According to Stevo,Maguire had them practising a move before the game that Slimey Sam won a penalty from. When tackled they trap an arm of a defender then roll over to make It look like interference at the play the ball.

It's creeping into the game more and more lately. Decisions could go either way.

Good win for pies plating over there in that heat, Catalan had few out but so did the pies.

I thought wigans play the balls was shocking

Yep .... were a bad bunch at Wigan .... we caused WW2 not Hitler, the reason the economy is in a mess is .... you've guessed it because of Wigan.

Personally if I wanted to learn anything about RL Thick Mick is one of the last people I would listen to ..... do your self a favour turn the Sky commentary down and tune into the radio for a better class of commentary .... Thick Mick and Hairy Eddie are an embarrassment to the game!

Well done, Godwin's law on the first bite.

To be honest, having met Stevo on many occasions, I have spoken to very few people who are more knowledgeable in RL than himself. The man oozes enthusiasm and merely plays a role when it comes to television.

Me too! my heart was in my mouth at alot of our play the balls tonight, luckily for us though the ref was shít.

Isnt it funny saints fans havnt had much to say about us in the last few years now we r back winning most games all you get is wigan do this and wigan do that worry about your own team because its downwards for you inbreads

I've seen it happen a couple of times lately. In the CC, Coley got pinged when (imo) Ablett purposely trapped his arm under the ball and when coley pulled it out, the ball came away and he was penalised. In a similar situation in the Wigan-Saints game, the decision went against the ball carrier (Dixon, I think).

I like the fact it is down to the refs interperatation. I think that to a degree it will stop guys playing for a penalty.

as a so called inbred may i just remind you that to date you ain't won "F" all
and as far as I'm concerned the only reason your top is through blatant cheating tactics .

>cough< Salary Cap?

St Helens are in NO position to preach about cheating to ANYONE.

Dont turn this into yet another boring SC thread, the comment although inflamatory was aimed at on the field play not off it, FWIW I dont think Wigan are cheating but I do think we need to do something about the Melbourne/Wigan style ruck play as it doesnt help the game imo.

She's trolling again.

Knock it off.

For the people who have never played rugby before or have a very limited knowledge of the game, this isn't cheating, it's perfectly legal if the tackle hasn't been complete. It's a tactic to try and speed up the play the ball or alternatively slow down the defender getting back into position. If he leaves the ruck area quickly enough then the play the ball will speed up for the attacker, if not they will get turned on their back and it will slow down the defender getting back into position.

It's all down to the referee's interpretation of the law and when the trackle is completed but it is a very grey area. If the defender is still involved in the tackle then why shouldnt the attacker be allowed to flip him onto his back?

Yes but its Wigan so its cheating!! Should we manage to keep going and win the Grand Final it wont be counted as we will have cheated all season. So far the only thing thats not classed as cheating is using so many players throughout the season!!

Trapping a defenders arm in the tackle speeds up the play the ball? The tactic is used to try and earn penalties - nothing more nothing less - whether it is cheating or not. It is the equivalent of diving in football.

Paul Sculthorpe was a master at it. We earned countless penalties from Sculthorpe using his brains and conning the referee, it is a touchy subject which would be applauded in Europe but is not within the mindset of British fair play.

Let me tell you what actually Wigan were practicing before kick off. As I was there and they were right in front of me I can give a reasoned view.

Three man drill, one with the ball and two tacklers.

Tackler A goes chest high to wrap up the ball, tackler B goes just above the waist. They hold the ball carrier up for around three to four seconds, at which point tackler B slides down the ball carriers legs. The two tacklers then put the ball player on his back, tackler B moves away from the tackle to the B marker position and then tackler A assumes the A marker position.

That was exactly what they were trying to perfect.

I challenge the OP to explain how that is cheating.

Hey, dont shoot the messenger. I was just repeating what a former international(who was also there) said live on Sky.

He was quite clear about what they'd been practising and It wasn't what you describe.
Perhaps you had one eye shut

Or perhaps Stevo had a bit more vino at lunchtime?

And that is a lot closer to the truth.

Nice try rougues!



10/10 for a one sided interpretation.
If anyone shares your view of what they were practicing and your explanation; they should go to specsavers.
like your use of "reasoned" view.

Were you there?
If not, how can you comment?

If you were then please give us your view as to what was happening during pre-match warm up.

But Brian, your interpretation just isn't as much fun! You should know by now we don't let the truth get in the way of a good story on here. We're a bit like the tabloids in that respect.