Sheedy surprised as header goes viral
BBC Sport
BBC Sport
Original Source
Cardiff fly-half Callum Sheedy was surprised when his deliberately-headed pass during the Welsh side's 21-15 victory over Scarlets went viral on social media, accumulating over 800,000 views. The unconventional play sparked debate among fans and former referees about whether heading the ball intentionally is legal under rugby union laws.
Cardiff fly-half Callum Sheedy says he did not realise his "header" against Scarlets in the United Rugby Championship (URC) game would go viral.
Sheedy headed the ball forward after chasing his own kick in the second half of the 21-15 victory against Scarlets on Saturday night.
The clip has had more than 800,000 hits across social media.
"I probably wasn't thinking at the time, that was the problem," said Sheedy.
"I remember the ball sitting up, and I could see Blair [Murray] coming towards me, and I thought it was going be an aerial contest.
"I thought there needed to be a way of me getting the ball past him, and there wasn't enough time to get it down to my foot, so the nearest body part was my head.
"It all happened so fast."
Sheedy said he was unaware of the appeal of the clip.
"I had a laugh, looking back at the video and the boys give me a bit of stick," said Sheedy.
"I didn't think of it at the time. After the game, I'd gone on my phone and my Instagram had blown up a bit. I'm glad people are enjoying it."
Sheedy says he was unsure whether using his head was allowed in rugby's laws, with former World Cup final referee Nigel Owens taking to social media this week stating he thought it was illegal if it was deliberate.
"I think it's a split 50-50 among the public," said Sheedy.
"I always thought it was legal, but enough people are telling me it's illegal, but who knows?
"Until the next person that does it, we'll never know."
Sheedy's exploits evoke memories of another former Cardiff maverick fly-half Mark Ring.
"I am waiting for Ringo [Mark Ring] to text me and I expect him to," said Sheedy.
"It would have been something he would have done."
Sheedy played his part in the victory in Llanelli before being replaced in the second half by Jarrod Evans, who has returned to Cardiff from Harlequins this season.
With Ioan Lloyd, who is currently injured, also in the Cardiff ranks, head coach Corniel van Zyl has three Wales fly-halves to call on.
"All I can do as a player is try my best and perform the best I can," said Sheedy.
"We all want to be number one, so how we go about that is going to be challenging because we're all going to want to play.
"I'm sure it'll be healthy competition."
Cardiff return to the Arms Park to face Zebre on Friday night, where they lost only one home game last season.
"It does make a big difference," said Sheedy.
"Hopefully we get a big crowd because I remember last season there were a lot of close games, and in the last 10 minutes, the crowd got us over the line.
"Corniel speaks a lot about making the Arms Park a fortress and we managed that last season."
Sheedy headed the ball forward after chasing his own kick in the second half of the 21-15 victory against Scarlets on Saturday night.
The clip has had more than 800,000 hits across social media.
"I probably wasn't thinking at the time, that was the problem," said Sheedy.
"I remember the ball sitting up, and I could see Blair [Murray] coming towards me, and I thought it was going be an aerial contest.
"I thought there needed to be a way of me getting the ball past him, and there wasn't enough time to get it down to my foot, so the nearest body part was my head.
"It all happened so fast."
Sheedy said he was unaware of the appeal of the clip.
"I had a laugh, looking back at the video and the boys give me a bit of stick," said Sheedy.
"I didn't think of it at the time. After the game, I'd gone on my phone and my Instagram had blown up a bit. I'm glad people are enjoying it."
Sheedy says he was unsure whether using his head was allowed in rugby's laws, with former World Cup final referee Nigel Owens taking to social media this week stating he thought it was illegal if it was deliberate.
"I think it's a split 50-50 among the public," said Sheedy.
"I always thought it was legal, but enough people are telling me it's illegal, but who knows?
"Until the next person that does it, we'll never know."
Sheedy's exploits evoke memories of another former Cardiff maverick fly-half Mark Ring.
"I am waiting for Ringo [Mark Ring] to text me and I expect him to," said Sheedy.
"It would have been something he would have done."
Sheedy played his part in the victory in Llanelli before being replaced in the second half by Jarrod Evans, who has returned to Cardiff from Harlequins this season.
With Ioan Lloyd, who is currently injured, also in the Cardiff ranks, head coach Corniel van Zyl has three Wales fly-halves to call on.
"All I can do as a player is try my best and perform the best I can," said Sheedy.
"We all want to be number one, so how we go about that is going to be challenging because we're all going to want to play.
"I'm sure it'll be healthy competition."
Cardiff return to the Arms Park to face Zebre on Friday night, where they lost only one home game last season.
"It does make a big difference," said Sheedy.
"Hopefully we get a big crowd because I remember last season there were a lot of close games, and in the last 10 minutes, the crowd got us over the line.
"Corniel speaks a lot about making the Arms Park a fortress and we managed that last season."
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Source: BBC Sport
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