Is the author of that a pretend Irishman with a southern accent ?
Anyway,seems the most discussed and dissed player on the planet,and others,didn't have to break out.
rlIT WAS IN THEIR OWN HOTEL !rl

Bizarrerer and bizarrerer.Honesty.Unrelentlessly.The more a picture emerges the more strange it gets.
Don't suppose the best ever prepared 'group' of rugby league players could have allowed Gareth Hock a delayed swim and a medical a couple of hours later than planned and given a different punishment ? Nah.That would be too sensible.

I might be wrong,but don't players usually share a room? In which case, why didn't his roomy give him a nudge and say, come on Gaz , get up! What time was this swim anyway?

SHH

You may be gtting too close to what happened.

Look, fellow clique members ( ), we are going to attract trolling for weeks now. Chase (as hated by many VT posters as Hock) will be another target of posts. One slip up, one loss of temper...

Sod em

Wasn't trolling. Just responded to some abuse sent my way.

Charming bunch.

If you don't like being compared to scousers don't behave like them.

Your tirade quoted my post, and there was nothing in it having a go at you, except for calling you self-righteous. Which is not much of an insult unless you're very very sensitive. The bell-endery bit was referring to future posts of a moronic nature not applicable to any one individual. Just thought I'd say.

I wonder if jumping-the-gun is a scouse trait...

I think Gareth Hock needed to be punished for drinking when there was a ban on drinking, and for missing the swim session and medical. I think the other drinkers need to be punished for breaking team "rules" too.

My issue is with the severity of the punishment.

In the selection of his team, and in the way he has dealt with an "incident" Steve McNamara seems to be cutting off his nose to spite his face. I would have liked to see Danny Brough in the squad as I believe him to be the most naturally talented English scrum half at the moment. I would have liked the punishments to have been internal and secret, without any information leaking out. In all honesty, I don't see anything wrong with players having a drink or two after a match. I do see something wrong with them getting stupidly drunk, and I do think there should be a drinks ban in the three or four days before a match. It's difficult without knowing the full facts, but Steve McNamara does not seem to have thought through his response - which perhaps led to his actions at the latest Press Conference.

I do worry about team spirit and relations between the players and the management.

A few months ago I thought we could do well in this World Cup. Now I'm not too sure. I hope we can raise our game tomorrow and sneak a win, but I won't be holding my breath.

FFS.

I can't wait to see Hock in a Salford jersey as he is as destructive as many will have ever seen wearing red, he is also as disruptive as he is destructive.

Don't think anyone regardless of which team they support will deny he's a bit of a tool who should after all his previous errors have learnt his lesson by now, but he hasn't and do any of us think he ever will?

I'll be happy next season if he only gets in moderate trouble and creates more trouble than he brings upon himself.

Hock = cock but he equals talent and as many know quite often great talent results in an inability to cope with it which I suspect is his case.

Oh how appropriate the branding on the north stand will be for some of the visitors we have suffered in recent weeks and month's.
I guess Sale knew what they were doing putting all that Bell branding on the away fans stand.
Now all we need is to pick from the many of the bells that have been on here to be inducted in the
Bell end hall of fame.

Steve McNamara has just walked out of his pre match press conference because he didn't like the questions he was being asked. So after the Italy defeat, the poor way he dealt with Gareth Hock and now this, does Burtons Forearm still want to tell me that McNamara is a professional coach who knows what he is doing?

He looked like a man under serious stress and pressure which considering he is coach of only the third favourite team in the tournament appears odd.

I'm thinking Glen Hoddle and his Karma period.

How not too handle things 101. www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-league/24675754 I'll eat my hat if he is still England coach when he opens the first door on his advent calendar. Said it the other day and I'll say it again wouldn't surprise me one bit if he didn't survive through the tournament.

How not too handle things 101. www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-league/24675754 I'll eat my hat if he is still England coach when he opens the first door on his advent calendar. Said it the other day and I'll say it again wouldn't surprise me one bit if he didn't survive through the tournament.

My fear is that Hock is being rolled out as the Catalyst of destruction in the England Set up .
From some of the posts on this thread to Nigel Wiskar's ridiculous rant in the Mirror "Once again Hock has let down himself, his teammates, his coach, the sport's fans and the game in general."
Surprised he didn't Add he'd let down Jesus , Budda And World Peace .

What happen to perspective ?
He didn't bite anyones ear /arm / willy , thump anyone, he was silly & had a drink.

The over riding impression I'm getting is the England set up is a shambles , the way the incident's been handled a shambles. I fully expect that shambles to continue . and If people think that Hock's fault , they need their heads examining , not Gareths.

Deary me. McNamara looks like someone who knows they're teetering on the edge of doom. In his case, redundancy.

Good points MM. I've thought similar myself.

I can't help wondering why , when all the squad are waiting around the swimming pool, why didn't at least one of his team mates say " Wheres Gaz, someone go and get him "or make an excuse for him ( as in , he's not feeling well Boss, he'll be down soon)