The IRB (including SANZAR) are conducting a big meeting the Dublin this weekend, the direction of rugby is certain areas will become clear
1) What ELVs are in or out ?
2) SANZAR or SANZAR ?
Its going to be very interesting…What will the ‘old farts’ decide (ak Wil Carling)
Sir Keith Park – WW2 flying hero, one of the Kiwis that the poms really like !
Source : Statue of NZ airman set for Trafalgar Square
London authorities have approved the erection of a statue of New Zealand airman Keith Park in Trafalgar Square.
The statue will go on the square’s fourth plinth for six months from October, said English businessman Terry Smith, who has led the campaign to have the statue erected.
The City of Westminster Council approved the placement this morning, and Mr Smith told Radio New Zealand he “couldn’t be more delighted”.
After the Trafalgar Square stint the statue will go to a permanent site in Waterloo Place, close to New Zealand House, to coincide with next year’s 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.
Mr Smith said Sir Keith was a remarkable man and was modest about his achievements.
Sir Keith was born in New Zealand in 1892 and served at Gallipoli and the Somme in World War 1 before becoming a pilot and shooting down 20 enemy aircraft.
In World War 2, he commanded 11 Group Fighter Command, responsible for the defence of London and southeast England during the Battle of Britain.
COMMENTS : more here (Hey, Rugby is not everything !)
Ausie family arrives in New Zealand.
Son’s first day at school and the father say’s
“OK son what happened at school today”
“I topped the class at Math’s today”.
“Well son thats because your a Aussie!”
Second day at school and the father say’s
“what happened at school today”
“I topped class in English”
“Well son thats because your a Aussie!”
Third day at school and the father say’s
“What happened at school today”
“We played mini Rugby and after the game we were in the shower’s and I noticed that I had a bigger wasser than all the other boys”
“Is that because I am a Aussie, Dad???”.
“No son” the father relied “that’s because your 27”.
**********************************************************************
An Australian rugby fan, a South African rugby fan and a New Zealand fan are all in Arabia, sharing a smuggled crate of booze when, all of a sudden, Saudi police rush in and arrest them.
The mere possession Of alcohol is a severe offence in Saudi Arabia, so for the terrible Crime of actually being caught consuming the booze, they are all sentenced to death!
However, after many months and with the help of very good lawyers, They are able to successfully appeal their sentences down to life imprisonment.
By a stroke of luck, it was a Saudi national holiday the day, their trial finished, and the extremely benevolent Sheikh decided they could be released after receiving just 20 lashes each of the whip.
As they were preparing for their punishment, the Sheikh announced:
“It’s my first wife’s birthday today, and she has asked me to allow each of you one wish before your whipping.”
The South African was first in line, he thought for a while and Then said:
“Please tie a pillow to my back.”
This was done, but the pillow only lasted 10 lashes before the whip went through. When the punishment was done he had to be carried away bleeding and crying with pain.
The Australian was next up. After watching the South African’s Horror he said smugly:
“Please fix two pillows to my back.” But even two pillows could only take 15 lashes before the whip went through again and the Australian was soon led away whimpering loudly (as they do).
The New Zealander was the last one up, but before he could say anything, the Sheikh turned to him and said:
“You are from a most beautiful part of the world and your culture is one of the finest in the world. For this, you may have two wishes!”
“Thank you, your Most Royal and Merciful highness”, the Kiwi replied. In recognition of your kindness, my first wish is that you give me Not 20 lashes but 100 lashes.”
“Not only are you an honourable, handsome and powerful man, you Are also very brave”.
The Sheikh said with an admiring look on his face.
“If 100 lashes is what you desire, then so be it. And your second wish”?
“Tie the Australian to my back.”
Source: We’ll show you the money if players want, says stunned O’Neill– Greg Growden
O’Neill also confirmed that an alternative trans-Tasman Asia-Pacific tournament was discussed at a meeting between ARU and New Zealand Rugby Union officials in Sydney on Thursday. This follows Australia and New Zealand being in major conflict with South Africa over expansion plans for Super rugby.
The ARU and NZRU said yesterday that they wanted to continue working towards a 15-team Super competition from 2011 in partnership with South Africa. However, repeated compromise calls from South Africa, including demands that their Currie Cup competition not be affected, had put that partnership at risk.
