Better Rugby Rules

Source: Silence proves golden as All Blacks staff wired for sound – Greg Ford

You may or may not be aware, but nothing said on the field misses the coaches ear piece. So who is in charge ‘during a game’, what happens when Richie McCaw says ‘Stuff that idea, where doing it this way!’, I wonder.

With Coaches reputations at stake it would seam they are in no way prepared to allow the players to stuff up there idea of how things should go on the field. I wonder who has the ‘Privy Council’ decision to make the final call.

Lets roll back time to RWC 2007. All Blacks vs France, quarter final. In the second half  the points weren’t coming and Wayne Barnes was not helping. So the call game down from the coaches to milk a penalty. This saw the ABs play 20 boring minutes of pick and go hoping for the French to put a hand in or be offside so that a penalty could be awarded for Dan Carter to kick. In the end the penalty did not come. But the point is, what All Black team ever had a strategy to play for a penalty, it should be attack, attack and then attack some more.

I fear micro management of the game from 50 yards away by the coaches in there high corporate boxes, how can any player become a leader if mother is watching over you. It is like having a parrot on your shoulder. Leadership is not built this way. But I guess you cant stop Coaches being nervous about the pay checks not to be an echo in the players ear !

       ONE hand on it !

What was good:
1) Winning after being 10 pts down.
2) Tactical nouse to play the conditions correctly.
3) Subs in second half had a purpose.
4) Donalds play after the first 20 minutes.
5) Richie and Conrad game after the first 20 minutes.
6) Our forwards beat there forwards, just.
7) Turnovers swung our way in the second half.

What was NOT good:
1) Aussie scrum won the night, we subbed two front row forwards off.
2) Lineouts where won by Aussie. As we cant throw straight.
2) Scheduling a night game in July by the NZRU is just stupid.
3) Refs a little slow on the forward passes.

ABs coaches did better. But I must say Aussie are getting better, and you can see Deans scars on them. He knows what he is doing. Aussie needs a meaner and stronger forward pack. Then they would roll any team in the world as there backline has the goods. Mind you when has any rugby team won anything unless the forward pack is dominates.

Well done ABs. RWC champs are next. I dont expect much there, home advantage to the Boks. Its gonna be a tough one !

This is the master mind behind the NZRU board. Exposed !

So you cant blame Tew he is only a puppet. NZRU on the road to ruin !

Lauri Mains sees it ! He was correct about  the ELVs, and ABs tactics last year, I think Lauri correct on this coaching panel forecast ! Well I hope not, but the tea leaves are not good.

    NZRU position

For 6 years the players having been hearing the same record. For the same 6 years the ABs back line has done little to impress. Smith at least should have gone ! The NZRU board and Tew dont have the mental muscle to understand why a change was need.  There are strong odds the ABs wont win the RWC in 2011 (or get to the final), and that will mean this coaching team has the good odds of being two time losers at RWCs. A shake up of the coaching team would bring new blood into the thinking behind the ABs, chance missed !

My picks:
1) R McCaw wont be a RWC due to injury (concussion).
2) Not having an understudy to Dan Carter will be ABs downfall.
3) Tight five skills lost in the ELVs years could cost ABs dearly.

But I wish them the best of luck.

Source: Mains calls for Henry to go 

The calls for Graham Henry to step down as All Blacks coach have started.

Former coach Laurie Mains says it is hard to judge from the outside, but he is having trouble trying to pick up the pattern the All Blacks are trying to play.

“That sort of says to me that the pattern’s too complicated for the players to accurately implement. If that is the case, that will impact the skill part of their game, I think, as they start to force things.”

He respects what Henry has done in his time, but his contract should be severed this year. He says six years is too long to coach a national team.

“To be fair to Graham he’s had some great successes as a coach, but every team he’s coached, towards the end of his time with them, they’ve dropped away.”

Mains has cited the examples of the Blues, Wales, the Lions and now the All Blacks where Henry has been involved. He says Chiefs coach Ian Foster, Hurricanes coach Colin Cooper and even Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder could be considered as alternatives.

“I was really impressed with the way the Chiefs put their games together this year. They played aggressive and sensible rugby.

“I was terribly impressed with the way the Crusaders – and they were a young team – came away very strong towards the end.”

Mains adds Colin Cooper is very experienced.

