Neath Accuse Bridgend Of Dirty Tricks!

By Zippy
January 17 2006

The management of Neath RFC have accused Bridgend of deliberately swapping the match balls during the Welsh Premiership match at the Brewery Field on New Years Eve.

Neath Rugby call for Bridgend RFC Chairman to investigate ball irregularities at Principality Premiership fixture
Neath Rugby Chairman Geraint Hawkes today called on Bridgend RFC chairman Derek King to perform a full investigation into events at the Brewery Field during the recent Principality Premiership fixture (played on 31st December)

Background
During the first half of the match a particular ball boy was seen on a number of occasions to be passing sub-standard balls to Neath RFC marksmen James Hook and Arwel Thomas. Conversely, throughout the first half it became apparent that Bridgend kickers were being passed a regulation matchball for their kicks. The Neath kickers struggled to achieve their now customary high standards of accuracy throughout the encounter

When Neath players became suspicious of the ball boy they alerted our bench of their concerns and matters came to a head when a person we now know to be the Bridgend kit-man reacted in a manner that confirmed our suspicions. The kit-man blatantly attempted to switch the balls whilst Hook was lining up a conversion after Martin Morgan’s first half try. The incident occurred in front of matchday referee Nigel Owens and lead to a pitch-side confrontation when Hook demanded that the appropriate ball was to be used. The kit-man was sent from the touchline by Mr. Owens and he was seen to return to the Bridgend dugout

As a result of the pitch-side incident during the second half the sub-standard balls were used by both sides

Neath went on to win the New Years Eve fixture by 25 points to 16 and subsequently won Saturday’s Konica Minolta Cup game by 11 points to 3

Comment from Neath Rugby Chairman, Geraint Hawkes:
“An element of gamesmanship has long been at the heart of Welsh rugby, but it became clear to us when reviewing the video of the League match that on a number of occasions a Bridgend RFC ball boy was selecting a particular ball for their kicks, whilst passing inferior quality balls to the Neath kickers. The actions suggest that this strategy was developed in an organised attempt to disrupt our kicking game.

We feel that they overstepped the mark and clearly the intention was to give Bridgend an unfair advantage as through the first half it became evident that a different ball was being used by the Bridgend kicker.

We raised the matter informally with Bridgend before Saturday’s Cup game and we received a written reply indicating that they had censured their kit-man. The individual referred to in their letter was not present on Bridgend’s bench at Saturday match.

We did not feel it appropriate to air our views publicly before the Cup game as we feared it might stir up strong emotions and put unnecessary pressure on the players of both sides.

Having reviewed the response on Sunday we now call on Derek King to conduct a full in house inquiry as we believe the actions were of a more organised nature and not confined to the one individual. I am sure Derek will not tolerate this type of behaviour.

If a formal response and apology is not forthcoming we will forward our evidence to the WRU with a request that they conduct a full investigation. Fans can be assured that only properly inflated high quality regulation Gilbert balls are used for fixtures at the Gnoll.

Having won both games, we cannot be accused of “sour grapes” but we feel it essential for the credibility of the Principality Premiership that this incident is fully looked into. Bridgend need to properly address this issue in order to ensure other teams and referees visiting the Brewery Field are not faced with such problems”

Further Information:
Law 2.6 - Spare Balls
"A team must not gain advantage or attempt to gain an unfair advantage by using them or changing them"
Law 2.5 - Required Air Pressure
"9.5 - 10.0 lbs per square inch"