“We still want South Africa to stay in, but they have to accept that Super rugby is the pre-eminent competition,” O’Neill said. “But if you start diluting the value and content of that competition and put a domestic competition in the form of Currie Cup as the preference, then we have a real problem.”
If South Africa continues to stall, Australia and New Zealand will look on the Asia-Pacific competition as a viable alternative.
“It works,” O’Neill said. “We didn’t start all this with the trans-Tasman option being a preferred option. But when we looked at it and discussed it with our broadcast advisers and the broadcasters across Australia and New Zealand, they find it quite attractive.
COMMENTS: Local NZ and AU broadcasters realise that local derbies and local time zones is better for ratings, and more intense competition. After all the AFL and NRL are local, and NZ is just the sixth state of Aussie so I think it would work great, bring on the ‘Australisan Cup’ or the ‘ANZAC cup’ or the ‘Pacific Cup’ or the ‘Trans Tasman Cup’ whatever, just bring it to town !
Other Posts on the subject: Australasian Cup – Wynne Gray idea revisited
UPDATE: Source: TV tunes to trans-Tasman option – Greg Growden
RUCK & MAUL
IF AUSTRALIA and New Zealand tell South Africa to shove super rugby and go it alone with a trans-Tasman tournament from 2011, it will not be a financial disaster. Some overseas media outlets have been going on about how South African broadcasting money gives that country an upper hand and will lead to super football’s survival, despite the frequent clashes between the SANZAR partners. However R&M has been told Australia and New Zealand officials recently received encouraging news from local broadcast advisers that if the trans-Tasman tournament goes ahead, they would not receive less broadcasting money. Local broadcasters, who know that showing South African matches in the early hours is about as enticing to viewers as water torture, like the idea of a 10-team tournament played in the one time zone, where matches can be scheduled at 3.30pm, 5.30, 7.30 and 9.30pm on a Saturday.
What this blog prefers to happen in the NZ rugby world.
It seams that things are going this blog way..maybe !
Source: Referees making rugby a lottery – Marc Hinton
Just a short posting today..
Most of the whistle occurs around the ruck. Hands in, off the feet, off side, dangerous play, etc.
The RUCK is the most important phase during an attack as it allows continuation of the attack before (hopefully) the defending team reforms its defense. A failure to allow this makes rugby a game for defenses and not attack.
The above line is the one of the most important understandings of rugby union, that has not been supported adequately.
If you increase the methods that the ref can police the ruck this will result in more stoppage [note: The ELVs tried to make the stoppage quicker with free kicks rather than scrums, well that didnt work out so well, did it] with more confusion on how the individual ref saw the particular situation. The term ‘refs interpretation’ has become more prevalent since the rucking laws where made too tough to allow the player to implement the rucking process.
Either educe the refs involvement in the ruck, and/or allow the players more slack in applying the rucking rules, allow ‘collaterial damage’.
BRING BACK THE 1990s RUCK !
Previous Post: Rucking, Ref’s should allow ‘collateral damage’, ELVs: Mains is soo fooking correct !
ABs back line hopeful : Aucklands Toeava
Source: Toeava top attacking force in NZ rugby – Greg Ford
His form this year has been so undeniably good that his name will be one of the first, if not the first, Graham Henry jots down when the time comes to name his All Blacks squad.
And statistics, known to heavily influence Henry’s selections, confirm Isaia “Ice” Toeava is becoming the single most potent attacking force in New Zealand rugby
COMMENTS: 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. Has he changed ? I personal think this chap is a very slow at maturing in rugby leadership, some players just dont have the confidence until after about 6 to 8 years at the top of national rugby. I think he looks good when he plays the weaker teams, yet against hard competition just average. So we will have to see if this ‘marsh mellow’ has got a harder in the last 12 months. I guess ABs duty will expose him for better or worse, he sure has had enough chances. But he’s lucky as he is a Wayne Smith favourite.
Previous post: All Blacks should not be marsh mellows!
Source: NZRU move to fast-track McAlister – Neil Reid
Previous Post on the subject : Every rule can be negotiated (Thinks Henry)
If you are a player with ‘power’ or ‘status’, then there is no rule within the NZRU legislation that can not be bent in your favour. Esp if Henry wants it to be so !
