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Armitage, the wave and the s*** book
Armitage, the wave and the s*** book
Richard Seeckts
May 21, 2013
Toulon's Delon Armitage dives over for his try, Clermont Auvergne v Toulon, Heineken Cup Final, Aviva Stadium, Dublin, May 18, 2013
Delon Armitage dives over for Toulon's try in the Heineken Cup final © Getty Images
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Delon Armitage has shown himself to be an impulsive clown on many occasions, most recently by waving at an opponent in the Heineken Cup final. Unfortunately for him, Armitage has enemies with keyboards just waiting to pounce.

Brian Moore, one-time master of winding up opponents, advocated violence as his response of choice. Which is obviously far more acceptable than a cheeky little wave.

Armitage's wave was unnecessary and very easy to spot as he approached the try line. Moore, who condemns the hypocrisy of others countless times in the 's*** book' at which Armitage later had a rather feeble pop, had the luxury of close-quarter encounters to bait his opponents, unseen by the cameras.

Moore's playing career is littered with tales of violent conflict, sometimes without obvious cause. Just read the 's*** book' for examples, the 1989 Lions tour and the 1992 France v England match to name a couple. Whiter than white, Brian? Probably not.

As a player, Moore loved to get under the skin of his opponents. Now, almost 20 years after retirement, he's still at it, provoking Armitage to a furious reaction.

One of the enduring mysteries of rugby union is the thugs/gentlemen relationship. The violence frequently dished out during Moore's time, and to a lesser degree now, was often pre-meditated, dangerous and yet considered an acceptable part of a contact sport. A mildly disrespectful raising of one hand, however, is seriously bad.

The 's*** book' is actually a damned good read, but the carping about others' hypocrisy looks a bit thin now.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
WRITER BIO

Richard Seeckts' rugby career consisted of one school match where he froze on the wing and despite no substitutes being available he was withdrawn from the game at half-time for mocking the opposition's line-out calls. Thereafter Richard and the sport agreed active participation was not the way ahead, but that has not prevented him from avidly writing about and watching the game. He now contributes his random observations to the Crooked Feed blog on ESPNscrum.com