The results of the exam. Subject : "Richie is not a cheat"

Thank you very much for being part of this exam. As I said so many times, with lawyers like you, Richie is safe... Hopefully this exam will help people understand that Richie is NOT a cheat!
Once again, thank you ;)
MaryL

*****

Rose (from the USA)
August 1st, 2007
She wrote :

“Richie cheat? No way. To cheat is to defraud or deceive. Richie is not a fraud. He is the genuine article -- the number one openside flanker in the world! He is not trying to deceive anyone. When he's out on the pitch, he is there to do his job -- get the ball! The rules at the breakdown are not the clearest. The same thing can be said of the rulings of the referees. Richie can't wait around to ask somebody's permission. He has to get the ball now! He makes his best judgment and acts. If the ref disagrees, he gets penalizes. That is how an openside flanker plays.

Richie is thinking all the time! He is always trying to get the ball, wherever it is on the pitch. When everyone else is standing around and thinking it's a dead ball, Richie knows better. He grabs the ball and scores a try while the other team is doing I don't know what???

I have watched Richie play for 6 to 7 years. He has more integrity and character than any other player in international rugby. (That's since Tana left, of course.) In all the years I have watched him, Richie has never taken a cheap shot. He never intentionally tries to hurt other players, never tries to break their jaw, for example! He never loses his temper, even when the other team targets him and tries to injure him.

Other players and other teams are simply jealous. Nobody combines athleticism, intelligence and determination like Richie. And his eye is always on the ball. At first, when I began watching rugby, I had a hard time following the ball. But Murray Mexted said, if you want to know where the ball is, just look for Richie. And it's true. Richie is always where the ball is.

Those players who are defaming Richie should take a look in the mirror and try to figure out why they do not have as much intelligence, dedication and ability as Richie. Those coaches who are defaming Richie would better spend their time coaching and training their players to be like Richie. All this talk about Richie being a cheat is just a waste of hot air! »

*****

Melissa (from Australia)
August 2nd, 2007
She wrote :

“My Rich the Snitch

Ofcourse I support Rich the Snitch
He always brings 100% on the pitch

So here are some reasons why
I love and support this guy:-

He will always get my big clap
For having his head down and bum up

He can steal the ball with ease
So they claim he was on his knees

He runs, he tackles & then gets back to his feet
So here comes the cry - he must be a cheat

He is especially quick around the field
Hoping to make the opposition yield

He tries his best to be at every ruck and maul
And enjoys it when they try to stop him stealing the ball

At flanker he is suited he is fast, strong & has precision hands
This annoys the other teams so they cheap shot him to make amends

I hope you enjoyed some of my reasons why
I don’t think Rich is a cheat or that he can lie

Whenever he plays he never misses my praise
He truly leaves me and the opposition in amaze

So please know Rich I will always have your back
Because Honey you really are the Daddy Mack!

Lissie
(Tonliss) »

*****

Ria (from New Zealand)
August 7th, 2007
She wrote :

“I’m amazed at the amount of opposition players and coaches who claim that our "Magnificent All Blacks Captain", Richie McCaw, is a cheat, I mean even in this country! When he plays in a red and black jersey against the likes of Auckland and Wellington, he's a cheat who consistently leaves his feet and kills the ball! But out him a 'black' jersey (which he looks damn fine in!) and he's gods gift to NZ rugby. ( I agree not matter what colour shirt he's wearing, even if he had no shirt on, which im my opinion is better)

For as long as I have been watching and enjoying the game of rugby, be it it got a lot better for me watching richie, he is doing the exact job you would expect an openside flanker to do, only he's faster and better at than most. Yes, he pushes the rules to the absolute limit but he wouldn't be where he is now if he didn't.

I believe he will on the list of the new zealands greatest players, no change that to the list of the worlds greatest players and I don’t think he would be on that list if he was a cheat, WHICH HE’S NOT! His critics need to take a good hard look at themselves to figure out how they can better their game to even come close to how good he is!!”

*****

Jo – Baby Fan (from England)

August 8th, 2007

She wrote :

“Richie McCaw? Cheat?!
It’s a huge debate spanning decades. Well, not quite decades but it’s a rather large debate amongst those who do not believe in the powers of ‘The Blackness’. . .
Recently there has been a lot of ‘mud slinging’ directed at the All Blacks captain (no, this does not mean that the lovely Richie is now covered in mud, Lissie, please shake those thoughts from your mind right now. This is a respectable blog!) and the proverbial manure has hit the fan in many areas of the world. (Well, mainly anywhere where the All Blacks have been, beaten the national team and bought the t-shirt lately.) The most recent claim that McCaw is a cheat has come from the fourth Springbok captain in as many tests, Johann Muller.

