The Current State of Rugby
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@sparky said in The Current State of Rugby:
Big problem for me is how slow the game has become. Too many breaks and stoppages. Too much emphasis on power, not enough on fitness and agility.
Yeah this. Rugby should be a fluid game but it's far from it. It should be for every shape and size but it's not.
You could fix it with a revolution. But that ain't happening.
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@sparky said in The Current State of Rugby:
Big problem for me is how slow the game has become. Too many breaks and stoppages. Too much emphasis on power, not enough on fitness and agility.
Except the ball in play time has gone up considerably. It's not too many breaks, it is how long they take. There used to be many more set pieces, but each one would be sorted fast. Now there are much less, but each one takes ages. Makes it feel like it's slower, when it's not. I guess you can say that clock stopped time has increased a lot, too
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@Machpants and that's the stat I would love to see. Not per 80 mins. But siren to siren. Game takes for fucking ever.
Thr Japanese tighthead was "injured" twice just as we were getting on top. But neither injury slowed him down when the whistle went
Player welfare is being exploited for team gain and no one really cares
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@mariner4life said in The Current State of Rugby:
@Machpants and that's the stat I would love to see. Not per 80 mins. But siren to siren. Game takes for fucking ever.
Thr Japanese tighthead was "injured" twice just as we were getting on top. But neither injury slowed him down when the whistle went
Player welfare is being exploited for team gain and no one really cares
Could borrow the rule from soccer and say if a trainer comes onto the field for a player that player has to come off until the next stoppage (next stoppage might be a bit tough, but that could be tinkered with).
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It's a scrum
We need that guy
I'm on the lineout spot. But if you move me it will injure me further
No chance a ref can police
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@Crucial said in The Current State of Rugby:
Isn’t that the point though? A game based and ruled on power over skill has become very boring
You only have to trawl these boards for discussion on the 12 slot to see a pretty standard view that "Big and Powerful" trumps skill every time - and I think it's fair to say the average Fern contributor is probably more knowledgeable about the game than most.
"Be careful what you wish for as you might actually get it"
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Generally agree with much on this thread and agree there's a fair bit wrong which needs to be fixed, but here's a positive thought:
There were 65,000 mainly Japanese supporters to watch the Japan-AB game yesterday providing an atmosphere which was uniquely polite while still being passionate. The All Blacks didn't play well, but that was a pretty damn good game to watch with plenty of skills and tense rugby on display and a great advert for the game.
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@Victor-Meldrew said in The Current State of Rugby:
Generally agree with much on this thread and agree there's a fair bit wrong which needs to be fixed, but here's a positive thought:
There were 65,000 mainly Japanese supporters to watch the Japan-AB game yesterday providing an atmosphere which was uniquely polite while still being passionate. The All Blacks didn't play well, but that was a pretty damn good game to watch with plenty of skills and tense rugby on display and a great advert for the game.
This
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Said it before but these athletes ar bigger, faster and stronger and consequently the field has become compressed. That's why there is less space and the game is a grind. Is probably why support play and chancing the off load is so popular because fractions of seconds could be an opportunity. Maybe 13 players is the option or a bigger field.
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@Victor-Meldrew Japan hold the record for largest in country TV audience for a rugby match. They should be in the Rugby Championship with us, would be a great addition. Just the season issues again.
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@Victor-Meldrew said in The Current State of Rugby:
discussion on the 12 slot to see a pretty standard view that "Big and Powerful" trumps skill every time
The argument is that there should be a trade off. Pick big and strong, but run the risk that they run out of puff and become a liability.
To change the balance you have to shift the have
Limit reserves, reduce stoppage time, reward players who can go 80. Then you'll get lighter faster players competitive again. -
@nzzp said in The Current State of Rugby:
The argument is that there should be a trade off. Pick big and strong, but run the risk that they run out of puff and become a liability.
Unless your surname is Nonu...
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@nzzp said in The Current State of Rugby:
@Victor-Meldrew Japan hold the record for largest in country TV audience for a rugby match.
