23/10/2020
Earlier today my daughter and I enjoyed a socially distanced cup of tea with my mum and her husband Jon. They (my mum and Jon) don't live far from us (my daughter and I), but I hadn't managed to see them for quite a few weeks.
Soon after we arrived, Jon had an alert on his phone and advised me that the upcoming Barbarians game had been cancelled. He then continued to pour the tea.
Rugby is one of the few things that we share as an interest.
There were family things for us to catch up on, so we didn't dwell on this breaking news. It was later in the evening that I; back at home, dinner consumed and a couple of glasses of wine enjoyed, finally managed to have a look at online news outlets.
I'll admit that I am incredibly disappointed to hear just how stupid, irresponsible and, given the times we live in, ignorant the behaviour of some Barbarian players has been. Twelve team members left their hotel bubble, breaking the protocols in place, and had dinner at a London restaurant. They were supposed to have remained in their hotel, avoiding contact with those outside their group.
The Rugby Football Union (RFU) said that, whilst investigating this breach of protocols, they it discovered another infringement where Barbarian players had left the hotel without permission.
Whilst many might wish to try and excuse the Barbarians for their transgressions; noting how famous they are for their focus on socialising, they would (I think) be extremely misguided. These players are supposed to be professionals, capable of behaving in a disciplined manner and the team management installed a team room in their London base to keep the players entertained.
There were a lot of people looking forward to watching this match and, with the 6Nations tournament about to be resumed, the Baa-Baas was to be a great warm up match for the England squad ahead of their final match against Italy next Saturday.
The Barbarians' players have not just let themselves down, the team down and the fans down, but they've let England rugby down too.
Their behaviour was completely unacceptable and they should all face sanctions.
It is clear that these players knew what they were doing. Chris Robshaw, the former England captain, admitted his guilt, saying: "A huge effort went into conducting this match in a safe fashion and it was irresponsible of me to break the protocols which are put in place to protect players, staff and the public." Robshaw also said, "I understand that my actions have ultimately contributed to the cancellation of Sunday's match and I am sincerely remorseful for my role in undoing all the amazing work that went into trying to make it happen. I promise that I will learn from this mistake and ensure something like this never happens again."
Another former England player, Richard Wigglesworth was also involved and said: "Embarrassed and beyond gutted to have let (coach) Vern Cotter and everyone at Barbarians FC as well as the RFU. Should not have happened and for that I am truly sorry. I've let a lot of people down including myself and wish I'd done it differently. Sorry again."
If I was feeling charitable, I might say it is good to see the players admit their mistake and offer their apologies. However, they didn't breach the protocols by accident; it was deliberate action. They didn't trip over and fall into the London restaurant. They made a conscious decision to ignore the rules and leave the protected environment of the hotel.
Their apologies are hardly sufficient given the circumstances.
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