Former England captain Owen Farrell was heard calling former teammate Bevan Rodd a 'diving git' in Saracens' 20-10 defeat to Sale Sharks yesterday afternoon, in what might be Farrell's last home game before his move to Racing 92 at the end of the season.
Saracens, who had secured their place in this year's playoffs prior to yesterday's game, needed a win to secure home advantage for the semi-finals in the Gallagher Premiership. Having failed to do so, they now face a difficult visit to Franklin's Gardens on May 31st where they will face league leaders Northampton Saints.
Sale's win secured third place in the league table, setting up a semi-final against Bath at The Rec on June 1st.
READ HERE: URC Permutations For The Irish Teams Heading Into Last Round
Owen Farrell calls former England teammate a 'Soft P***k'
With the game still in the balance in the opening half, a Saracens scrum was brutally dismantled by the Sale pack, earning the visitors a penalty inside their own half, just as it looked as if Saracens had gained a foothold in the game. In frustration, tight-head prop Christian Judge lightly pushed his opposite number, Bevan Rodd, who dramatically flopped to the floor, sparking a harsh response from his former England Captain Owen Farrell.
Referee Luke Pearce was quickly on the scene, and wasn't falling for Rodd's antics as he quickly intervened, "up you get" in a displeased tone.
Before Pearce could finish dealing with the incident, the ref mic picked up comments made by Farrell as he ran towards Rodd to berate him for his theatrics. The former England Captain stormed towards the scene and had some harsh words for the youngster:
You soft p***k.
That's pathetic Bevan, pathetic.
You diving git!
Pierce tried to calm the situation down by insisting he was 'dealing with it', as he tried to steer Farrell away from confrontation. Sale and England Hooker Luke Cowan Dickie tried to clap back at the Saracens skipper, but Pierce was again on hand to deflate the situation.
With the sides separated, Pierce called Rodd aside, clearly unimpressed with his behaviour:
Bevan, I know he nudged you, but I'm not sure it needed a Lionel Messi dive, okay
"You soft pr**k" - Owen Farrell took Bevan Rodd's dive well! 🤣 pic.twitter.com/LoGHQmIQHt
— Jared Wright (@jaredwright17) May 19, 2024
Former England Fly-Half Andy Goode quickly took to X, formerly Twitter, to condemn Rodd for his antics, labelling the dive 'seriously pathetic', whilst he also believes that there is too much 'gamesmanship' in rugby at the minute.
Bevan Rodd absolutely embarrassing himself with a dive from a slight push there, seriously pathetic. There’s too much gamesmanship in the game at the minute trying to get players carded
— Andy Goode (@AndyGoode10) May 18, 2024
Others on X were quick to praise Farrell for calling out Rodd's theatrics:
Can’t believe I’m going to says this, ‘Well done Mr Farrell.’
— RVB (@redvalleyboy) May 19, 2024
Owen is 100% correct.
— Sportbilly (@sportbillysays) May 19, 2024
Others have questioned Pearce's football knowledge after he described Rodd's flop as a 'Lionel Messi Dive', with many arguing that the Argentinian does not dive, and that the likes of Neymar might be a more fitting comparison.
Seem nit-picky but Messi is hardly a renowned diver. Neymar would’ve been better 🤷🏼♂️
— jøshuâ mârchânt (@JoshuaMarchant) May 19, 2024
Sale beat Saracens by a comfortable 10-point margin thanks to tries scored by Tom Roebuck and Jean-Luc du Preez, with George Forde converting both scores, alongside two penalty kicks.
Saracens were far from their best yesterday afternoon, as they mustered just one try, scored by substitute Marco Riccioni in the 65th minute. A conversion and a penalty from the aforementioned Farrell put some gloss on the scoreboard in what was a poor outing from Saracens.
Was Farrell rightfully angry at Bevan Rodd's dive? And should the prop have been penalised?
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