‘I took the easy way out’: James Tamou apologises for outburst at referee

A shaken James Tamou has claimed he “took the easy way out” after being sent off for an objection in the closing stages of the Wests Tigers’ record 72-6 loss to the Sydney Roosters.

The captain had a running fight with referee Ben Cummins in the closing minutes of the one-sided affair. Initially, Tamou was slammed into sin for abusing the officer before taking offense at the veteran’s continued verbal abuse and giving him his marching orders.

James Tamou apologizes to the referee for his outburst

“First of all, I apologize for my actions towards Ben Cummins,” a remorseful Tamou said after the game.

“You are doing a great job. It was obviously not addressed to him. The frustration got the best of me and the emotions got the better of me.”

Tamou had to forget a minute as he dropped the ball on the Roosters’ goal line and then threw it at Terrell May as he got up.

A discussion between Tamou and Cummins then resulted in a penalty for the Roosters, with the referee citing the Tigers’ captain’s disagreement as the reason.

How was Tamou sent off by the referee?

The Chooks stepped into contact and launched their attack as they had done for most of the game. But a mistake by Angus Crichton from the dummy half had seemingly turned the ball straight back to the Tigers.

However, Cummins thought differently when he meant the ball had traveled backwards. Tamou was outraged by the decision and could be seen yelling at the official while finishing a tackle.

The referee missed another penalty on Tamou, sending him for 10 just for him to continue his tirade.

“You’re bloody incompetent,” he could be heard saying on the show.

The two then engaged in another heated chat until Tamou finally left the field after upgrading his scapegoat to a farewell.

“My actions towards the shirt, the club and the players were unacceptable,” said the captain.

“I probably chose the easy way. Instead of shaking their hands and looking them in the eye, I chose the easy way.”

During a raw post-game press conference, Tamou also struggled with how his actions would affect not only himself but his family as well.

“I have to wear that all week now – the criticism,” he said.

“I have four children at home so they will see how their father behaves.

“I let everyone down. I’ve let myself down and I’m embarrassed. I let a lot of people down.”

Will James Tamou play in the NRL again?

The most recent example of a player swearing at a referee was when Melbourne Storm star Brandon Smith was handed a four-game suspension earlier this year.

The prospect of a similar suspension didn’t come true for Tamou until after the game.

“I didn’t actually think of it until someone kind of mentioned it,” he said.

“My heart kind of sank. My heart has dropped. But again, I have to be accountable for my actions.”

With just two games left of the season, a suspension would potentially mean this was the last game of Tamou’s NRL career.

The respected striker recently played his 300th game and has one Premiership win on his impressive record, which also includes representative appearances for Australia and New South Wales.

“That would be a tough road,” Tamou admitted.

“I gave this game my all and no matter how many games you play, it’s one of those games where you can’t walk around and think you’ve got it all because you’re lagging behind.

“It would be great to go around again, but I’m a bit of a pessimist. When the time comes when I have to hang up my boots, I’ll be a realist and go out and find another job.”