, he should not be doing this as a post match press conference. Unprofessional, bad example for young players and bad for the game.
I won’t comment (much) on the right or wrong of his views but it’s ridiculous for him to do this in a press conference. Shoddy and unprofessional and they should throw the book at him.
Hodges joke at a match? Fair enough. Unprofessional and should get sanctioned for it but to say that was the reason they lost the match?
As for incident – classic one eyed ness. There may be something in this one incident but it is also true that Conn were gifted 10 easy pts by bad decisions so to only focus on the ones that went against his side, and to do it so vociferously, so indignantly, is hilariously weak.
Unprofessional and typical piece of blame deflection. Fails to uphold the games core values therefore should be sanctioned. Ifanyone to enter sport as a living they have to accept they will have good days and bad, if they want a living that reflects their efforts, anything but sport is more suitable.
A bit rich given they turned over Edinburgh at Murrayfield principally because of a very poor ref. I don’t recall Solomons berating the ref publically nor any comments from Mr Lam that day.
Not in a press conference however he and other coaches should be allowed to criticise officials using correct platform. We are all aware of the recent very dodgy decisions made by refs and TMO and this needs to be addressed. At the moment they are getting away Scot free and it’s it got to be sorted out!
Don’t recall the Irish provinces having any sympathy with other sides when Irish referees give the most dubious decisions all the time in this league.
One view is that the Pro12 is run by the Irish for the benefit of the Irish and neutral officials in all matches should be employed/used to prevent the sorts of decisions that the likes of George Clancy make.
Interesting results. 75% of people think it’s fine for referees to be called cheats in post match press conferences by club officials. The soccerification of rugby continues.
Brighty, you’re right. That is quite a worrying trend.
Is it not a sad fact that people are confusing freedom of speech with good sportsmanship? I’m sure there was no “rule” broken by his making these comments… other than the unspoken rules of respect and professionalism. We just have to hope that public pressure from true fans and the rugby media (verses the popular press that join in for headlines) create an environment where everyone acts with better grace.
Rather like booing your opponents kicker; another expression of free speech, but one that is unwelcome in a sport that prides itself on its moral values. Increasingly crowds are respecting place kicks. I would expect a well paid professional to equally respect the opposition and the officials.