So Far So Good For Rugby Changes
The Reds changed their strategy for the Crusaders.
Everyone, it seems, has a view about the new law “interpretations” in rugby, and maybe it’s time for some healthy perspective on a change in emphasis that is producing positive results on the field.
Despite what critics say, it’s increasingly obvious that the Super 14 is heading in the right direction.
There is less kicking for position, more counter-attacking, fewer penalties, the ball is in play for longer and we’re seeing a more free-flowing game.
And, let’s face it, we’re still in the middle of the bedding-in period.
From what I’ve seen so far, we’re well on the road to a better game of rugby. The anecdotal evidence tells you it’s getting better each week.
Although people refer to new “interpretations”, the reality is it’s just the laws being applied correctly.
Players are being ruled more strictly in terms of staying onside on the kick-chase and, as a result, we’re seeing sides more willing to counter-attack and having the space do so.
This appears to have reduced the amount of aerial “ping-pong” that had become a blight on the game by the end of last year.
The scrum engagement has also seen a big improvement.
There is more consistency from refs – some are still too quick – but completion rates are up significantly.
Of course, the main focus has been the contentious tackle ball. The chief effect of the tighter rulings is less kicking as sides are more willing to chance their arms because they’ve got a much better chance of retaining possession. That’s a huge positive.
Not that it’s all being loaded in favour of attacking teams.
Notwithstanding that bizarre game in Jo’burg last week, well-organised defences are still able to exert an influence. And tries were up by only a couple on last year through the first few rounds. But we are getting a better game, the ball’s in play more, and we’re seeing sides able to keep hold of the ball and build pressure.
There are still plenty of penalties at the breakdown, but I reckon it will settle down with acknowledgement the second defender in needs to get a fair go.
We shouldn’t forget referees need time to adjust as well. At the moment they’re ruling it pretty harsh and there’s a tendency to blow quickly. But it’s a tough area, refs have got only a split-second to react and, like players, they make mistakes.
So what’s next?
Teams are already adjusting. Last year tacklers would try to get the ball-carrier on the ground and turn him. You do that now you get penalised. So tacklers are staying on their feet and keeping the ball-carrier up, so they’re not falling the “wrong way”.
Also tacklers, even when on the “right side”, often don’t attack the ball, but stay strong over it, exposing it for the next player arriving to have a crack at, or even blow over.
We’re also seeing a real change in some kicking games. The Crusaders last week employed a standard approach and got hurt on the counter-attack. With counter-attack fashionable again, the long kick can be a risky proposition.
The Reds kicked differently: they moved wide and kicked into space where they could compete for the ball.
In terms of the quality of rugby, you’ll always get exceptions but I feel we’re moving away from the mediocrity that has been too common in the past few years.
Courtesy of stuff.co.nz
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Super 14 Cops Northern Hemisphere Serve
Stephen Jones, that irrepressible British critic of southern hemisphere rugby, has predictably launched a scathing attack on the latest version of the Super 14, labelling it “tripe”, “sickly”, “a shambles” and “pap rugby”.
It was only a matter of time before Jones pointed his poisoned pen in the direction of the Super 14 with its new law interpretations. The 137-point fiasco in Johannesburg last weekend proved irresistible.
In his weekly “Rolling Maul” column for The Times, Jones labelled the match “a ghastly total of 18 tries against non-defending”.
“Let us not pretend that the followers of the Chiefs, or anyone else for that matter, will not feel sick if such tripe is served up for much longer in the Super 15,” wrote Jones, forgetting that the tournament is actually the Super 14 for another season before Melbourne joins next year.
“I’ve often written of the dangers of chasing the concept of entertainment in rugby. It made a complete joke of Super Rugby and it is in grave danger of doing so all over again,” Jones continued.
“It is living proof of the shambles that occurs when senior officials of struggling unions make the gross error to believe that endless sickly movements are the answer to their problems.