"If Richie McCaw was wearing a green jersey and had blond hair, or a yellow jersey and dreadlocks, he would never finish a Test.
"As a player it is disappointing because you want to have a fair go at the breakdown but he's making it really difficult for us," Muller said.

Point #1.
If Richie was wearing a green jersey and had blond hair, it wouldn’t be Richie. Would it?

Point #2.
If he was wearing a yellow jersey and had dreadlocks, it wouldn’t be him either. It wouldn’t even be George Smith anymore. And I’m sure I was told the Wallabies jersey was GOLD and green. Not yellow. Oh the backlash for saying that…

Point #3.
Well, OF COURSE he’s making it difficult for you. That’s his job! That’s what he gets paid for. If you’d paid attention at training you’d know that you have a guy with that job too, Mr Muller.

Anyway. To single McCaw out as a cheat isn’t fair. And when you’re doing this after your team has just lost to his, then it’s making you look rather like you’re digging for excuses instead of addressing a possible weak area in your own team, Johann, darling. Perhaps this could be relayed to Jake White, who along with John Connolly, seem intent on spending after-match press conferences whinging about the legality of McCaw’s work at the breakdown and not on admitting his teams approach could use some work. Perhaps if Misters White and Connolly would like to address the whole world of Openside Flankers out there, including their own, and label each one of those a cheat, with no exceptions, then it might be okay. However, they do not. This begs the question “Why, if you’ve nothing constructive to say, do you bother saying anything at all, you pompous gits?”

I mean, look at that face. . . *no, really, take a moment to look*


How could someone with such an angelic face cheat?

And anyway, if he is cheating he’s not getting caught is he? So where there’s no proof, there’s no crime in my book.

They say there’s no smoke without fire. The proverbial fire being the ludicrous claims, of course. But I’ve not seen any smoke and I watch VERY closely.

So there we have it.
McCaw isn’t a cheat.
Thank you very much and Case Closed.

(Now go out there and cheat your way to that little gold cup, Richie!)

*****

Izzy the local Spy (from New Zealand)

August 14th, 2007
She wrote :

“SUPER RICHIE.

Super Richie he ain’t no cheat, he runs with the ball
He knocks them off their feet
They can’t stop him, they can try
But we know Richie knows how to fly!

He’s fast, he’s daring and gets their attention
They don’t believe it, and often mention
To anyone that will listen, the ref’s, the journo’s
He cheats, he’s offside, what he does ain’t legal!
But Richie just gets on with the game and bites the bullet
Winning the game is his aim.

Richie’s no cheat, we all know it
They bleat and they whinge, but we just ignore it
We know better, we believe
That Richie’s a star, a top rugby player
The best by far.

(Oh and wouldn't we just love to see him in those tights!!).

*****

Tess (from New Zealand)

August 15th, 2007
She wrote :

“(NB! Please print that part…I know so many others share my view-this is not a time for modesty!) O.k, as to the subject behind the messages of support- I will never use the "c" word and his name in the same sentence!!!!

The fact is- he is so good at his "job", those mere mortals who are nowhere near the same standard, wonder in disbelief…HOW DOES HE DO THAT??? Well, word up people…..IT'S CALLED HAVING THE XXX (triple!) FACTOR!!

When he returned from being side-lined with concussion back in 04, he re-newed my interest in rugby. Such an exciting player to watch, dynamic, strong, fast( I could go on & on).The bottom line is….he has NO FEAR, body on the line every time!! He has all the knowledge to read the game and probably understands the rules better than some refs.

Without sounding shallow…I have to say that it's a bonus that he is ruggedly handsome,( scars 'n' all, just gets better with age!) and is an ordinary down to earth Kiwi bloke who just happens to have this extraordinary talent, that has landed him the 2nd most important job in this rugby crazed country of ours!

I think I better end it there MaryL, before it turns into a biography. When (not if ) Mac & his brilliant team lifts up "Bill" in front of the worldwide audience, it will cement his status in NZ as a national treasure.”

