The Conversation (0)
Harry Fletcher
Jun 30, 2022
Nadine Dorries says she doesn't 'fancy' Boris Johnson
LBC
Ask any rugby fan, and they’ll tell you that the difference between rugby league and rugby union is absolutely massive.
They’re completely different sports, in fact, and it would be pretty embarrassing for anyone to confuse the two – especially if, say, they were Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
But that hasn’t stopped Nadine Dorries from putting her foot in it for what feels like the 1,000th time in the past few weeks.
Dorries was appearing at a Rugby League World Cup event in St Helens on Thursday when she made a blunder sure to make sports fans wince up and down the country.
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Dorries addressed the crowd and said: “I’ve always quite liked the idea of rugby league.”
\u201cAUDIO of gaffe by Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries during speech at a Rugby League World Cup social impact event in St Helens earlier. \n\u201cI\u2019ve always quite liked the idea of rugby league - my long-standing memory is that 2003 drop-goal\u2026 Wow, what a moment that was.\u201d Listen \ud83d\udc47\u201d— Dan Roan (@Dan Roan) 1656596488
Nothing remarkable there, but she then went on to reference the moment Johnny Wilkinson won the 2003 world cup for England with a drop goal in the closing stages – which was in fact rugby union and not rugby league.
“My long-standing memory is that 2003 drop-goal. I’ll let you into a secret. I think we were drinking Bloody Marys at the time… it was 11 o’clock in the morning,” she said.
“But wow. What a moment that was. But from my limited watching - I’m not going to say I’m an expert who watches it all the time - I’ve heard rugby league is a physical and sometimes brutal sport and it often ends up in a scrum which actually reminds me very much of politics.”
In St Helens, one of the heartlands of the rugby league world, mixing up the rugby codes didn’t go down all that well – and the internet was quick to react too.
\u201cAt a Rugby League World Cup press conference today.\nNadine Dorries, sec of state for sport, is special guest.\n\u201cI\u2019ve always liked the idea of rugby league. That drop goal in 2003 was such a special moment.\u201d\nThat drop goal was actually in the Rugby Union World Cup.\u201d— Chris Hall (@Chris Hall) 1656592898
\u201cIn fairness to Nadine Dorries, I'm sure lots of drop-goals were scored in rugby league in the year 2003. And I'm sure no-one is now furiously trying to unearth a famous example...\u201d— Ben Rumsby (@Ben Rumsby) 1656595759
\u201cNadine Dorries, as she frequently reminds us, is from the north west, where rugby league is/was covered extensively on local tv/radio. She\u2019s also Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport of the United Kingdom and doesn\u2019t know there\u2019s two types of rugby.\u201d— John Brewin (@John Brewin) 1656598754
\u201cold Nadine Dorries: why can't the BBC be Netflix\n\nnew Nadine Dorries: why can't Rugby League be Rugby Union\u201d— Henry Mance (@Henry Mance) 1656597128
\u201cWhat word can follow the words civil, trades, and rugby to form concepts misunderstood by Nadine Dorries?\u201d— Paul Sinha (@Paul Sinha) 1656598657
\u201cNot being a rugby fan, I had to look this up - Nadine Dorries is talking about a previous Rugby Union World Cup, at an event for the Rugby League World Cup \ud83e\udd26\ud83c\udffb\u200d\u2640\ufe0f\u201d— Kay \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\u26a7\ufe0f\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 (@Kay \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\u26a7\ufe0f\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08) 1656599267
\u201c\u201c\u2026comical\u2026a little bit disrespectful to the [rugby] codes\u2026there\u2019s a big difference in the codes\u201d\n\nBilly Vaughan, Vice Chair of @PorticoVineRLFC - a beneficiary of the @RLWC2021 social impact programme - tells me what he thinks of Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries\u2019 gaffe here\u201d— Dan Roan (@Dan Roan) 1656599380
Dorries also posted about the mix-up on Twitter, referencing Jason Robinson who represented the England national teams in both union and league.
\u201cLike Jason Robinson I may have switched codes in my speech... Both league & union have a rich heritage in the UK. Obviously I've followed rugby league much less in my lifetime, but I'm looking forward to watching England (& all the home nations) in the RL World Cup this Autumn\u201d— Nadine Dorries (@Nadine Dorries) 1656597739
“Like Jason Robinson I may have switched codes in my speech... Both league & union have a rich heritage in the UK. Obviously I've followed rugby league much less in my lifetime, but I'm looking forward to watching England (& all the home nations) in the RL World Cup this Autumn.”
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