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Brian Moore's on-air 'bulimia' comment triggers storm on Twitter

Credit: David Rogers/Allsport

BBC commentator Brian Moore has upset a great deal of people on Twitter after light-heartedly questioning if an Irish player vomiting on the pitch was the result of ‘bulimia’.

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Ireland and France were fighting it out to challenge England for the Six Nations Championship in the final game of the elongated 2020 season.

Around the 20-minute mark cameras showed Irish loosehead Cian Healy vomiting on the pitch, possibly as the result of a head collision. Minutes later he would be removed for a HIA, which he ultimately passed.

While footage of Healy rolled, former England hooker Moore, who has carved out a career as an outspoken rugby pundit, columnist and commentator since his retirement in the 1990s, suggested the vomiting may have been the result of bulimia.

While clearly intended as a light-hearted comment, it was enough to trigger Twitter. “That was a stupid comment by Brian Moore. Disappointing,” wrote one poster.

“Brian Moore has just made a joke about bulimia live on BBC while commenting on #FRAvIRE. Disgraceful behaviour” wrote one outraged Tweeter.

“Please tell me the BBC Sport commentator did not just make a “bulimia” joke because Cian Healy was making himself sick on pitch?” said another.

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There were many more in that vein.

https://twitter.com/IssieAtch/status/1322637284999680002

https://twitter.com/Badger29659331/status/1322648082224467970

Recently former England cricketer Freddy Flintoff revealed that he had secretly battled bulimia during his career as a professional cricketer.

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Bulimia is described as an emotional disorder characterized by a distorted body image and an obsessive desire to lose weight, in which bouts of extreme overeating are followed by fasting or self-induced vomiting or purging.

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Jon 23 hours ago
Why Sam Cane's path to retirement is perfect for him and the All Blacks

> It would be best described as an elegant solution to what was potentially going to be a significant problem for new All Blacks coach Scott Robertson. It is a problem the mad population of New Zealand will have to cope with more and more as All Blacks are able to continue their careers in NZ post RWCs. It will not be a problem for coaches, who are always going to start a campaign with the captain for the next WC in mind. > Cane, despite his warrior spirit, his undoubted commitment to every team he played for and unforgettable heroics against Ireland in last year’s World Cup quarter-final, was never unanimously admired or respected within New Zealand while he was in the role. Neither was McCaw, he was considered far too passive a captain and then out of form until his last world cup where everyone opinions changed, just like they would have if Cane had won the WC. > It was never easy to see where Cane, or even if, he would fit into Robertson’s squad given the new coach will want to be building a new-look team with 2027 in mind. > Cane will win his selections on merit and come the end of the year, he’ll sign off, he hopes, with 100 caps and maybe even, at last, universal public appreciation for what was a special career. No, he won’t. Those returning from Japan have already earned the right to retain their jersey, it’s in their contract. Cane would have been playing against England if he was ready, and found it very hard to keep his place. Perform, and they keep it however. Very easy to see where Cane could have fit, very hard to see how he could have accomplished it choosing this year as his sabbatical instead of 2025, and that’s how it played out (though I assume we now know what when NZR said they were allowing him to move his sabbatical forward and return to NZ next year, they had actually agreed to simply select him for the All Blacks from overseas, without any chance he was going to play in NZ again). With a mammoth season of 15 All Black games they might as well get some value out of his years contract, though even with him being of equal character to Richie, I don’t think they should guarantee him his 100 caps. That’s not what the All Blacks should be about. He absolutely has to play winning football.

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