Luke McAlister will play in the Tri Nations, his conditioning and performance will be interesting.
Source: NZRU, ARU drop the ball – David Moffett
Extracts..
A leaderless, rudderless and totally inept organisation. For once I am not talking about the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) but about Sanzar, or at least the Australian and New Zealand components of it.
Sanzar is the umbrella organisation of the Super 14 and Tri-Nations.
Super 14 is in dire trouble.
No mention by O’Neill of the damage to the game wrought by the Australian Rugby Union (ARU)-inspired ELVs (Experimental Law Variations). [BLOG: Bad management of the game means, lower attendance from the public, means lower sponsorship dollars, means lower pay for the players]
In their panic to try to compete with the other three football codes in Australia the ELVs were introduced to try to provide nonstop action as a way of combating the popularity of Aussie rules, league and football.
They have been an abject failure. Most will be ditched by the International Rugby Board in May. As predicted in a previous column, the northern hemisphere dumped most of the ELVs.
While the Super 14 implodes what are the views of the NZRU. Who knows?
Typically we have not heard from their all but invisible CEO Steve Tew. Just when long-suffering fans want to hear from their governing body, what do we get?
Nothing, nada, zilch, zero.
Just another example of the NZRU seemingly happy to toe the Australian line. There are times when I firmly believe that the ARU sees the NZRU as little more than a seventh state such is their ability to impact on the future of rugby in this country.
COMMENTS: You see there are idiots running the NZRU, its not my imagination at all.
Source: Ref points finger at players over rucking – Richard Knowler
Extracts…
Lyndon Bray says the referees and lawmakers should not be copping flak for the lack of rucking in rugby.
The New Zealand Rugby Union’s manager of high performance referees says modern players no longer have the skills to free the ball with their feet.
“We just don’t see that anymore. It’s more to do with the evolution of the game and the techniques used than it is about referees (or laws) killing rucking.
“The reality is that we have lost the art of how to walk through and ruck. Secondly, what they (the players) are dead scared of is the judicial rather than the referee.
Law 16 of the International Rugby Board’s rulebook states players can still ruck but must not rake players on the ground and not intentionally step on them.On March 20, Hurricanes lock Jason Eaton rucked a Bulls player who was slowing the ball down and was subsequently yellow carded by Australian referee Matt Goddard.
COMMENTS: Did you read this stupidity, what sort of stupid thinking is that. Why, because if you are going to ruck there must be a margin of error in favour of the player doing the rucking, at the moment there is none.
Consider this: A defending player is laying on wrong side of a ruck, ball is under him or just in front of him. The current policing of this is by a referee ruling of either free kick or penalty, here we see the game stop, allowing the defending team to reset a defense, and the attacking team lose the advantage. What should happen is the attacking player should be able to ruck the ball and the player free for the next phase of attack. If this results in the player getting ‘raked’ or ‘stood on’ then that’s within the margin of error or ‘collateral damage’. A bit of slipper, that’s all!
Rucking margin of error should allow:
1) Player doing the rucking, must have one foot on the ground
2) The rucking player must be bound to another player within the ruck.
3) The player receiving the rucking, the body contact (by rucking players boot) must be with half a meter of the ball. So ball must be close to the rucking action.
4) No rucking of heads or family jewels.
Rugby is doomed with this head in the sand analysis by Lyndon Bray, rucking does not exists anymore as the refs/laws don’t allow a wider margin of error. You cant avoid collateral damage with effective rucking. Get real rugby lawmakers !
Source: Deans predicts ‘perfect game’ from ELV changes – RugbyHeaven.co.nz
Extract..
“Now there’s an average of about 24 total sanctions, 17 of them would be free-kick, seven would be penalties.
“You turn those around, you’d be close to the perfect outcome and we agreed on that.
“We’re not far way, personally I think, from the perfect game.”
COMMENTS: If you go from 17 free kicks out of 24 to 17 penalties out of 24…that’s still more stoppage, and more of worse type, penalties! (da). How about if 12 out of 24 issues are solved by rucking.Now, doesn’t that sound better ! Less stoppages for sure !