Watching the first three weeks of international rugby downunder it was great to see the French, Lions and Sth Africans use the mual. The ELVs by default had removed it from the game, now its back and good to see as an option of forward power. See blog villians for those that dont understand rugby and who got it wrong.

Danie Craven, the most important authority on the laws in the history of the game, once said that when one change was made it often affected other aspects of play. He used the analogy of pulling a thread from a jersey and seeing, say, the bottom half unravel. His argument was that coaches must have the insight to see the implications of changes.

The ELVs allowed the maul to be pulled down, it did not offer just a method to defend it, it allowed a method to remove it from the game completely, some how the blog villians didnt see that ! Cause there not good thinkers of the game, thats why ! Jes wayne, and some of them are in charge of this great game !

Source: Best to Luke out, Stephen  Gregor Paul

Luke MacAlister was horrible as first five vs Italy, Stephen Donald is an ugly first choice to start the Tri Nations tournament. Isaia Toeava keeps on getting selected when he cant catch or talk to anyone on the field, and bomb near certain tries. ABs injury list could fill a hospital ward.

SA looks very strong, AU looks a close second, and we stutter along firing a blanks, expect loses and lots of them in the next 6 months. I dont see this is as a bad thing as it will create focus on the NZRU board to kick butt, and allow a build up period before the RWC 2011.

Nervous, you should be ! Good luck to the ABs may the cream rise to the top.

Reference: Mr Tew (CEO NZRU) public appearance on the Campbell Live show 25-6-2009.

Mr Tew was wondering why the love affair with rugby is wanning by the NZ public.

Fool.. here is a starter list

1) The same games over and over every year. 3x SAR, 3x ARU.
2) Screwing around with the rules (Yes, NZRU and ARU love affair with ELVs)
3) Starting the season too early
4) Screwing around with rugby jerseys ( Super 14 away jerseys, ABs horrible Silver away jersey)
5) Wearing out players that in the past that would have lasted 10 years, that is now becoming 5 years.
6) Breaking NZRU legislation to suit current demands. Luke MacAlister into ABs
7) Ignoring the Robbie Deans CV to choose the loosers of RWC 2007.

From his ivory tower of NZRU headquarters, Tew cried “Let them eat cake!”

AND hows this any good for the NZ game 4x vs ARU : Tokyo hosts Bledisloe  (more cake !)

How can this man still be there after the next world cup, there should be a healthy rotation of CEOs at the NZRU every 8 years ( or maybe 4 years).

Revolution is in the air !

Source: Graham Henry gaff was sheer stupidity – Jonathan Millow

Extracts…

Weepu was undoubtedly speaking on behalf of the team when he gave a bittersweet post-match interview.

“I probably would not have kicked the ball out had I known, and kept the ball in hand.

“Obviously we weren’t told about the six-point margin and I guess we need to be more prepared.

“Most of the boys thought it would be like the Bledisloe Cup, you have to get two wins before you can take the trophy from the team that holds it.”

Let’s not beat around the bush here. This is a massive howler by Henry. He treated his team like babies. He needed to put all the cards on the table and then recommend or instruct a course of action.

Henry’s defence was he didn’t want to burden his “young side” with having to do any more than secure victory.

One question remains. How would we all have reacted had the All Blacks lost the test attempting a miracle ball in the final minutes?

The answer? We would have expected victory to be sought first and not compromised by seeking a winning margin. But we also would expect the players to be up to speed.

COMMENTS : France beat us AGAIN !. They have the wood on the ABs in the tough games, or so it would seam. Remember the horrible loss at the last Rugby World Cup, where the tactic was to play for 20 min to get a penalty that never came rather than get a try, then after that a failed setup for two drop goal attempts in the last 10 minutes. These tactics all came down from the coaches box. And we are still seeing the same blunders, it must be French that bring out this stupidity from Henry’s mob, why is he so dumb. Age, stuck in his old ways, lost confidence, worn out, years of talking to children at school..who knows. There is a black cloud over the ABs and it’s not good. Blunder after blunder by Henry’s mob is a worry. Just scroll down this blog and see the selection blunders this season so far.

Blogger: Placing a bet on France at $3.30  for a win, and the British Lions at $3.30 for a win !

Ha ha !

