Dan Biggar has defended his x-rated rant at teammates during their World Cup opening win against Fiji.
The fly-half, who some also believe was fortunate to remain on the field after several high tackles, consistently engaged in contentious exchanges with the referee.
One fan reacting wrote: “This is great, watching a spoilt little welsh pr£&k called Biggar have a go at his countrymen. And twice at North who is twice the player he’s ever been. Well done Wales!!”
A second said: “There’s a fine line between being passionate and being unprofessional, and Dan Biggar was the wrong side of it there …”
Another said: “Bit embarrassing when you forget Jac Morgan is captain, and Dan Biggar is just one very experienced player shouting and screaming at other experienced teammates such as George North.”
“Biggar wears heart on sleeve but shouldnt be im own players faces,” commented a fourth.
A fifth tweeted: “Dan Biggar will not be missed when he retires from the game of rugby. Wouldn’t look out of place gobbing off at the doormen outside a Cardiff nightclub. No class. No respect.”
BIGGAR RESPONDS:
“I woke up to plenty of messages about the mouthful I gave to my good mates George North and Nick Tompkins at the end of the first half,” wrote Biggar.
“It was a build-up of frustration because we had gifted Fiji some pretty easy territory. Our plan was that when the ball gets turned over in transition then we need to shift it. On a couple of occasions we did not do that and we got turned over so the boys were obviously trying to correct that, but it was the wrong time and the wrong place.
“You need some context and when you are on your own line in the last play of the half against Fiji, you need to get the ball off the pitch. I was furious we did not have the calmness to just hoof it into the stands because we were under the pump.
“I know some people have had a pop at me about the way I spoke but I could not care less. I really do not care what people think of me. If it happened tomorrow I would do it again. That is who I am. We had a bit of a laugh about it after the game. As a group, we are good at handling adversity and confrontation.
“We have talked about wanting to be able to hold each other to account. It is not personal, I love the guys to bits. We make our points, take them on board and then it is all fine. There will be a few former players trying to keep themselves relevant and that is fine.
“It is a non-story. There were a few expletives, that is for sure. I said something along the lines of: ‘Use our heads, get the ball off the f****** pitch… we’re f****** killing ourselves!’ It is no different to how I have been for 15 years”.
Johnny Sexton has been labelled the ‘biggest cheat’ in rugby today
Fans have been ranking who they consider the dirtiest players in the game today. In some cases it seems unpopularity saw them picked while other stars have been named and shamed for their thuggish actions on the field.
#5. Owen Farrell (England)
Could it be anybody else to start? Farrell fits the label “our guy” better than most, meaning you love to hate him unless he’s in your squad. Then you’d go to the end’s of the earth to defend him.
The England captain, also known as ‘Shoulder boy’ for his high tackling, does himself no favours with his poor tackling technique.
Although he’s currently serving a ban, the fact he often seems to get away with it doesn’t help either.
Owen Farrell facts:
The Saracens star went to school with England teammate George Ford
His education began in rugby league – he joined Wigan St Patricks at the age of eight
He became the youngest ever player to appear in English professional rugby, making his debut aged 17 and 11 days. This record was later beaten by schoolmate Ford
It’s well known that Owen is the son of Ireland head coach Andy Farrell. However, it’s less commonly know that his uncle Sean O’Loughlin is also a rugby league legend, winning 34 caps for Great Britain between 1993 and 2009
He was not at first registered as a Farrell, but took mum Colleen’s family name of O’Loughlin. The couple married in 1995, changing Owen’s surname to Farrell the following year.
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