Claiming to have the perfect game going from a lot of free kicks to a lot more penalties gives me the inclination Deans had a few beers before this quote !
Source: The biggest problem in rugby today – Planetrugby.com
An interview with Guy Noves – Toulouse Coach
An important Extract..
When it comes to the laws governing the contact area and playing on the ground, generally speaking I think we’re allowing the referees too much room to interpret the rules. If three people watch the same match, you’ll get three different impressions of the sanction needed for a error in a ruck because all the laws can be interpreted in certain way. For me that’s the biggest problem in rugby today, we need laws that don’t depend on an interpretation.
COMMENTS:This is why pre 1995 rugby there was traditional ‘rucking’. Take the interpretation risk away from the refs and let the players do a bit of self rule ! After a decade of IRB law makers failing with trying to police the ruck with the ref whistle, its time to go back to what worked. BRING BACK THE RUCK !
There are those that say that rucking is ‘barbaric’. This leads to biggest nervous quiver the IRB has, that is large men giving a first five a bit of slipper on the wrong side of the ruck with all to see on the TV close up. Personally, I think it would great for ratings ! After all TV has been around since the 1950s, and its only in the last 10 years the IRB became nervous, primarily from sponsors and TV networks who didn’t understand the concept that force the IRB hand to bend to there PC thinking ! Maybe IRB should put rugby first.
BRING BACK THE RUCK !
BRING BACK THE RUCK !
BRING BACK THE RUCK !
Source1: Thank goodness aweful ELVs have left the building – Stephen Jones
Source2: The Laws that killed rugby – Stephen Jones
Extracts..Source1
Those tests that had not already been sent back to the Frankensteins of the International Rugby Board’s awful Laws Project Group were voted out of existence. The main European unions took a lead, South Africa finally revealed their dislike for the measures and other unions weighed in.
The pouters have claimed that the European unions attacked measures that they had not even trialled, such as the sanctions laws, which were run only Down Under. That is a bit like saying you cannot have an opinion on being murdered if you have never been murdered yourself.
What next? Resignations, surely. The LPG is totally discredited. Rod Macqueen of Australia, Graham Mourie of New Zealand and Bill Nolan of Scotland, the prime movers, must surely go.
Extracts..Source2
Recent schisms in the TriNations grouping (normally a block vote) has seen South Africa breaking ranks in the ELVs debate – another heavy blow to the IRB, Australia and New Zealand. We spoke to several leading officials and learnt that South Africa are now opposed to most of the radical ELVs. One of South Africa’s most famous coaches, who has been advising the country’s delegation for tomorrow, says: “We are under pressure from our Sanzar partners and the IRB, but we want most of the ELVs out.
If you feel that only the northern hemisphere is against the ELVs, the southern façade is crumbling too. Todd Blackadder, coach of the Crusaders, the Super 14’s most successful team, says: “The same issues that people are talking about in the north are happening here. The mindless kicking. The ELVs are supposed to encourage more running rugby, but everyone’s ended up kicking it aimlessly. It’s something that needs addressing urgently. I don’t see it as North v South, it’s a global rugby issue.”
Soon after Ian McGeechan had expressed some reservations, he was descended upon by IRB heavies; when Victor Matfield, the Springbok lock, was asked about the ELVs in a press conference, he felt the need to ask his own team manager if he was allowed to express an opinion, before he revealed how much he disliked the experiments. Dick Marks, one of the most respected Australian coaches and authorities, reflected in a report, which spectacularly savaged the whole ELVs phenomenon, that most of the gushing praise for the laws was worthless, since it came from paid employees – be they players, referees or officials – of unions who were desperate to support the measures.
COMMENTS: Good on SARFU for seeing sense ! You notice the rugby scribes down under do not print news of the NZ/AU rugby administrators received a right spanking and were sent home with a FAIL !(NOTE: If a NZ rugby scribe bags the NZRU, it becomes a little hard to make a living as the NZRU wont speak to you anymore, just ask Murray Deaker !). More evidence that some, if not all, of the management of the NZRU are just idiots. Stephen Jones has a bias against NZ rugby, sometimes it is not fair, but this time it is. This was a very large humiliation for NZ and the AU boards, after two years of trumpet blowing for the ELVs with out any objectivity there ‘rugby thinking’ as been exposed. I hope the board members of the NZRU see sense and have a clean out of the dead wood at the NZRU.
