"Rugby, a game for thugs played by gentlemen"...unfortunately Those certain few who support are not the latter.

 This has been an issue for quite some time. It raised its ugly head a few years back and  has continued to worm it's way into the lives of those who live for rugby, racial slurs, player abuse and booing have become the epicentre surrounding those who allegedly label themselves "real fans".  Professional rugby players are so called because they get paid to play rugby, at the end of the day it is their job, yet if they make a slip up people make it their business to harass, name call, abuse and annoy the player.

Put it into context, if you made an error in work you may get a small slap on the hand from the boss but you certainly don't have to put up with abuse from thousands of irate twitter trolls who think they'll get a reaction from calling someone a disgusting name.

One could argue that they are in limelight and shouldn't set up a Facebook or Twitter account if they don't want themselves open to such abuse, but they are normal people who do their job the same as everyone else, with sport there will always be highs and lows and that is the beauty of rugby, the unpredictability of it is what makes us sit on the edge of our seats in wonder and awe at how a game can have a complete turnover within the dying seconds of the ticking clock.

 A handling error by Jamie Heaslip in the dying seconds against Northampton certainly did not warrant a barrage of abuse, and in most circumstances, from his own "fans". The language used is not one to be repeated but calling someone "fat", "slow" and "useless" while you have your own derrière parked on your own couch is cowardly, if you think that about a player, why not address him face to face and have your say?

With the majority of people signed up to at least one social networking site, it is now easier to have access to a player than ever before and for some they see this as a safety net for their abuse. You would have to have been living underground this Summer not to have witnessed "BODgate" when Brian O'Driscoll was dropped by Lions coach Warren Gatland for the third test during the Lions Tour. Within seconds of this news hitting the fans, a media frenzy ensued; the storm in a teacup became well and truly stirred and blown out of proportion, with a whirlwind of abuse against both O'Driscoll and Gatland.

For some fans, they expressed their sadness for O'Driscoll because in their eyes they witnessed a legend at his lowest point but others took it that step further, abusive and racial comments were thrown about between nations, nations that were supposedly united as one were now fighting like teenage girls over who the best looking One Direction boy is, this didn't just include the fans, pundits had their fair share to say too.

Irish fans not only set upon Gatland with threats but also decided to have a go at Jonathan Davis by threatening to break his legs, an innocent bystander whose only crime was being given the number thirteen jersey. Welsh fans were not so innocent either, recently O'Driscoll made light of the fiasco in a tweet after Mirror Football had tweeted that he'd been sacked as manager of Bristol football club, Brian retorted with "Next thing I know I won't be playing for Wales against Australia this weekend!" Some saw the funny side of this as it was the same week that Ireland had lost to New Zealand and Brian picked fun at the fact that his week couldn't get any worse, it may have even been a jibe at the media, however for others though they saw this as a smart comment, it may well have been but it did not warrant one welsh fan tweeting O'Driscoll and calling him a "bitterc**t", a d**k and a c**k but when challenged by other twitter users, he retracted back into his shell saying he thought O'Driscoll was a legend. As individuals we are entitled to an opinion but hurtful language is not an opinion, it's abuse.

It is not just social networks were these plastic fans cultivate. The Leinster Vs Northampton Saints at the Aviva Stadium on the 14th December 2013 brought out the worst of them. One cannot accuse the Leinster fans for booing because a real Leinster fan stays quiet and respectful when the opposition's kicker is going for the posts, a real Leinster fan does not goad his/her own players while they fight for 80 minutes against a team who are hungry to save face and restore pride after a gruelling defeat the previous week, and a real Leinster fan does not abuse the referee, some calls may not have been the most appropriate but to win a match you must put that aside and up your game. These fans are quite literally "Event" fans, as in, they show up at bigger matches or finals and reap the rewards that Leinster give them and if Leinster lose they see it fit to throw abuse at players and management, after all, they didn't pay "€75 a ticket to watch a load of sh*te and should have stayed at home!" So why didn't you then?? Real fans pay up to and over €420 for a season ticket, they sit in the freezing cold clutching a hot cup of coffee screaming on the lads, they celebrate every try as if it were a cup final and they never leave before the final whistle. 

This has only touched the tip of the iceberg but for every Twitter troll or plastic fan out there, there are ten real fans who see a match day as a family day out, a chance to welcome visitors from other parts of the globe and show them hospitality, sport is there to be enjoyed, with the fans of both teams respecting each other and having respect for those who are putting their bodies on the line playing week in week out for their team, to put it simply by quoting a famous Welsh referee

"This is not soccer".