Nice bit of writing that Andy but on closer scrutiny, I?m not sure your argument holds up entirely. Yes, we do definitely have a dignified manager; and yes, we don?t have any hatchet man in the team. But hang on a sec ? it?s only 5 minutes since Duncan Ferguson hung up his boots and he could be a bit thuggish to say the least.

And there again, is it really manly to go to ground looking for fouls at the slightest contact? Yakubu, Anichebe, Osman, Pienaar anybody?

I agree that we do seem to have proper respect for referees and that we don?t have any real nasty characters in the team but, Rooney and Ronaldo apart, I think you?ll find Man Utd?s disciplinary record isn?t that bad actually.

Agree on the managers though. Moyes is a man of integrity and he compares very favourably with the grumpy, ungracious bloke 25 miles down the M62.

If Rooney gets a 3 match ban, he as well as Scholes will miss the semi. I will take all the help we can get, because it's been a cruel season so far (on the injury front) for us.

Thuggery is one thing we don't need on the pitch but, when Tim Cahill is missing from the team, we have a soft underbelly ? as was witnessed at Pompey yesterday, where we got bullied all over the pitch. Apart from Neville, Lescott and Baines who had a go, we caved in.

Personally, I would welcome more aggression from our players... whatever your view on Rooney, he wears his heart on his sleeve and hates to lose. Too many of our players yesterday didn't give a shite what the result was and settled for second best.

Neil,
That would ruin my dream of us winning with a 90th minute Rooney own goal.

Well played to the Irish, but this is an age old discussion. Rugby players are educated. Footballers? Well take Rooney as an example. Love both sports and two things are true ? the ref?s are better (despite having a plethora of rules to administer) and the players more honest in rugby. Football has gone the way of the Ronaldos of the world.

As a player of rugby and a follower of Everton, an old phrase comes to mind here...... Football is a gentleman?s game played by thugs, Rugby is a thug?s game played by gentlemen.

I enjoyed hearing of the Irish win in Cardiff, and even though my nation was bested by the enemy below, it was nice to see the greens lift the trophy for the first time in 60 years.

Well done Ireland.

I wonder how long Cristiano Ronaldo would last in a bonafide Rugby match? Just a thought.

It always infuriates me to see the way footballers in general react to refs. I have been playing rugby now for the best part of 20 years and have hardly ever seen any abuse given to refs. I am also a teacher and coach the Year 12/13 rugby team in my school, some of whom also play football for the school.

The difference between them when they play football is unbelievable ? shouting and swearing ? but when they play rugby, totally respectful. Professional football throws up less and less role models every year ? so let's salute the respectful players whoever they play for.

And well done Ireland ? although I am still gutted that you have taken our title. See you next season.

Joeynkoo - Let?s take Phil Neville as an example.
And Gavin Henson. Educated, non educated ?

Rugby has its fair share of idiots but admittedly football has more.
Rugby refs only look better because they have more time, as the pace is a lot slower and decisions are far easier to make. They are normally within 5 to 10 yards of the offence. Also, most penalties are given away in the ruck so the ref is then only feet away.

The line judges are always up with play and therefore, also have the time to watch for any infringements. They also have the video ref. Whether rugby players are more honest is open to debate as well. A try is a try until the video ref says otherwise. And even then, England?s legal try was disallowed in the last World Cup Final!

The most important reason the rugby ref has complete control and respect, is due to the physical nature of the game. The ref has to be unquestionably in charge, otherwise games could, and on most occasions would, disintergrate into an all-out brawl. This is drummed into players from day one.< Mental and physical discipline.

The really good football refs do not need to be as dominant and usually have a lot of inter-action with the players. Yes, players dive or a make a meal of a tackle but they have for a long time. As one of my red cousins used to say-?Limpar should wear swimming trunks, he dives that much.? But that does not change the fact that football is still a tough, physical sport. Being allowed to use your feet to tackle can be very dangerous and is hence banned in rugby.

Chuffed to bits for O?Driscoll and the rest of the lads. Keep the faith Joeynkoo.
COYB

I don?t buy the whole educated/uneducated argument. It is a general over-simplification but, even if one accepted it were true, it does not account for the attitude of rugby league players. Almost all rugby league players are working class boys just like footballers, and the game is far more physical than football, often spilling over into a decent punch-up rather than the hangbags we see in football. In spite of this, only the captian is allowed to speak to referee and all players respect the ref. The alternative is that the team gets marched back 10 yards (in a game where territory is everything) or sin-binned.

I was watching a RL cup game last year when a player gave a ref a bit of verbal (nothing like the footballers) and he was sent to the sin-bin for 10 minutes. The ref actually said to him "this is rugby mate not football". The captain of the player sin-binned went berserk, but at his player ? not the ref. If football refs start giving out cards for this kind of behaviour it will stamp it out.

Andy,
Are you trying to get an article on Toffeeweb to celebrate Ireland’s Grand Slam achievement by disguising it as something to do with Everton.
Fair play to ye!

Fair comments Paul, and Im chuffed for O’Driscoll and the Irish too. Point being though, unless something drastic is introduced to football, the likes of Ronney and Ronaldo will carry on with their antics.

The worst 3 things in the game are the attitudes players have to the ref, diving and faking injury to slow the game down. There are easy ways to remedy this, but Man Ure games would always end early having had more than 4 sent off!

Hollier than thou eh!

All teams have players who will seek to manipulate the referee and behave in an undignified way. To suggest we are any different is an utter nonsense. I know it's sacrilege to criticise ones own players on here but catch a grip.

Yakubu, Victor and Jo are all divers, and Cahill is one of the most manipulative players I have ever seen.

They?re Everton Players... not saints.

Fair enough, Ciaran, we?ve got a few divers. I stand by my point though that our players have more respect for referees than any of the Sky four. We have no-one with the bitterness of Rooney. I would also suggest that we have no-one who will deliberately injure an opponent.

At the end of the day it?s a contact sport and there will always be unsavoury characters... Norman "break your legs" Hunter... Dave McKay......etc. But the one trend that unfortunately seems to be growing is the petulance and arragance of people like Rooney, Ronaldo, Gerrard and Carragher who, as well as playing the game the way they want to, also think they should make the refereeing decisions.

That is something that would not be tolerated in any other sport but regrettably in football some referees are either in awe or in bed with the top teams and players.

It needs improved regulation by the FA and making this nonsensical 4th official role more of a judgement call by independent appraisers.

Magic that Ireland won the slam without being outstanding as they did deserve it after some terrible luck when getting near to the holy grail over the last 20 years, superb. Tenuous link but thats fine. And yes, footy could learn a great deal from rugby on getting on with the game without berating the poor ald referee, but again, tenuous as it is a very different context.

The finest example of controlled agression and acknowledging the officials' decisons is American Football ? a highly disciplined and magnificently athletic game rugby has learned much from since the advent of professionalism. Dear me, if only our footballers were as graceful, respectful, dignified and ?professional? as those guys, we would have a very different, and better, game.

It's almost impossible to watch a European match now without wanting to chuck the telly through the window with the diving bollocks throughout the game colluded with by referees, managers, Fifa etc etc. The ?Peoples Game? is in a slow but irrevocable slide to oblivion; hopefully the self destruct doesn?t happen until we have we a league title win again ? the poor kids are getting desperate and deserve the feeling of success, just like the Irish lads.