Carling details battles with RFU
Posted: Tuesday September 29, 1998 11:23 AM
| |
Carling claims he has always had a problem with authority Chris Cole/Allsport |
LONDON (Reuters) -- Former England captain Will Carling, again in the headlines for all the wrong reasons, detailed Tuesday his running battle with Rugby Football Union (RFU) chiefs during his eight years in charge.
Carling has been dubbed a "love rat" by Britain's tabloid newspapers for deserting his fiancée and 11-month-old child for the wife of a former teammate.
He has also been criticized for organizing a testimonial match for himself later this year.
In an extract from his autobiography, published in the Daily Mail, Carling details three incidents in which he nearly punched an administrator.
"On one occasion, a little the worse for wear after an international against Ireland in Dublin, I grabbed a senior administrator by the throat, threatening to punch his lights out, but was eventually pulled off and restrained by Rob Andrew," he said.
Carling, who was sacked then reinstated after a players' revolt in 1995 for insulting the RFU committee, said he had always had a problem with authority.
"The run-ins were bitter and many. I had blazing rows with many RFU committee members, especially Dudley Wood, the then RFU secretary," he said.
"There was never a sense of give-and-take with certain RFU officials. They were dismissive of the players as a body, scared witless of player power."
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
| 
