CHAMP coach slaps PREM winner in bizarre on the field incident
CHAMP coach slaps PREM winner in bizarre on the field incident
A member of the Cornish Pirates coaching staff was issued a straight red card on Saturday, after an on-field altercation with Worcester Warriors’ player Jake Garside.
The incident occurred during the latter stages of the Warriors’ 29-7 victory, which ended a five-game winning run for the Pirates.
According to a post shared on X, a member of the Pirates coaching team ran onto the field and slapped former Northampton Saints speedster Garside in the face, leading to an audible gasp from fans.
“I haven’t seen what started it, but I have seen the coach from Cornish Pirates come on to the field of play and slap one of the players in the face,” said the referee as he issued a penalty to the Warriors.
Shortly afterwards, as the Pirates questioned the decision, the official confirmed that the aggressor was their director of rugby, and that the disciplinary committee would deal with it at a later date.
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“You’re always chasing the game”
Cornish Pirates joint-head coach Gavin Cattle told BBC Radio Cornwall after the game: “You’ve got to credit Worcester, I thought they were excellent in and around the collision.
“We couldn’t really penetrate in that first half and then off the back are two turnovers through defensive pressure in fairness, one handling error from us, it just gave them the leg up we didn’t need to give them. But when you’ve got that type of lead then you’re always chasing the game.
“We didn’t give the best account of ourselves. I think physically we were there, but I’ve got to hand it to Worcester, around that contact area they really took it up a level to what we’ve been used to the last four or five weeks.”