UDPATE1: NZ Tab: 2, Blogger: 0

NEW ZEALAND: Mils Muliaina (captain), Cory Jane, Conrad Smith, Ma’a Nonu, Joe Rokocoko, Stephen Donald, Jimmy Cowan, Kieran Read, Tanerau Latimer, Jerome Kaino, Isaac Ross, Brad Thorn, Neemia Tialata, Keven Mealamu, Tony Woodcock. Reserves:Aled de Malmanche, John Afoa, Bryn Evans, George Whitelock, Piri Weepu, Luke McAlister, Isaia Toeava

COMMENTS: Are you freaking kidding me, this guy has had more chances than Bill Clinton with White House Interns ! Give me a break ! Drop him from the squad for the season(s) !

Na not this coaching mob, to be an All Black consistency of performance is NOT REQUIRED !

Source: Deans one step ahead of Henry in adjusting to whole new maul game– Spiro Zavos

Danie Craven, the most important authority on the laws in the history of the game, once said that when one change was made it often affected other aspects of play. He used the analogy of pulling a thread from a jersey and seeing, say, the bottom half unravel. His argument was that coaches must have the insight to see the implications of changes.

The ELVs that were played in the Southern Hemisphere to the end of the Super 14 tournament favoured a free-flowing game. Because the rolling maul could be pulled down, sides moved the ball away from the set pieces. With short-arm penalty sanctions in force at the ruck, teams got plenty of quick restarts to keep the flow of the match going.

The laws now allow for more driving and mauling. Play is more structured in that there are more set pieces. The rucks have become more of a contest if a side has a genuine openside breakaway to get his hands on the ball first.

COMMENTS: What ! Coaches now have to select rugby players on the basis of there specialised skills rather than there ‘free flowing’ rugby influence, shock horror ! Spiro statement supports the argument that the ELVs diluted traditional rugby roles, as this blog has said from the beginning, and what the north also saw from the start. Spiro was an ARU ELV cheerleader, but he new all along that the ELVs were not rugger ! The above statement also shows why the “Blog Villains” are on the list, because they were just plain wrong. Mr Tew (NZRU CEO) had statistics for Africa to say otherwise, or so he thought, another reason why his analysis skills are questionable.

……man for the job !

Is he or isnt he ?

Well look the this single selection issue : Toeava !

Last night he did not impress, and failed at a critical time. He has been given more chances than your ex wife ! But they still pick him year after year.

Henry comments: Henry, and Wayne Smith, have long been enamoured of Toeava’s skills, and Henry took that a stage further today when waxing lyrical about a guy who is becoming increasingly valuable in this squad, if only for his ability to slot in wherever he’s needed.
Source: Question marks over this All Blacks side – Marc Hinton

My previous posts:
Toeava: Has he changed ??
This is the same guy just a 6 months ago at Munster looked lost under pressure, and at the horrible loss at the world cup ran like a scared chicken

All Blacks should not be marsh mellows!
Wayne Smith said in public that Isaia was special, and selected him for All Black duties in 2007. What Wayne failed to judge while making this selection was Isaia lacked of maturity and leadership for the role he was selected (that of All Black Centre). We all saw this on the field as Isaia stumbled in the hard games. To be fair to Isaia he needs more grazing on the NZ rugby farm, he needs 2 or 3 years before he becomes an All Black, if at all. The real failing was Wayne Smith selection abilities. We saw this again in the ABs vs Aussie Tri Nation game at Sydney where Wayne selected the wrong back four combination for an ELV game.

COMMENTS: You should be worried with this selection trend. A wise man said to make an error is acceptable, to do the same thing again and again and make the same error is insane. (Albert Einstein). Toeava may be great All Black, he may mature after he turns 30, ( ak Frank Bunce), but he is not there, and hasn’t been there for the last 3 years.

There is another player that also fits the above category. Sione Lauaki, he is 50% great and 50% horrible, yet Henry still picks him ! To be an All Black Sione has to have a game that is near 90% every time hes on the field. Na not these days, big strong, not too bright and you will do ! Selections like these is why a team suffering weakness from injury the back up players dont step up !

Henry, Smith (Hansen ?) are wrong for the World Cup 2011 (and so is Tew). What’s Robbie upto these days?

PS: Great to see the driving maul back downunder, thanks France! Makes you wonder what the coaches did all week !

