Jeering opposition kickers

[Iain]

It is what classless fans of classless clubs do.

Too often now if the one eyed contingent of our support believe the penalty was unjust (they are of course usually wrong) they jeer or slow hand clap as the kick is taken.

Most other kicks can now be seen taken with a chorus of little oiks given free ticket fake coughing to put them off.

Yes, probably makes no difference to the kicker at all. But it is loutish behaviour that has crept in since the Cat Stand was built.

Tudor would never have stood for it. If I had done that when I first started going on the terrace I'd have got a mouthful from my dad and others around me and made quite aware that we don't do this at Tigers.

Ask parents to point this out to their little brats these days and you just get a sneer of "he's only a kid". It seems people jeering kicks can justify themselves by saying "well he was never offside anyway".

It is classless and unbecoming and goes against what those of us who remember lighter shades of green on the shirt and letters on the back were brought up to understand about how you conduct yourself at Tigers.

For shame.

[hooking_king]

Completely agree, I was more than a little embarrassed for the club when after a Tigers kick the announcer asked for quiet, minutes earlier the noise on the Farrell kick was unlike anything I had heard before at WR. I think that is the key point, i've not heard it that bad before. I put it down the nerves of a semi.

Also, good to note that the stewards went straight over to a group on the terrace after the Farrell miss, I assume to tell them to respect the kicker?

I think it's a one off. Let's hope it is.

[Iain]

I honestly don't think it is a one off. This is a custom that is quickly getting eroded due to a new wave of half arsed supporters there for either the beer or the free tickets.

[TigerLad]

Completely agree, I was more than a little embarrassed for the club when after a Tigers kick the announcer asked for quiet, minutes earlier the noise on the Farrell kick was unlike anything I had heard before at WR. I think that is the key point, i've not heard it that bad before. I put it down the nerves of a semi.

Also, good to note that the stewards went straight over to a group on the terrace after the Farrell miss, I assume to tell them to respect the kicker?

I think it's a one off. Let's hope it is.

I didn't see it but apparently Farrell moved the kicking tee forward a few meters. Did anyone else see this?

[hooking_king]

He did, it was negligible, but the jeering and the referee making him move it back a few inches (literally) had the desired effect. It wasn't really that, it was that the jeering continued into his kick as, I think the aforementioned group, didn't like how long he was taking over the kick. Fair enough, it happens to everyone around the world occasionally.

I think it was dealt with and I don't think it will become a regular event at WR.

[yellow_balaclava_hunter]

I wasn't happy with this either and I am pleased if the stewards did something about it on the Farrell kick. However there was no such action taken about the Saracens 'supporters' blowing horns during kicks.

This has been happening on the occasional game this season and usually it's the kids in the club house stand who do it. Those are the kids that have been brought to the ground by their local clubs after having some coaching. I think that this is a worrying sign as i would expect the coaches of those clubs to police their players behaviour.

The other place that I have noticed it recently is in the Caterpillar stand. I'd expect the crowd there to police it and notify stewards of exactly who is doing this.

Having said that this attitude has been creeping into the game in general. it doesn't help when a certain Mr Beatie writes an article on the BBC website advocating that people boo the opposition kicker.

Also yesterday having politely asked a Saracens 'supporter' not to blow his horn during the kicks after he had done so for the first penalty of the game. I got a continual rant behind me for the rest of the game from him about how absurd the notion of respecting goal kickers was. He didn't seem to have encountered that culture. This is worrying.

[DickyP]

Unfortunately the forum can't have it both ways - if, as the consensus was, after the Claremont game that it was OK for them to make a racket the same goes when other do as well.

I was less worried about the noise for that kick after a blatant injustice than I was about the oiks who continued as individuals in mainly silent kicks just as the kicker was about to kick.

And before I get attacked by those who quote Claremont's culture etc etc. I quite like the actual thing they do - it's just that coming to WR and doing it is the same as you going to someone's house as a guest and demanding that they watch what you want to on TV. Downright rude.

[sapajo]

The other place that I have noticed it recently is in the Caterpillar stand. I'd expect the crowd there to police it and notify stewards of exactly who is doing this.


I am in the Cat and I agree it can be a real problem. I believe it is due in the main to the fact that opposition fans always manage to secure blocks of seats in the Cat. Indeed there was a cluster of Sarries supporters in the Cat yesterday and I had a horn blowing Sarries supporter next to me with his teeenage son (they bought tickets from Tigers as apparently no concessions at Sarries!) and about 5 or so Sarries immediately behind me, although it must be said that they, unlike the block behaved impeccably.

Any other problems seem to emimnate from the well oiled corporate hostility contingent in front of me in their part of the stand!

[jamiewilkinson]

The first Farrell kick was silence, Fords first kick the silence was disrupted by a Saffies vuvuzala, which came from the crumbie. But once he/she had the ringing sound of boo's directed at him/her he didnt do it again! Lesson learnt i feel. But I do think that he/she started the petty noises during the kicks.

[CitizenSmiff]

There was indeed an unjustifiable racket from all around the ground during that Farrell pen that took well over a minute. I can understand frustration at lax officiating but it's not worth abandoning one of our most synonymous traditions. Plus I think the silence can be used to our advantage- opposition kickers aren't used to it and it seems to put them off.

[PeterB]

I've always been proud that Welford Road, along with Gloucester, is one of those few grounds that are silent when the kicks are taken. Yesterday was the culmination of a season when the practice was being slowly erroded at Welford Road. As well as having the tradition mentioned about half an hour before kick off when most of the offenders are in the bars and cant hear it, perhaps the silence rule could be mentioned just after the final team announcement and repeated as a reminder after incidents. Just a thought perhaps we cant turn the clock back

[man in the suite]

I am also in the cat stand ,but please do not blame those people for the noise . yesterday i could hear a lot of noise from the crumbie side as well not very nice to hear either. there is (NOT) a rule from making a noise when the kicker kicks for goal, (BUT) we at welford road have always given the kicker the best of silence and respect, if it happens tell the nearest steward who can only tell the person to be quite ,see you all next season.

ps .yesterday was something out of the ordinary you must agree.

[DickyP]

It isn't a totally new problem - I remember an evening game against Saracens back when Goode was playing 15 and Van der Westhuizen was at 10 when the same thing happened after a blatantly wrong reffing decision - the guys next to me went ballistic and carried on all through Nicky Little's kick (which I seem to remember him missing).

Having gone to look it up I see that this was 16th April 2004 - so definitely not a new phenomenon.

[Isambard]

Later kick off = more beer consumed = less manners and more boorish behaviour. It is one of several reasons why I don't like late kick offs. The current announcer has very little presence but at later kick offs the stewards and the announcer need to combine and insist on decent behaviour.
The announcer would benefit from some media training. He says everything in the same way, whether it is the tedious this is a non smoking ground or respect the kickers. He has some of my sympathy when hehas to read out such corporate rubbish as the matchday programme experience and the match ball experience.

[Rizzo]

I've always been proud that Welford Road, along with Gloucester, is one of those few grounds that are silent when the kicks are taken. Yesterday was the culmination of a season when the practice was being slowly erroded at Welford Road. As well as having the tradition mentioned about half an hour before kick off when most of the offenders are in the bars and cant hear it, perhaps the silence rule could be mentioned just after the final team announcement and repeated as a reminder after incidents. Just a thought perhaps we cant turn the clock back

The problem with the announcer regularly repeating the instruction/request for silence for both kickers is that then you get Tigers fans complaining and saying they know to be silent and that the announcer/club are being patronising and rude by repeating the request.