MU.
I have not denied the miniscule amount of dubious tactics against RU that have been from RL actions. (even though these actions did not aim to eliminate a competitor as distinct form the RU actions toward RL)
I am clearly emphasizing that their is far more repression against the code of RL than the other way around.
That is purely it!
Nothing else .
And this massive amount of repression should be acknowledged and emphasized to the extent it deserves. Not to be seen as a tit for tat contest.
It is immense the obstacles that RL has had to endure and the many posts within this thread pointing to the many examples of repression against RL are facts that should be discussed , aired and known to the general public.
So why have you been hell bent on trying to pigeonhole me as some form of Union apologist all this time then, when all I was simply doing was revealing a bigger picture?
You are adamant that I have denied there has been any repression against RL, which is a lie that you have failed to prove when asked.
You have been hell bent on ignoring the acts committed by RL against RU. As I have said ad nauseum, they are few but they exist.
As I have also stated, you cannot simply ignore these as belligerently as you have, because these acts by RL caused a reaction of similar or larger proportions by the RU against RL.
That in turn means that RL is partly to blame for some, I stress SOME, of the acts committed by RU against RL.
Which is why I was saying ad nauseum that you need to know both sides of the story to get a full understanding of the actual repression. You cannot, EVER, take on an argument and completely ignore half the story, such as you have done, time and again.
You bang on about friends in high places for the RU yet completely ignore the fact that RL had the best of friends in high places when it first started in Australia, much higher than their RU counterparts.
You bang on about school programs, but completely ignore the facts I provided regarding RL's infiltration into Catholic Schools in Australia in its first decade which was an enormous boost to RL and an enormous detriment to grass roots RU.
I am not apologising for any side, because both have behaved poorly, RU moreso obviously.
But that doesn't make RL's actions just or entirely innocent like you seem to believe.
RL's repression is largely its own fault for not having a strong enough governing body worldwide, which has always been the case. If they had one, they would have been able to defend their game in emerging nations much better, instead of letting them crumble without a fight.
Incidents like what happened in New Zealand to the touring NSW RL team of 1912 are examples of RU's actions against RL which still exist today (double booking venues, hijacking seating at the venue etc).
What happened in France is not an example because its so extreme, that it had never happened before or ever since. You cannot understand this.
Furthermore, what happened in France was not the doing of Rugby Union as a whole, but of a discredited, unaffiliated shambolic organisation who had been cheating the game by being professional, whose game was so violent it lead to the deaths of at least 4 players which saw the country banished from international competition. The French RU was dying and losing relevance and despised by all other RU nations at the time. Hence, it can never be considered as an example of RU's repression of RL, it can only be seen as an example of the despicable, immoral, hypocritical, despised nature of French RU at the time and nothing more.
The fact you can't understand that is disturbing.
I can understand your dislike for RU, its a crap, dull, boring, painful game.
But when you are dealing with historical facts and evidence, you have to remain as unbiased and open minded as possible, which you have shown quite adamantly that you are incapable of doing.
Moving forward, the only way for RL to grow and overcome the antics of RU bodies around the world is to focus on improving its competitiveness and local competitions. Having people focussed entirely on their biased interpretations of past events will never move the game forward.
Bitching and moaning about the past will not solve any problems in the future.
