MOUNT VIC TOUCH MODULE ADOPTS MOSGIEL'S SARCASM SIN BIN — FIRST OFFENDER LASTED FOUR MINUTES
A public servant told the ref "oh mate, GREAT call" and was in the bin before the restart.
A Wednesday touch module at Mount Victoria has become the first Wellington comp to import Mosgiel's new rule sin-binning players for sarcasm. The first offender lasted four minutes.
The offender, a Ministry policy analyst who asked to be identified only as "having a shocker", copped two minutes after telling the ref "oh mate, GREAT call, really top stuff" over a forward pass. Witnesses said the tone was the problem.
"He said the words like they had quotation marks around them," said teammate Hannah Ferris, 29, who plays link. "You could hear the italics. Ref heard it too. Off he fucked."
By halftime, three more had been binned. One for a slow clap. One for saying "cheers ref" in a way officials described as load-bearing. One Beehive staffer got done for exhaling through her nose. The southerly was blamed for making it all sound worse.
Referee Marcus Latu, a law student from Newtown, said the rule was working. "I've reffed touch for two years. Been called a wanker in six languages. Tone is a foul now." Asked if it might be applied inconsistently, Latu said: "Oh yeah, definitely."
The analyst, released from the bin at 7.14pm, immediately told a teammate the ref was doing an amazing job. He was sent off for the rest of the module. He is understood to be drafting a submission.
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Reader Letters
Trev_Hornby
Bloody ridiculous rule.
wayne1987
Mate, sarcasm is half the fun of touch! If you can't handle a bit of banter, maybe reffing isn’t for you. It’s part and parcel of the game. Been playing for 20 years and never heard of such a soft rule before.
chaos_kid
Marcus is doing an amazing job.
MumOf3_WLG
The refs are just trying to keep it respectful. Sarcasm can be nasty. Ref Latu has my support.
couchgremlin
If I wanted a sarcasm-free zone, I’d just go to a staff meeting and listen to upper management.
DaveWLG
Fuck that, sports should be fun. It’s all gone too PC lately. Next they'll ban natural breathing.
Trev_Hornby
No offence but maybe you should leave the sarcasm to the pros, mate.
jessfromthorndon
Honestly, the artistry of sarcasm is lost on some people. They need thicker skin. It's a cultural thing here, part of our charm!