Wow. I didn't know that. Impressive.
They should be in the Rugby Championship with us, would be a great addition. Just the season issues again.
Needs fixing. Just like Georgia & the 6N's needs a solution.
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@nzzp said in The Current State of Rugby:
@Victor-Meldrew Japan hold the record for largest in country TV audience for a rugby match. They should be in the Rugby Championship with us, would be a great addition. Just the season issues again.
Would love it, and we could just play each other once! Keep it fresh and interesting, look at maybe Fiji in future.
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For a scrum, standard rules apply, if it's a front rower you have to bring on another prop and pull a loosie.
The idea is that the stoppage still happens but once they're good enough to continue they leave the field. There's nothing to police, it's a objective standard. Trainer on the field? Off to the next stoppage. Only exception is if you sub the player off, the replacement can come straight on (or if they go for an HIA, blood bin etc).
The idea isn't that the ref somehow prevents.it, it's that the consequences are significant enough that you never do it for tactical reasons.
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@Victor-Meldrew said in The Current State of Rugby:
Generally agree with much on this thread and agree there's a fair bit wrong which needs to be fixed, but here's a positive thought:
There were 65,000 mainly Japanese supporters to watch the Japan-AB game yesterday providing an atmosphere which was uniquely polite while still being passionate. The All Blacks didn't play well, but that was a pretty damn good game to watch with plenty of skills and tense rugby on display and a great advert for the game.
I think that's more because it was the AB's in town to be fair. And the Japanese folk have a few quid, and are still in the post RWC coital glow.
At the end of the day it's essentially still a team with a couple of poaches who are admittedly doing better than we all imagined.
Gerhard Van der Heever on the bench. For crying out loud. How sterile. How fake. What has the game become. Do the ends just justify the means for everyone now?
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This is the Rugby I used to enjoy. Jeopardy on both sides. Either team could have scored in this passage. Forwards were strong, backs were fast. When the ball went wide it was on.
Notice how not one player or commentator complained when Marty Holah arrowed Dawson into the turf like a sack of garbage.
Good times.
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@Steve said in The Current State of Rugby:
This is the Rugby I used to enjoy. Jeopardy on both sides. Either team could have scored in this passage. Forwards were strong, backs were fast. When the ball went wide it was on.
Notice how not one player or commentator complained when Marty Holah arrowed Dawson into the turf like a sack of garbage.
Good times.
Holah would be red carded today no question.
I think the most amazing thing of all is Mike Tindalls flowing tresses on display.
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@MN5 said in The Current State of Rugby:
@Steve said in The Current State of Rugby:
This is the Rugby I used to enjoy. Jeopardy on both sides. Either team could have scored in this passage. Forwards were strong, backs were fast. When the ball went wide it was on.
Notice how not one player or commentator complained when Marty Holah arrowed Dawson into the turf like a sack of garbage.
Good times.
Holah would be red carded today no question.
I think the most amazing thing of all is Mike Tindalls flowing tresses on display.
Post O'Driscoll and Alastair Campbell we shat the bed with foul play. I was upended like that many times in my playing days and never once complained. I was fond of dishing out the odd dump/spear tackle myself too.
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@MN5 said in The Current State of Rugby:
@Steve said in The Current State of Rugby:
This is the Rugby I used to enjoy. Jeopardy on both sides. Either team could have scored in this passage. Forwards were strong, backs were fast. When the ball went wide it was on.
Notice how not one player or commentator complained when Marty Holah arrowed Dawson into the turf like a sack of garbage.
Good times.
Holah would be red carded today no question.
I think the most amazing thing of all is Mike Tindalls flowing tresses on display.
If Umaga dropped his intercept he would get 10 minutes in the bin too.
I always laugh when I hear the ref say " you were not in a realistic position to make the intercept" . If he can touch it. then he is in a realistic position to intercept it. Look how far it travelled from Umagas finger tips before he regathers. Let the game flow for fuck sake.