Source: O’Neill wants to align provincial competitions  – Sunday Star Times

With the Super 14,15,18, 100, whatever, the current second tier non professional level is like a wet fish, just not that interesting. The Ab’s wont be playing in provincial sides as they have duties else where, the NPC would be further diluted of senior and skilled players with the never ending player drain. So I guess a non/semi professional Australasian Cup is the next best thing. How this work I have no idea, how would the NZRU deal withe ARU power plays, dunno. How would revenue be made and shared, dunno.

So Teams for the non professional ANZAC NPC could be:
1) Otago
2) Canterbury
3) Wellington
4) Hawkes Bay
5) Taranaki
6) Waikato
7) Auckland
8 ) NSW
9) Queensland
10) Perth
11) Canberra
12) Melbourne (???)

Note: There should be promotion and relegation, with this as well, no team should be in it by right.

Source: The next dotted line leads straight to Williams’ nation of choice – Brad Walter

With press like the above, no wonder SBW may thinks he’s an automatic selection for any national side.

Question: How many world cups did the All Blacks win, with Jona Lomu ?
Answer : ZERO.

Hell, I think the ABs only got to one World Cup Final with Jona, 1995 SA. So who is SBW kidding, let Aussie have him…. Then again Robbie Deans is the man to make Sonny Bill a great union player, that would be the only reason NZRU should sign him up. Robbie knows how to develop players. As SBW wants large coin, I would not be to keen on any long term contract.

Image by : Getty Images

Source: Who wants to be a Wallaby?– Rupert Guinness

Sonny Bill Williams will play for the highest rugby dollar, that is the decision matrix for this athlete.

He has sent signals to Samoa, NZ and now Aussie that he can play for either in there National colors. I would think that his required annual pay packet would be in excess of $500,000 (NZD or AUD). The last two league converts that I know that were paid similar amounts were Loti Tuqiri and Mat Rogers, that latter didnt excel, the earlier did ok for a number of years. So that was more than a million bucks for these two players where that same funds could have secured 5 or 6 young 20 somethings with huge talent. Acorns that could grow into trees.

It would take a minimum of two full super rugby season for Sonny Bill to prove himself, and it could take 3 to 5 years to master the role of 13 in rugby union. NZRU has Conrad Smith and Richard Kahui, so why would the NZRU pay any large sum for Sonny Bill Williams on media potential and hype. Aussie if you want him, you can have him, let this be your gamble !

I personally think the lad is not to bright, and the best players on the international stage have brawn and (rugby) brians (and leadership skills), so for in excess of $500,000 I would like to see his high school results !

NZRU re signed Brad Thorn last year, and it took Brad two years to master his role in rugby union, and boy has it turned out well for NZRU. Brad has proved his skill on and off the field, he was prepared to do the hard yards before the national duties came along. This acorn has grown into a tree. So far Sonny Bill has not shown he wants to travel the same road. See ya SBW !

Well done to the BULLs, I see lots of hugs and kisses after the game, well after all this was the nation that had there national team train in the nude !

Please dont tell Victor where I live, l like the teeth in my mouth to stay there ! ha !

Source: Full ELVs deserve a fitting farewell– Spiro Zavos

Extracts…

THE Super 14 final at Pretoria next Saturday night between the Bulls and the Chiefs will, unfortunately, be the last major match to be played under the full ELVs. Unfortunately, because the two semi-finals were matches that reflected the best of the rugby code, with sweeping attacks and hard-shouldered defence in contrast to the intense, but dour, slog (lifted from time to time by Rocky Elsom’s ferocious charges) of the European Heineken Cup final.

The clash between Leinster and Leicester was played under a modified ELVs regime imposed on the IRB by the northern hemisphere nations – with the result that world rugby had the curious experience of the two hemispheres playing under different sets of laws. The main difference was that the southern hemisphere laws allowed for full-arm penalties for only three offences at the ruck and maul, whereas the northern hemisphere laws (which become the world laws after next weekend) have full-arm penalties for all offences at the ruck and maul.

In the Heineken Cup final, there were 18 full-arm penalties. The flow, energy and attack and counter-attack so evident in the Super 14 finals, with far fewer full-arm penalties, was generally lacking in the Heineken Cup final, where the action tended to wind down when play stopped for the full-arm penalties.

