[Osem]

We all know cheating goes on at one level or another and I'm sure Gatland isn't the first and won't be the last to have discussed such a thing during a match. Credit to him for not doing it.

Referees are never going to be perfect but if teams and players are going to bend rules and try to deceive the match officials then they it's a bit rich complaining when those same officials get it wrong.

Albeit wrong and potentially dangerous, Warburton's tackle wasn't a malicious attempt to take out a player - it was an error of judgement no doubt brought about by the massive adrenaline rush he'd have been feeling. Worse for the game IMHO are those sneaky, cynical acts which give unfair advantage to the perpetrators (e.g. penalties or quicker ball) or spoil their opponent's ball. By their nature these 'offences' often go unseen and unpunished by the officials but they can/do have a massive effect on match outcomes. All teams are guilty at times - the All Blacks, for example, are adept at pushing the boundaries with offsides, holding on to the ball and not rolling away, thereby gaining quicker ball themselves whilst slowing it down for their opponents. They're so good at it that they frequently get away with it. I'd argue that more often than not it's these frequent and deliberate tactics which more unfairly affect results not acts like Warburton's.

Anyway, until the players agree to be bound by a code of professional ethics on and off the field, we're going to see teams win matches by hook or by crook and that just brings the whole sport into disrepute IMHO.