Blog Opinion.
The Y2K fear of rolling over dates from 1999:11:59:59 to 2000:01:01:01 created fear that our digital computer world could come to stop. The fear of this sparked massive IT expenditure 3 years prior the year 2000. The IT world loved it, yet most of it didnt need to happen, a clever industry spin to get more corporates to spend more money on IT. Mind you that worked for me, real good !
The ice bergs falling into the ocean, Iceland melting, sea temperatures rising have all sparked another fear of global warming, and the alarmist are saying the ‘man’ is to blame. Yet the energy that is doing the damage is the big nasty orange thing in the sky, the sun, and ‘man’ only contributes about 0.9% to global warming. But dont tell that to the political correct UN scientist who are after budget expansion for there pet science projects. More spin to pull funds a certain way !
The game of rugby must be fast and free flowing and non stop action, as this is better viewing and more attractive to the average punter. This is another con. This type of game sees the fatties running outside inside backs that dont have the speed or skill to do anything other damage the grass there running on. Good running rugby comes from structured setups (scrum/full lineout/mauls) where like players of skill and athleticism are put against each other. If you have no traditional rugby structure you will not need the fatties, and you will end up selecting 15 loose forwards and having ‘golden oldie’ scrums and ‘ball throw ins’ from the touch line. Jes, that sounds like another code out there !
Free flowing rugby, running rugby is one of the many styles the game has to offer, yet it is not the only style, other styles suite other teams and this strategy mix should be maintained.
King Andrew and his team saved rugby from the liberal thinkers ! All Hail the king !
Source: RFU celebrate victory in ELVs battle – Scrum.com
Rob Andrew – RFU Director of Elite Rugby England
Kevin Bowring – RFU Elite Coach Development
Chris Cuthbertson – RFU Council member RFU ELV task group
Ian McGeechan – British and Irish Lions coach
These fellows saved rugby union from the mess that it is in now. However this blog accepts that they didnt go far enough and fix the breakdown by bring back the slipper in the ruck !
Well done from down under !
Many in my age group ( thats over 40) thank you. As we have seen 20 plus years of rugby union and we know what the before and after ELVs looks like.
Extracts..
“The whole idea of the ELVs is to improve the sport and while we support the majority of the globally trialled ELVs, the feedback from the Game and our game analysis indicates that pulling down the maul and unrestricted numbers in the line-out have not improved the game.”
British & Irish Lions coach Ian McGeechan, a long-time critic of some of the ELVs, also welcomed the decision. “We’re now keeping variety in the game and that is very important,” said McGeechan, who is also Wasps’ Director of Rugby. “The maul allows you options, as do the numbers in the line-out. It makes sides think. The attacking side have got choices and the defensive side has got to make decisions. That’s what rugby is about.”
Ali Williams was suspended for 6 weeks after being found quilty of illegal rucking.
Rucking is deemed to risky for the attacking team due to the above consequence.
Extract: Law 16.3 Rucking
16.3 RUCKING
(a) Players in a ruck must endeavour to stay on their feet.
Penalty: Penalty Kick
(b) A player must not intentionally fall or kneel in a ruck. This is dangerous play.
Penalty: Penalty Kick
(c) A player must not intentionally collapse a ruck. This is dangerous play.
Penalty: Penalty Kick
(d) A player must not jump on top of a ruck.
Penalty: Penalty Kick
(e) Players must have their heads and shoulders no lower than their hips.
Penalty: Free Kick
(f) A player rucking for the ball must not ruck players on the ground. A player rucking for the ball tries to step over players on the ground and must not intentionally step on them. A player rucking must do so near the ball.
Penalty: Penalty Kick for dangerous play
COMMENTS: The (f) clause above basically removed rucking from the game, the window to allow rucking is too narrow, and the offending team knows it, and slow the ball down as the ‘will be rucked risk’ is low.
