After last weekend’s incident social media is once again in uproar about the England rugby player everyone loves to hate. No, not Owen Farrell, who also gets his fair share of flack, but England full-back Mike Brown.
The events of last weekend were not the first, nor will it be the last time Mike Brown will cause controversy on social media, a fire that is often stoked by some Celtic News outlets (looking at you Wales Online). The last time it happened was in his post-match interview after England’s word cup defeat to Wales. Branded a ‘cry-baby’ and ‘petulant’ for his emotional and blunt responses to the press after what was a humiliating defeat to an injured Welsh side at home, Brown is once again confronted with a trial by social media by angry opposition fans.
So what happened?
In the last 10 minutes of England’s game against Ireland Mike Brown did this:
His boot hit the head of Ireland scrum-half Conor Murray while hacking for the ball in a ruck. Murray needed stitches to a wound in his head, which was sustained when Brown attempted to kick the ball from his hands. This has led to a debate about the laws of the game and Brown being branded a ‘dirty player’ by many (predominantly it seems from the Celtic nations).
Now here’s the thing, and I admit I’m biased because I’m an Englishman and a Harlequins fan. Mike Brown is aggressive and passionate, but he is not a dirty player. Regardless of the fact he was cleared of the incident when it was reviewed at the time on the big screen by referee Romain Poite and the match TMO Shaun Veldsman, and the fact that the World Rugby citing commissioner has decided no further action is needed, people still seem to think Brown somehow broke the rules of the game.
The Debate
The most concise argument that is not just a torrent of abuse at Brown is essentially that players on the rugby pitch have a ‘duty of care’ towards each-other and that Brown shouldn’t have been swinging his leg so close to Murray’s head. This duty of care idea is seen in the way the laws surrounding tip-tackles are enforced. The argument with tip tackles used be that “there was nothing malicious in it so he shouldn’t be punished”. This has now changed to “it doesn’t matter if it was malicious or not, the tackle was very dangerous”. In the same line of logic Brown knew Murray was there and therefore should not have been kicking so close to Murray’s head.
However, the fact remains that Brown as a player in the ruck is allowed to compete for the ball. He’s clearly going for (and hits) the ball with every hack. If you watch the replays, Brown kicks out at the ball, missing the face. It’s only when another Irish player comes to ruck Brown out that Brown loses his footing and swipes Murray’s face with the back swing of his foot! Many argue that at this point Brown should have stopped kicking when he made contact with Murray. However, I challenge anyone to tell the difference between a head and shoulder when they are going for the ball and someone is shoving them around. Brown is in-front of Murray and it’s only really for him to know whether he even felt contact with Murray’s face from the stud of his boot. If Murray had followed the laws of the game by releasing the ball and not moved the ball on the floor he likely would not likely have been hit. He put himself in danger by not following the laws of the game. He continued to hold the ball after being hit in the face which is when another couple of glancing blows are made, again with the back swing of Brown’s leg. What Brown did was at worst reckless and was most likely an accident. As many of the more level headed have noted this happens all the time in rucks, it’s part of the game – everyone ends up catching a boot to the face at-least once. Brown was franticly trying to get the ball out of a ruck in the last 10 minutes of a close-run game 5 meters from the try line. That’s aggressive and arguably reckless. It’s not dirty.
So what’s the real problem here?
Simply put the fact that Mike Brown was caught doing it. There’s a confirmation bias against ‘unpopular’ players in sport, especially when it comes to English players in rugby union. Owen Farrell, Dylan Hartley and Brown are known for their aggressive and passionate attitudes on the pitch. These are often considered positive attributes in rugby union, unless of course you play for the pantomime villain that is England. Some opposition fans and media jump on anything that can confirm their already skewed perception of players because the dislike them. Aggressive attitudes on the pitch get under peoples skin, especially when they come from the ‘arrogant’ English. This essentially means that an element of the media and opposition fans are simply wanting and waiting for players like Brown to do something that can be misinterpreted and jump on it whenever possible – even when the same action by someone else wouldn’t create the same outrage. For example, many more outspoken Irish fans seem to have forgotten Cian Healy’s deliberate stamp on Dan Cole in 2013. Healy is by no means considered a ‘dirty’ player by anyone, English or Irish. The incidents that surround Mike Brown are simply confirmation bias at its best.
So is Mike Brown a dirty player?
No. Can anyone remember when Brown was last cited or received a red or yellow card in either club rugby or test matches? I can’t and I’m both a Quins and England fan. A quick Google also brings up no results. In April 2012 he was named on the six-man short-list for the Aviva Premiership Player of the Year. In the 2014 Six Nations Championship, he was selected by the general public for the 2014 RBS Six Nations player of the championship award. Being aggressive doesn’t make you a dirty player.
Brown was playing aggressively but within the laws of the game. Is it not dirty behaviour to use your feet at a ruck (which is common by all teams…and all players). No-one can prove Brown intended to hit Murray’s head and so innocent until proven guilty must apply. When Murray was hit it was quite clearly only from the back swing of a kick, with the ball being legitimately contested on every strike (while Murray was illegitimately contesting it by holding on). Brown wasn’t stamping. Brown’s crime as is often the case when he gains media attention was being aggressive, passionate and crucially English. If he played for any other nation this incident would not have had the same attention.
my ignorant opinion 