The running in the Super 14 finals was dynamic, especially by Pierre Spies for the Bulls and Sitiveni Sivivatu for the Chiefs. The ball was in play longer and what could be called the “running of the bulls effect” – the big players becoming leg-weary – came into play, allowing the faster, skilful players to make their mark. The pace of the Bulls-Crusaders match was so ramped up that even Richie McCaw was reduced to a slow trot by its end, and the massive, hard-working Bakkies Botha was substituted as sweat poured off him like from a draught horse forced to make too many long gallops.

COMMENTS: Sure, this single GAME may support his argument, but rules are played over a season, over many matches, and one must consider the mean of performance over a wide distribution of data.

1. ELVs encourage the break down of traditional rugby roles between backs and forwards. Every ELV game has seen the promotion of forwards running with the ball outside a back. This ruins attack. A prop just doesn’t have the same skill as a 2nd five eight.
2. ELVs encourage bodies over the ball at the breakdown. Awaiting the ref to determine who wins. The defending team know that the worse case penalty is a free kick to the opposition, that is an easy trade off compared to slowing the ball down illegally to prevent a try.
3. ELVs saw the reduction of classical back line play, the only time that backs and forwards are completely separated are during scrums, and they were infrequent.
4. ELVs encourage the ‘field wide defensive trench’. The long horizontal line of players fanning out across the field became more dominate due to the fact that forwards didnt need to go to the breakdown, as forward play has been eroded under ELVS and modern rugby.
5. ELVs promoted kicking to over come (4) above. We all have seen this blight on the game. There will be less kicking when forwards return to their traditional roles and more space is found out wide.
6. ELVs destroyed the maul. Further traditional forward play removed from the rugby.
7. ELVs promoted short lineouts, with more opportunity for forwards to stand in the back line. I refer you to (3) above.

So I say, see ya ELVs, good riddance…Spiro Zavos watches too much Rugby League and doesn’t know one game from the other !

Before this blog made an obvious comparison to this guy…
See this post..here

After a reader of this blog passed the message over to
Mr Foster ( Coach of Super 14 Chiefs)

Looks heaps better after razor did its job, what was he thinking !!

ha ha ha

Source: Is this Sanzar’s biggest error? – Danny Stephens

POINT1..”the whole lot appears to be such a half-measured set of improvisations that it is doubtful whether anyone is truly happy. “….

POINT2..”a fifth franchise in Australia despite some of his finest coaches and figures in the game warning Australia does not have the playing stocks. His solution to that? Have a ‘hybrid’ franchise; a franchise consisting of players from the Pacific Islands, South Africa, New Zealand. What a lovely concept for the new host city. I bet Melbourne can’t wait to have a team of locals from South Africa, New Zealand and Tonga to identify with.”..”There are also 16 NRL teams with players with the required skills. We are not without a reasonable pool from which to fish”..

POINT3..”It also means that, in spite of all the positive noises and the repeated calls from fans and governing body alike, Argentina are set to be shut out of any possible SH competition for some time to come, as are the Pacific Islands”…

POINT4..”there’s the structure itself. In a flawless act of genius, the Super 15 will take a three-week break, right at the most critical point of the season, in order to accommodate the June Tests. Just as interest in a tournament should be peaking, along come the internationals to break up the momentum and – let’s not kid ourselves – plague the business end of the tournament with fatigue and injuries. “…

POINT5..”The peculiar wild-card play-off system and qualification thereto, the fact that some teams will play other weaker teams more than others while playing two other teams not at all during the conference period. The drawn-out play-off system that will see a number of internationals head back to domestic rugby for two or three weeks while it is all concluded before heading into the marathon Tri-Nations. “..

POINT6..”But most of all, it is the selling out of the provincial tournaments in South Africa and New Zealand that disturbs the most. “…

…”There must be an awful lot of money involved for anyone other than John O’Neill to be happy about that. I wonder which part of rugby’s soul will next fall foul of a deal so unswervingly self-serving in nature. “…

COMMENTS: Is John O’Neill the most destructive man off the field in world rugby? Not for Aussie rugby maybe, but how as he effected NZ and SA rugby structures, for better or worse. Not so long ago Aussie rugby had no internal competitions of note, SA and NZ had strong stable domestic competitions the world respected. Today, if not in the near future, NZ NPC and SA Currie Cup will nothing more than second tear amateur tournaments, ARU 2 steps forward, NZ an SA three steps backwards. So who’s winning then, who do ya think, ARU ! At least the Australasian Cup Idea would have had 8 teams from NZ and 6 from Aussie, that keeps the exposure very high in NZ, but the super rugby idea limits exposure to only 5 teams in NZ. Power to the super rugby few. Its about the money honey, CEO NZRU Mr Tew has proved that !

