Criticism has been directed towards Austin Healey, a former England international and BT Sport commentator, for his alleged biased commentary during the 2023 Heineken Champions Cup match between Saracens and La Rochelle.
He has been accused of exhibiting partiality towards Gallagher Premiership and having a negative attitude during Sunday’s quarter-final.
One fan wrote: “So is Austin Healey going to question every decision that goes against Saracens?”
Another commented: “Austin Healey thinks playing the ball after you’ve knocked it on is a penalty offence,”
A third said: “Austin Healey already thinking he’s the ref and not a commentator. Doesn’t shut up. Let the ref do his job and you do yours.”
“Austin Healey is a complete joke of a commentator. Get the fuck out of here,” wrote a fourth.
Another said: “Has to be someone better than Austin Healey to do commentary. Ruining this game so far. Seeing every breakdown or tackle as a penalty to the English side. La Rochelle Saracens”
“Horror draw” – England get pool of death in revised World Cup draw
The recently released World Rugby Rankings highlight the absurdity of the Pool Draw for the upcoming Rugby World Cup 2023, which was determined three years in advance and appears to be heavily skewed.
In response to criticism, World Rugby has announced that future pool draws for the Rugby World Cup will be conducted closer to the start of the tournament, as the current practice of relying on team rankings at the time of the draw is deemed unfair.
According to a report by the Mirror, World Rugby will make changes to the pool draw process for the 2027 edition.
“World Rugby said it is able to make the change because of a new ‘hosting model’ that sees the international federation create collaborations with the host union,” the report read.
“The top of the men’s Test game has never been more competitive,” the spokesperson added. “There has never been so much movement over a two-year period.
“Bearing that in mind and noting the format of four pools of five teams, there is arguably no perfect time for a draw.”
As a result, the guys over at Eggchasers Rugby put together their own drawer the 2023 tournament based on the current World Rugby rankings.
Concentrating on only the top 10 countries in the world, it looks significant.
It was very different with England handed a much sterner test in their pool. Watch the full video here.
POOL A actual draw:
- France
- New Zealand
POOL A up to date draw
- France
- Australia