*****

Chill (from South Africa)
August 14th, 2007
She wrote :

“Why Richie McCaw Isn't a Cheat:

There always seems to be a big capital-lettered label around the All Blacks captain's head - CHEAT. Those against Richie McCaw agree with that adjective - those in favour of him vehemently disagree with this.

But what is he doing wrong exactly and who is calling him this? Most of McCaw's 'crimes' occur at the breakdown - referees are being accused of being too lenient with him and allowing him to slow the ball down after they have called it a 'ruck'. Now i am not a referee nor an openside flanker and have been told that only the players really know what is going on down there. I agree with this statement, so we are left with the referee and how he interprets it.

My first thing to say is that the ruck and tackled ball area is murky only cos the laws make them that way, and because we don't have robots for referees, but humans with emotions and subjective views, you're never going to get a consistent ruling on it. This is where a big problem comes in - especially when you don't understand all of the laws like most of us don't :) One thing people often underestimate is that Richie McCaw is quick - he is often the first one at the breakdown ... often before the referee has called it a ruck. This is the big thing people miss - before the ref calls "ruck, hands off", Richie is allowed to do what he wants - he has to come through the gate (which is behind the last person's feet, I think!) and he is not allowed to just dive straight on the ball and kill it (obstructing the opposition from retrieving the ball) - but he is allowed to take the ball off the player in possession. Once the ref calls it a ruck, it is then his duty to roll away and stop contesting the ball. If you have noticed, he does normally roll away and if he can't, his hands do come away from the ball. So before people start running to call him a cheat, maybe they should understand the rules and the ref first.

Another thing to add is when Richie is the tackler, he has all the rights to the ball as long as he stays on his feet. Then he doesn't have to go through the 'gate' or have the other restrictions applied to him that are there if he is not the tackler.

Richie makes it a point to talk to referees before each game about how they're gonna blow the breakdown and has openly said in the first 10 minutes of the game, he deliberately pushes the rules as far as possible to see what the ref will penalise him for and what he can get away with. So before people call him a cheat, the onus is on the referee to police him at the break down if he feels Richie is infringing. Richie doesn't have to back off until the referee tells him to back-off. So pick a fight with the referee and those who make the laws - Richie is not the ref, he is the player!

But where are these allegations coming from? Mainly opposition coaches and players that feel Richie is protected by the man with the whistle. To them I say get over it! If they had a Richie McCaw in their team they would not be bleating about this. Every opensider worthy of the no. 7 jersey has a duty to win possession for their team and those that are the best are ones that operate on the edge of the laws and play smart football. Richie is in this mould - he is quick, street smart and actually a perfect prototype for all aspiring openside flankers. The only other flanker in his league is George Smith - he does exactly what Richie does, in fact he gets away with far more and the opposition don't make half as much noise about him.

This leads me to the conclusion that the only reason people complain about Richie is because he is brilliant and he does give his teams an advantage at the breakdown. Instead of criticising and labelling him, laud him as one of the greatest players the game has ever produced - believe him when he says he doesn't go out there to cheat and understand that no amount of complaining is gonna make him change his game anyway.
The great thing about all of this, is that as long as he hears all this noise being made about him, he'll rest easy at night knowing he is doing exactly what is required of him.”

*****

Siska (from Singapore)

August 16th, 2007

She wrote :

"I guess the article that Mary posted said it all. But in my own words, I think Richie is an outstanding man and player. He's got the respect of the players including other good no. 7s past and present. The question, is Richie a cheat or does Richie cheat, to me questions his character, so to this the answer is absolutely not.
As the blog said tho, Richie knows how to play the rules to the limit and that's what makes him a good player - the best at the moment. He infringes sometimes as the game is happening so fast, he gets caught sometimes, and gets penalized. That doesn't make him a cheat. If so, every player who got penalized are cheats.
I haven't been following rugby that long, only since the Lions series in 2005 but ever since then he is the one player that caught my attention because he's really good in the breakdown - secures their own ball and gets turnover, he makes try saving tackles, game winning tries, all that - exciting stuff. But one thing I like about him most is that I hardly ever seen him made high tackles or hurt other players like I have seen others done on the field. I've seen him got punched, spear tackled, rucked by others but he doesn't do all that. At least I've never seen him do that. I think that's awesome.

Best of luck to Richie and the boys... Go the Blacks.

Cheers,
siska"