So whats instore for the future:
1) 3 x Bledisloe Cups games every year, the first game in Aussie each year. WTF !
2) The same long Tri Nations, playing each other three times.
3) Super rugby ‘its on’ and ‘its off’ again momentum.
4) Super rugby play off series, with different levels of involvement from international players (due to injury and planned rest periods (eg sabbaticals in contracts).
5) June test matches that will most likely continue with weaken sides from the north.
6) More loss of interest in NPC (what’s that again, Hawkes Bay vs who, who cares !)
7) More players going to the northern rugby competitions as they have there act together !
8 ) And after all the above is played, the November International tour.

If you are an All Black and your team makes the Super 15 finals each year, with the internationals as well, then you are in for a lot of rugby! I suggest that you get written into your contract a maxmium number of games per year, otherwise your life as a rugby player will get shorter. I see players trying the ‘Luke MacAlister Game’, two years off somewhere else, and come back for years prior world cup!

Na, I dont think NZRU are smart enough to know what they have agreed too, and the NZ rugby public wont know until its too late. I prefer the Australasian cup idea better. Wynne Gray where are you when we need you ???

From 2011 there will be 3 x 5 team conferences: NZ, AU and SA. All producing 2 teams each for a 6 team play offs (two teams from each conference).

There is already talk of expanding the conferences to 6 teams to allow Japan and another SA team into the mix. (Source: Japanese set to join Super Rugby party– Greg Growden)

What about this expansion ! Super Rugby with the USA and Argentina. What will that be: 4 x 6 team conferences with the top two teams in an 8 team playoff. Or maybe 4 team playoff to reduce the amount of rugby, so only the winners from each conference in the playoffs. A mini world club competition. Who knows !

Conferences reduce travel demands, with a positive spin off in getting wider TV markets to watch super rugby all round the world. VERY commercial, looks like conferences will be here to stay.

Source: Wallabies go toe-to-toe with rival codes– Greg Growden

But it is after the Super season that rugby will have a critical effect on the other Australian football codes, with the Tri Nations being deliberately pushed back to the August-October period, enabling Australian rugby to have a major presence when the rugby league and Australian football seasons are reaching their finals crescendo.

Australian Rugby Union officials have been concerned that for well over a decade the code was all but dormant when the NRL and AFL seasons were at their peak. That has now changed because their finals series will coincide with the Tri Nations, and Bledisloe Cup fixtures will even be scheduled after the completion of the league and AFL seasons.

SANZAR has agreed that the Tri Nations will always start in South Africa. Australia will host the opening Bledisloe Cup in early September and the Tri Nations will always finish with two Bledisloe Cup fixtures.

COMMENTS:WTF ! The FIRST Bledisloe Cup match every year will be held in AUSSIE ! Did Mr Tew CEO NZRU leave the meeting with any carrots at all, or was he so in love with CEO ARU John ONeill that he was a ‘YES MAN’ to ‘every thing’ the Aussie wanted. I do not doubt that more exposure to rugby in Aussie is better for rugby in NZ, as they have more money (no doubt they will want our players in the years to come ), but I remember the old All Blacks manager ‘John Graham’ said that professional rugby will destroy the game in NZ and be very good for Aussie, he has proved to be mostly correct.  NZ will be 5 union strong hold forever, the other unions need not turn up at the NZRU meetings.

UPDATE: Source: Aussie to host Bledisloe Opener

The Australian Rugby Union has snatched an early Bledisloe Cup victory, even if it wasn’t claiming it.

Buried amid the detailed Super rugby expansion deal and revamped Tri-Nations series was confirmation that Australia would host game one of the three-test Bledisloe Cup series every year from 2011.

It would be a fixed early September date, aside from World Cup years when it would be played earlier.

The second test would be in New Zealand a month later in early October, with the third test the following weekend, alternating between the two countries year by year.

