Agulla to be cited?

[man in the suite]

Could it be that Agulla could be cited for the fracus involving the sending off of Alesana.

[sapajo]

Perhaps, alongside Ashton and perhaps others?

[WiggoTiger]

According to who you listen too...Agulla, Lawes, Ashton, Murphy, any one who played could be.

But oh yes as a Tiger they will have the book thrown at them like usual!!

[cheasytiger]

If he does it would as usual be an injustice,as Ashton`s hair pulling on big AL started it all.
It would be a pleasant surprise if the so called saints ceased the off the ball niggling and played the game as it should be played,these `cheap shots`are creepn more and more into the game and if its allowed to continue it will become difficult to stop.
Remember how it all started in football in the seventies,began on the pitch and slowly transferred to the terraces,GOD FORBID it happens in RUGBY but it will if its not `nipped in the bud`referee`s and assistants PLEASE TAKE NOTE and raise it at your training sessions.

[chinnjamie]

To me, it looked like Lawes threw the first punch, so if anyone should be cited it should be him. You could also argue it was all caused by Ashton, so maybe it should be him who gets cited if anyone. I personally hope no one else is cited and Tigers can appeal against Tuilagis red card, because if they go by the letter of the law, both teams could lose 2-3 players. Just a quick question, I didn't think you could be cited for anything but dangerous play, so Murphy wont be cited for his off the ball incident with Foden, is this correct ?

[kingol22]

I didn't think you could be cited for anything but dangerous play, so Murphy wont be cited for his off the ball incident with Foden, is this correct ?

I would very much doubt he would be cited for that, although he may if he has thrown punches. After last years game with the Manu-Ashton incident i think they may come down hard on both sides. I reckon any player who has thrown a punch will get a 3-6 week ban although i hope i am wrong.

[boon]

you are not correct, chinnjamie, a citing can arise from any incident that could be deemed worthy of a red card.

it could be argued that murphy prevented foden from getting into a score saving position (foden has the pace, though i suspect tigers fans will see that differently) so was a professional foul worthy of red.however, i have posted elsewhere that though it was certainly a foul i think foden went down pretty easily so i dont see a citing for murphy there.

wood may have to take his medicine, he crossed a line though not a dirty player, but if he is banned and murphy and agulla are not for their part in the touchline scuffle that would be a farce.

of course the rfu disciplinary process is an inconsistent farce so i wait with baited breath to see what actually happens.

[Longshanks]

It seems to me the main argument for citing Agulla is one of mistaken identity i.e. the officials settled on the wrong Tigers wing. If Agulla were disciplined then Alesana should be absolved of any wrong-doing; but when did that ever happen? Ben Kay on ESPN was adamant that this was more to do with "correcting" last season's AP Semi-Final injustice (when both Ashton and Tuilagi Jnr should have been red-carded) than today's incident judged in isolation.

[Jose]

Ashton didn't deserve a red last year when Manu did. Today, however, I think he deserves to get at least as much of a punishment as anybody else, as his pathetic hair pulling because he couldn't deal with Alex knocking him backwards caused the entire incident. Hopefully they'll decide Alex and Wood were punished enough by the red cards, and just cite Ashton, but suspect Murphs, Agulla and Lawes may also be required. Think there should be a citing for no-arm tackles and body checks on Murphs too - thought there was one from Ashton and one from Manu Samoa, but I may be mistaken, as they were both too far away from the ball for me to have seen them other than out of the corner of my eye!

The other thing I know is that if similar happened in a Leinster vs Munster game a week before a HC game, there would be no citings at all. Hopefully the RFU will take note and do both clubs a favour for a change! And the pig flying past my window is towing a banner saying that Rob Andrew has done the honourable thing and resigned......

[tigerlilly]

I can confirm from where I was sitting that Ashton definately body checked Murphy, he really is a cheap shot merchant. It is a pity that someone with obvious talent seems to feel the need to behave so badly; a very immature individual from what I saw today and his behaviour during the World cup.

[tigerlilly]

Hopefully the citing officer will remember that this is a long standing local derby, where there will always be more physicality between the sides and only the most serious incidents will be cited and punished.

[WhitecapTiger]

The other thing I know is that if similar happened in a Leinster vs Munster game a week before a HC game, there would be no citings at all. Hopefully the RFU will take note and do both clubs a favour for a change!

Some would argue that if such a thing happened in such a game between those clubs you mention the week before a HC match then any citings would be inconsequential anyway as the cited players wouldn't be up for selection for the HC game

And if the RFU did such a thing they'd be as distasteful as any other Union that did it, if indeed it can be proven any Union has/does, which I doubt. And they're distasteful enough at the moment as it is.

[Tiglon]

Is hair-pulling a citable offence? I can't find any precedent for this. I suppose we'll find out later in the week!

it could be argued that murphy prevented foden from getting into a score saving position

Very true, but what has this got to do with anything? Penalty, yes, but zero chance of a red card. We often see tries disallowed because of a bit of blocking, but no one is ever sent off for it.

However we might see Murphy cited (along with a few others) for the hair-pulling aftermath.

At least now we know why Ashton didn't retaliate against Manu last season - not enough hair to grab hold of.

Anyway, another good if not flawless victory for Tigers, and another step in the right direction. Anything is possible this season...

[TigerAlex]

Is hair-pulling a citable offence? I can't find any precedent for this. I suppose we'll find out later in the week!

Ashton could be cited with 'an act contrary to good sportsmanship' which is the category which contains eye gouging and biting. Not that I'm comparing hair pulling to eye gouging in terms of potential for injury etc, but it did trigger the brawl and was a bit of a cowardly thing to do (not to mention unnecessary). Definitely not sporting.

[One Over The Eight]

Can't believe Ashton was such a girl. Pulled Alex's hair and then cleared off leaving others to get pinged for the fracas. Am increasingly worried about Poppa Murph taking a dive during games as well. Last week against glaws overracted aginst the alleged headbut this week drops like a fly again when Ashton comes near. Foden's dive when Murph allegedly blocked him was almost oscar worthy too!! Where will it end. Football has a round ball cut it out!!!!