Adam Thomson
Source: Henry sends rejection message – Steve Deane
Masoe seemed to be the unluckiest discard, with Hansen saying the versatile flanker had been a casualty of the new experimental laws, which required a different type of player.
That could see a high value being placed on mobile loose forwards with lineout ability, which might [...]
Source: The ELV debate is a sideshow distracting us from more important questions – Chris S
More points does not mean a more exciting game. Rules that create more points will not necessarily make it more compelling.The biggest global sport by far is soccer – this game commands huge revenues and crowds, but does [...]
Yeah, Robbie don’t care, he got $AUD in the bank !
Source: Struggle to give away tickets for Crusaders-Canes’ semi – The Press
Canterbury rugby officials have had trouble even giving away tickets for the Crusaders’ Super 14 semi-final against the Hurricanes in Christchurch tonight.
The Canterbury Rugby Union (CRU) and radio station More FM staged a promotion yesterday giving away a ticket with each one sold [...]
Source: Not beautiful, but this proved an intense and absorbing game – George Chuter
Not the most beautiful and free-flowing of games, but these big finals rarely are. There’s not much arguing with the excitement it generated, though, another intensely fought contest between two of Europe’s best sides. I fancied Munster beforehand, but by half [...]
Source: Crusaders-Force great advert for the ELVs- Spiro Zarvos
Critics of the ELVs complain that they bring union closer to league. This is a woeful misreading of the variations. If you want to look for a similar football code to ELVs-rugby, that code is Australian football. Like AFL, ELVs-rugby features a continual contest for possession [...]
Source: Sonny Bill could switch codes within two weeks – manager
The manager of Bulldogs player Sonny Bill Williams says the Kiwis forward could walk out on rugby league within two weeks.
Former Australia coach Eddie Jones said Williams could earn up to $800,000 (AUD) a year if he headed to Europe.
Jes wayne, news that Dan [...]
Source: More tries and action, thanks to trial laws- Greg Growden
Statistics Super 14 season 2007 vs 2008 (91 matches)
NOTE: (1) These statistics are under 13 and not the full 23 ELVs. Excluded are the ELV laws for lineouts, mauls and hands in the ruck. (2) Average game time is in minutes.
Lets report this with [...]
Source: Henry relieved at lift in standards – Graham Henry
All Blacks coach Graham Henry is relieved that the Super 14 spluttered into life after enduring six weeks of what he described as shapeless rugby
“The game has a lot more shape now than it initially had,” Henry told NZPA.
“We were worried about the amount of [...]
Source: RIP rucking — and rugby – Andrew Logan
I was sitting in the sun recently, dreaming idly, when I started trying to remember the last time I saw a real, solid, honest-to-goodness ruck in a game of rugby.
My mind turned the years over like pages on one of those desk calendars and eventually I [...]
Source: Finals expansion on cards - Greg Growden
..”THE expansion of the Super 14 finals to a six-team play-off next year is all but a certainty after this season’s logjam saw two form teams miss the cut.
SANZAR officials have been considering revamping the finals, with the most obvious first step being to increase the number of teams [...]
Naughty Boy (Dominion Post/NZRU)!
Source: Rule on Carter Needs Backing – Dominion Post
Extract
If the ”Daniel Carter Option” that allows the great five-eighth to go to France for six months, earn $1.4 million and then return to play for the All Blacks in June 2009 isn’t a done deal, it should be.
The rule that a [...]
Source: Where to next ? – Jim Kayes
Extracts..
For a long time one solution had seemed simple.
Create a longer Super competition with the Air New Zealand Cup played at the same time as a feeder competition, leaving plenty of time afterwards for test matches and a decent break over summer.
There you go – problem solved.
It could [...]
A review of the game based on the balance between structured vs non structured rugby.
Conditions: Dry, ground hard.
- Short Lineouts: 16
- Full Lineouts: 12
- Scrums: 20
- Rucks: 120 (The best I could count)
- Mauls: 2
- Tries Broken Play: 2
- Tries Set Piece:0
- Tries Phase Play:1
The percentage of ‘ball in play’ when the ‘Backs vs Backs’ [...]
Source: Northern sceptics will be blown away - Spiro Zavos
…”A COMMENTATOR in New Zealand revealed the interesting statistic that the 2008 Super 14 tournament, up to the 13th round, had produced 100 fewer penalties and 50 more tries than last year’s tournament.
One of the points his column has made about the ELVs (the experimental law [...]
Paddy O’Brien – IRB Referee Manager : His bio.
Paddy posted three YouTube videos explaining the Stellenbosch ELVs, (posting date October 2007).
- Video1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbOA8ff4FQ4
- Video2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOshey2EEw8
- Video3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95QcbEvKNB0
In video3 Paddy lists statistics from the ELV studies. The statistics are from three surveyed competitions:
– Scotlands Super Cup 2007 ( 8 games) – ELVs applied
– Six Nations [...]
Defined: The players in the defending team pan out in a horizontal line from touch line to touch line. I would describe this play as a WWI style trench defence, moving the game into stalemate. The generals of WWI invented the tank to overcome this strategy, what is rugby unions ‘tank’ to be?
Let’s review a sample [...]
Source : Newby: NZRU must introduce private ownership
..”Departing ex-All Black Craig Newby says the NZRU must embrace private ownership of its five Super Rugby franchises in a bid to secure funding to tackle the player drain.
But I would be all for it.
You look at worldwide soccer, and how they are successful with that, it [...]
Source: New laws making game like league
,,”If the aim of these laws was to speed the game up then they’ve succeeded. But the real concern I have is rugby is looking more like league every year.
People who love the game don’t want that to happen.
We want to see rugby maintain its identity and part [...]
In 2006 IRB created a Laws Project Group (LPG), the members being.
- Bill Nolan – ex Chairman and IRB Council member (Scotland)
- Rod Macqueen – ex World Cup winning Australian coach
- Ian McIntosh – ex South African coach Ian McIntosh
- Richie Dixon – ex Scottish coach
- Pierre Villepreux – ex French player, coach and [...]
The grave yard of rugby union.
RIP – Forward Rucking
RIP – Scrum Push Over Tries
Soon there could be the ‘maul’ and ‘full lineout’ added to the grave yard.
THE MAUL – Possible death by ignorance.
Here are some comments by NZ and AUS journos on the ELVs concerning the maul. (Note: For the record I am a kiwi). [...]
Source : Why change, just when we`re loving it?
According to the bumf, the ELVs have been designed to “provide greater clarity in terms of the Laws of the Game for players, coaches, referees and spectators; allow players to determine the outcome of matches [and] not the subjectivity of match officials”.
It would be sportsmanlike to take [...]
Game Chiefs vs Force – Round 11 Super 14 2008
After a try by the Western Force the aussie TV commentator yelled out ‘It’s touch football!’ in delight.
How correct he is, the game was basically 15 vs 15 loose forwards playing helta skelta rugby. Sure that’s fine, but this is the only style you will see from [...]
Source: Sunday Star Times - ELVs decision could be rugby landmark
Extracts….
“there’s less straight arm penalties under the new laws.Previously, there were between 15 and 25 free kicks and penalties in the average game.That’s now up to 25 to 30.
There are more free kicks but less penalties. That’s allowed for more quick restarts which has contributed [...]
Thank god there is some one out there not pouring red wine on their cornflakes.
This article is soo good, a must read. Please read it twice.
ce.
McGeechan slays IRB’s ELVs
Coaching guru Ian McGeechan fears the ELVs have the potential to ruin rugby’s traditional qualities.
The IRB council has voted to introduce the experimental law variations on [...]