“By doing so, they put pressure on coaches and especially on referees. The biggest lie is that the pap rugby of last weekend was caused by a so-called crackdown by southern hemisphere referees on tackling.
“No doubt they were. But there was far more to it than that. Effectively, they abandoned any semblance of a fair contest for possession in any phases of the match and felt under pressure so that the attacking team were allowed to do so no matter what. They also feared that their paymasters would be on their backs if the game did not yield around 15 tries minimum.”
It’s hard to argue too much against Jones’ ramblings on a game that did evolve into a game of touch over the last quarter and almost single-handedly undid the promising displays of the previous weekend’s opening round
To his credit Jones did put things into perspective with a not-too-flattering view of the game in his own back yard.
He’s looking for some common ground between the approaches of the two hemispheres to give rugby a global approach that will provide a better product than is currently on display at either end of the spectrum.
With thanks to Stuff.co.nz
Rugby League’s Bad Boy, Booze Culture
- Wendall Sailor
The Australian Rugby Union over the past decade had flirted with the notion of approaching and acquiring Australian rugby league players, with a recipe of sprinkling a generous amount of money, adding water and creating an instant Wallaby, from an already-established rugby league superstar, producing the likes of Andrew Walker, Wendell Sailor, Lote Tuquri, and Matt Rogers.
The only problem with this short list of players, they came, they played, they misbehaved and then left. They swapped the 13-man game for the 15-man game, tanking the ‘Gold and Green’, only to fall from grace and run back to rugby league in disgrace.
Drugs, indiscretions and a general lack of desire to continue this version of the code had ended their rugby careers, dragging along the clean name rugby union had earned and forged in Australian sports.
Yet, some rugby league players have established themselves as worthy rugby union players and to this day, play with pride and respect, such as Berrick Barnes and Brad Thorn.
The attitude at ARU headquarters had notably changed over the past year however, since the last incident with Lote Tuquri ended in his contract terminated, and when the next potential instant rugby star, Jonathan Thurston was given the cold shoulder.
There have been media speculation this week that Thurston who set rugby league alight last year, would make himself available to join rugby union, with the player’s agent going on a fishing expedition to see if the ARU would be able to match the player’s set price tag.
Tthe recent messages shown by the ARU, who would normally provide a ‘top-up’, financially, to it’s super 14 teams for signing marquee players, signify a change in attitude when it comes to converting rugby league players.
Thurston’s agent figured a $700,000 per season asking price from either the new Melbourne Rebels, or Queensland would sweeten the deal for him to play union, the ARU stepped in and circulated a directive warning all of it’s Super franchises from approaching the player.
This may not stop Thurston from following in Gasnier’s footsteps, another rugby league player who initially looked at playing rugby in Australia but instead went to play in France, but the ARU were not prepared to foot the asking price it once afforded, for rugby league players.
More so, this signifies a new stance that the ARU can generate it’s own players and not have to pay inflated prices for rugby league players who want to don the Wallaby jersey along with the greedy intentions of playing in the World Cup, getting as much money as possible and then going back to rugby league.
The ARU had finally learned that their historical approach to attracting players, through fattening their wallets, rather than venting out the players with a genuine passion and desire to play rugby union, is an expensive short-term gain, with harmful long-term ramifications for the game.
The greed of throwing money at a player, leads to apathy, arrogance and the development of a disruptive personality within the rugby fraternity, in Australia, leading to indiscretions and ultimately a breach of agreements with the ARU.
By Doron Katz
With thanks to SARugby.com
Lions Officially World’s Biggest Losers
If you didn’t know it already, it’s now official; the Lions are the biggest losers in Super rugby and the world. Joburg’s pride and joy score nine tries but still lose 72-65 to the Chiefs.
Friday night’s embarrassment that saw the Joburg team score nine tries, but still lose 72-65 against the Chiefs, is yet another dubious record set at Ellis Park.