ARU deputy chief executive Matt Carroll insisted he and his boss John O’Neill hadn’t got one over their Tasman rivals.

“That was a mutual decision, a decision supported both ways. New Zealand quite like the idea of the set dates as well and they saw the value they would get, because they will have two test matches in a row in New Zealand every second year,” Carroll told reporters today.

COMMENTS: Do you need more proof that Mr Steve Tew (CEO NZRU) is an idiot, why give away the first game home ground, that removes the ‘ambush’ chance you need if you side is on weak side and home advantage is needed first up. Tew saw the money first, rugby logic second. Also having THREE Bledisloe Cup games every year, what a bore, if you have the cup that means its harder to lose it. Smell the motive here do you, more money, they think. I think the rugby saturation will bore the public to tears.

Source: Frustrated players save Sanzar  – Gregor Paul

..”An extended Super 15 will further decrease the importance of the provincial championship as the overlap will be greater. If Super 15 runs until early August, followed almost immediately by the Tri Nations, All Black involvement is going to be zero.”..

COMMENTS: Well wont that be fun, the first 12 to 16 weeks of the Super 15 will include top international players from SANZAR but come the business end of the Super 15 they will be pulled out for preparations for the Tri Nations. And no doubt during the Super 15 any June tests will see there participation reduced further. Super 15 will be battle of the wannabies. Wont the sponsors love that !

This means that the 5 unions (Ak, Chch, Otgao, Ham, Well) in NZ will remain the top power brokers, the rest are to remain a non professional tear ! The Austrialisian cup idea would have had 8 teams from NZ, financial viable who knows, but better exposure for more, power better distributed, and better chance of keeping more players.

UPDATE: Source: Framework for 2011 Super series starting to take shape – Wynne Gray

…”Expect a late February start to the expanded Super rugby series when it kicks off in 2011, a June lull and an August completion”…”It is understood the partners have agreed to a conference system in each country before the top six sides split off into a finals series. That extended schedule will mean Super rugby being played at the same time as the national championship, unless that series is also refined.”…

COMMENTS : NPC and Currie Cup RIP ! National competitions are now the sole involvement of the non professional tear. The Super rugby structure is much like the AFL (gridion) in the USA (which is very successful). I guess we all have to wait for the official super 15 announcement to get the full picture.

On May 13 the IRB Council approved…the following…

Recommendations for the IRB CouncilThe following is recommended to the IRB Council for adoption into Law:

Law 6 – Assistant Referees able to assist Referees in any way the Referee requires
Law 19 – If a team puts the ball back in their own 22 and the ball is subsequently kicked directly into touch there is no gain in ground
Law 19 – A quick throw may be thrown in straight or towards the throwing team’s goal line
Law 19 – The receiver at the lineout must be two metres back away from the lineout
Law 19 – The player who is in opposition to the player throwing in the ball must stand in the area between the five metre line and touch line and must be two metres from the line of touch and at least two metres from the lineout
Law 19 – Lineout players may pre-grip a jumper before the ball is thrown in
Law 19 – The lifting of lineout jumpers is permitted
Law 20 – Introduction of an offside line five metres behind the hindmost feet of the Scrum
Law 20 – Scrum half offside line at the Scrum
Law 20 – The corner posts are no longer considered to be touch in goal except when the ball is grounded against the post

Union-specific ELVs Recommended to Council:
Unions may implement rolling substitutions at defined levels of the Game
A Union having a jurisdiction over a Game may implement a half time interval of not more than 15 minutes
A Union may implement the Under 19 Scrum Law Variation at a defined level of the Game under its jurisdiction

The following is not recommended to the IRB Council for adoption into Law:

Law 17 – Maul – Head and Shoulders not to be lower than hips
Law 17 – Maul – Pulling Down the Maul
Law 19 – Freedom for each team to determine Lineout Numbers

The Sanctions and Tackle/Ruck ELVs will not be recommended to the IRB Council for adoption into Law. However, the Rugby Committee has deferred these areas for further consultation

COMMENTS: The ELVs rejected confirms the success of this blog supporting the correct side of the debate. Overall the correct result was achieved, thanks rugby world. Steve Tew and John O’Neil what were you thinking !!!

Seriously you do the match ups..Foster, McCaw, Hitler and Doris !

Ha ha

Sorry if you have a sensitive demeanor, but come on, its funny !