I'm not surprised...sport is a religion here, and Ozzies will do whatever it takes to win.
Just kidding, ball-biting is pretty low and if word got out that a player had a rep for that nobody would have let him leave the field alive. I haven't had anyone bite me on the nuts when I've been playing rugby yet, but all sorts of nefarious things go in in tackles...all meant to put you off your game.
Don't forget, this is the nation that brought you the
John Hopoate Affair just a year ago (I'll repost snippets here):
JOHN HOPOATE was handed a 12-week suspension late tonight after being found guilty of unsportsmanlike interference by the NRL judiciary in a bleak evening for the Wests Tigers.
After a two-hour hearing, the panel of Royce Ayliffe, Mal Cochrane and Jeff Hardy found Hopoate guilty of deliberately sticking his fingers up the anuses of North Queensland players Peter Jones, Paul Bowman and Glenn Morrison in Saturday night's match at Dairy Farmers Stadium.
They heard evidence from Hopoate, referee Tony Archer, Tigers coach Terry Lamb and from all three North Queensland players.
Hopoate's defence counsel Bernie Gross QC contended to Jones that his client had merely administered a "wedgie" on the Cowboy in the seventh minute of the match.
"It wasn't a wedgie. That's when your pants are pulled up your arse. I think I know the difference between a wedgie and someone sticking their finger up my bum," said Jones, admitting that while both acts caused discomfort, they caused different sensations and he could differentiate between the two.
Jones claimed he hadn't provoked Hopoate and that afterwards he immediately expressed his "disgust" and gave the Tongan international a push.
Bowman said after tackling Hopoate in the 17th minute, he stood over the winger and "that's when I felt fingers inside my shorts pushing up my arse".
"There was pressure there. I know he wasn't doing it accidentally. He was definitely pushing.
"I was disgusted. I couldn't believe it. I know it's a tough game, but there's no room for that."
Gross argued that Bowman had been excessive in trying to slow Hopoate from playing the ball by grabbing the North Queensland captain's leg.
But Bowman maintained "if he (Hopoate) was a man, he wouldn't do that".
When pressed by Gross, Bowman became angry and asked the QC: "If I held your leg, would that give you the right to put your finger up my arse?"
In his conclusion, NRL judiciary commissioner Jim Hall described Hopoate's case as appalling.
"I must say in my 45 years' involvement in rugby league I've never come across a more disgusting allegation than I've had to deal with now," Hall said.
As North Queensland captain, Bowman protested against Hopoate's actions to referee Archer after the first two offences.
Archer said despite keeping a close eye on Hopoate for the rest of the game, he did not see the Wests player stick his fingers up anyone else's anus.
[ 05-02-2002, 04:32 AM: Message edited by: Memnoch ]