David Leggat: Perhaps there's a dose of tackled ball envy at work

The other day an Italian soccer player scored a goal with his hand.

No big deal you'd think. Happens every other day.

But then Daniele de Rossi, tipped as one of the bright young talents in the European game, did something extraordinary. It hasn't got as much media mileage as it should have, which maybe tells you something about priorities.

De Rossi turned to the referee and indicated he'd scored illegally. The goal was ruled out. The reaction of his teammates was not reported. Perhaps fortunately for the 22-year-old, his team Roma still won.

And where's all this leading? Richie McCaw of course.

All the huff and puff of recent days concerning McCaw's machinations on behalf of his champion Super 14 team disguise one of the basic tenets of professional sporting life: the idea is to win the game and do whatever it takes, within fairly loose guidelines, to achieve it. Like it or lump it, that's the end of story.

The De Rossis of the world are remarkably few and far between.

Think of the cricketer who knows he's edged a catch to the wicketkeeper and stands his ground. Or the rugby player who knows the ball has brushed his arm on the way over the touchline, undetected by the touch judge. Or the tennis player who knows an opponent's ball is in when it's been called out. Or the league player who lingers over the tackled player to give his teammates time to get into defensive alignment. And so on.

Corinthian principles have never sat easily in professional sport.

There seems to have been a stadium full of hot air expounded on the rights and wrongs of the world's finest No 7's work on behalf of the Crusaders, when in reality it's a desperately simple situation.

Of course McCaw bullies the lawbook at the breakdown. He does it in every game he plays, for whichever team he's serving.

He's working to gain an edge. As do thousands of other sportsmen and women round the world every day. Some days the breaks go your way, some days they don't. You shrug and move on.

In their own way, every rugby forward bends the rules at the various points of a game which affect them most. That's the way it works.

What's the fuss about? Beats me. Perhaps there's a dose of tackled ball envy at work here.

McCaw does no more or less than other rugby players round the planet. Certainly he does it better than just about anyone else and perhaps his standing in the game helps him get the odd decision go his way that might not a merely average opensider. That's always been the way.

There has been a fair dose of skirting about precisely what McCaw's crimes are. Why? All he's really doing is his team's bidding, and in his own forceful way, doing it better than anyone in the competition.

How is McCaw's breakdown work any different from the prop constantly seeking to pull down the scrum; the halfback slipping the ball closer to his hooker's feet than the dead centre; the off-the-ball argy bargy at the lineouts. They're all pushing the envelope. What will the referee let us get away with today?

And inevitably, when he pulls on the black jersey in June, he's "our Richie" as opposed to "that &%$ @ McCaw" during the Super 14.

Certainly the Hurricanes appeared not to appreciate McCaw's workmanship last weekend.

There were the unedifying sights of Neemia Tialata, McCaw's All Black teammate four months ago, trying to squash his neck into the Cake Tin turf; and another All Black, Jerry Collins, deliberately bouncing a ball off his head as another ruck broke up.

They were actions which smelt strongly of a team knowing they were not going to win a match, no matter what they tried, recognising McCaw's part in their downfall and being too immature to handle it.

And finally a thought from Britain's Independent columnist Dominic Lawson:

"International rugby players and cricketers, with as much at stake as their footballing equivalents, never question the decisions of referees and umpires."

Yeah, right.