Last year the Lions, playing as their Currie Cup incarnation the Golden Lions, lost by a record 74-10 to the British & Irish Lions.
And while some pundits might say the Lions did well to fight back from a 65-25 deficit against the Chiefs the truth is that the visitors had stopped playing.
The Chiefs played nearly 30 minutes of the match with 14 men, due to three yellow cards, and ran out of gas as jet lag and high altitude took their toll, combined with the belief that the match was won. The fact that the Lions staged a spirited comeback was due more to the Chiefs wilting than sublime play by the home side.
A total of 85 second-half points were scored – another Super rugby record – while the total of 137 points surpassed the previous aggregate record of 118 when the Sharks beat the Highlanders 75-43 in Durban in 1997.
According to Stuart Farmer, the UK-based statistical guru, the Lions’ 65 points is the highest losing score in a first-class rugby match played in a sanctioned tournament anywhere in the world.
The only game that featured a higher losing score occurred in 1996 when the Barbarians lost an exhibition match against Japanese side Kansai by 76-66. That match saw 22 tries scored while Friday’s debacle at Ellis Park saw a total of 18 tries.
The Lions, in the guise of the Cats, previously held the record for the highest losing score in Super Rugby when they went down 62-52 to the Bulls at Loftus in 2004. A total of 16 tries were scored that day.
While all these stats make for entertaining reading the reality is that the Lions are in a crisis. They don’t currently employ a defensive coach and the fact that head coach Dick Muir described the teams’ poor defence as a “few lapses of concentration” suggests that management is in denial.
Last year, under coach Eugene Eloff, the Lions conceded a whopping 56 tries over 13 matches. They’ve already let through 11 tries in two games and now that they’re on tour, facing the Hurricanes, Brumbies, Waratahs, Crusaders and Highlanders, all sorts of unwanted records could be eclipsed.
When former Bok coach Jake White was tasked with assisting the team in the Currie Cup last year, he only placed emphasis on two things – defence and fitness.
The Golden Lions never conceded four tries in a single match throughout the Currie Cup campaign and ended up only conceding 26 tries in 14 matches.
Although the season is only two weeks old the Lions, despite the ability to score tries, are heading for the basement if they don’t shore up their defence.
With thanks to timeslive.co.za
Hurricanes Lock Left Out After Spat With Barman
Jason Eaton has paid a belated price for berating a barman who refused to serve him drinks during a night out.
Eaton has been stood down from the Hurricanes Super 14 match against the Western Force tomorrow with team management saying only that the lock had breached team protocol and that the suspension was an employment issue.
The Dominion Post understands the action has been sparked by a letter sent to the New Zealand Rugby Union complaining about a verbal exchange at a bar.
It is unclear when the incident happened, but Hurricanes coach Colin Cooper said it had not been after the opening match against the Blues. Whatever the case, he was making no apologies for holding his player accountable.
“Jason broke team protocol and we are pretty hard on team protocol so if you break it, those are the consequences,” he said.
“It’s our protocols, that’s why he’s not playing. [It was] serious enough to be not given your jersey.”
Asked if the suspension would be for only one match, Cooper said: “At this stage, yes. He’s got to sit and wait now.
“He’s given someone else an opportunity now in James [Broadhurst], so he has to sit outside the 22 and wait and see what happens.”
He was disappointed a senior player had broken protocol and said the decision not to reveal the offence was not out of the ordinary.
For Eaton, it is a disappointing result after an eye-catching start to the season against the Blues at North Harbour.
The 27-year-old battled back from a serious knee injury last year and appears to be nearing his top form after a solid northern tour with the All Blacks.
The sidelining of Eaton has resulted in Cooper installing a new locking partnership of Bryn Evans and 2.03m rookie James Broadhurst to play the Force, with Michael Paterson moving to the blindside to take the place of Nick Crosswell, who drops out of the 22.
With thanks to Stuff.co.nz
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