Paddy O’Brien has said the issue is ‘players stomping’ (vertical action of standing on players) rather the backward action of the foot/heel to retrieve the ball, and with TV watching oh so very closely the ‘instant replay of rucking gone wrong’ is to much too bear. This means the rules and execution of rucking has a bias with the team that is slowing the ball down, as the team that requires the rucking action is at huge risk of loosing one its players. This must be reversed, so that the team with the momentum of ‘going forward’ has the rights and should have the ref’s margin of error on there side.
Paddy O’Brien 4 year watch as ‘IRB Head Ref’ has seen a lot of PC’ness come into the sport (dont even mention ELV mess), maybe he should go back to giving out parking tickets !
Rucking should allow:
1) Any player on the ground, and on the wrong side can be removed by backward action of the feet.
2) No matter if ball is there or not, as a player body is enough hindrance for a team going forward ((f) above is a major issue).
3) The rucking player must be: crunched over , one foot on ground, and the rucking foot action cant be by the players head or groin.
Simple as 1,2,3 !
This means that any player on the ground and on the wrong side of the ruck is in for a few signatures on his back. And for all those ‘non rugby types’, get a grip its our sport ! The IRB has stuffed up here and caved in to the PC demands !
Previous Posts: Rucking
Source: Fitzy blasts New Zealand rugby – Greg Ford
Sean Fitzpatrick Ex All Black and major donut on the English scene said some home truths that should not be ignored.
“In terms of what I am seeing in Super 14 compared to the Premiership and Heineken Cup, it is quite clear one game is better than the other.
“What’s happening in Super 14 is lacking structure. The teams that are doing well the Bulls and Chiefs are the teams that are playing with structure. Unfortunately with the short-arm penalty, it encourages teams and players … to cheat.”
His comments will come as another body blow for the game here, which is under siege.
Fans struggle to understand its rules, are turning off in droves and not attending games.
Fitzpatrick also slammed the ELVs, saying: “The ELVs and some coaches are encouraging our younger guys to play this helter skelter rugby which is fantastic at schoolboy and club level but against the big boys in international rugby it won’t wash.”
COMMENTS: Sorry Fitzy …”helter skelter rugby which is fantastic at schoolboy”…NO it is not, ‘basket ball’ style rugby is a bore ! Fitzy has joined the choir with his mate Grant Fox, I wonder if Fitzy got his bravery for his latest comments after researching what his mates have being saying on the web, he rarely is first, a bit of a cheerleader is our Fitzy. But he is not wrong, that’s for sure!
Much fuss has been made about the ruck and the how to police it, NZRU Ceo Mr Tew finds favour with the current southern ELVs with the free kick approach, yet the northern six nation teams find favour with the stiff arm penalty, and they have attracted much criticism for not trialling the new ELVs. The northern nations have and consequently voting against the southern ELVs ( yes I know they are IRB ELVs). The northern nations made there judgement by viewing 2008 Super 14 rugby matches and said “NO” to the free kick approach. Why was this approach given the raspberry, whats the big deal ?
Consider this:
1) I know the moon is round, yet I have not been there !
2) I know Elle Macphersons boobs are fantastic, yet I have not played with them !
3) I know Eva Braun loved Adolf Hitler, yet I did not go to the wedding !
4) I know Austrialians dads breed with their daughters, I have never seen this!
5) I know Jona Lomu was the most destructive winger to walk on the rugby field, yes I have seen this !
The point is, sometimes is soo bloody obvious to know what is right ! Well done Six Nations, using the two inches up top before the big hooves down below !
NOTE: Free Kicks or Stiff arm penalties are the options the current ELVs support, this blog supports 1990s style rucking more so. Read previous posts, thanks!
Source: Frustration with some Super 14 refereeing – Grant Fox
Grant Fox one the most brilliant first five eights to ever put on the boots, was not thinking so smart 12 months ago, and good on him for going on record to say so, he got some elements of the ELVs so very wrong. I also will never forget when he slotted a penalty with 2 minutes to go against my 1st 15 at high school to win the game, dam he was good !
Previous comments can be read here : ELVs – ‘No intelligent life forms here Scotty! (Grant Fox)
What he says today…
In my view, there’s an easy way to keep players on their feet – allow rucking. The lawmakers will say you can still ruck. Reality is different. The whistle-blowers simply don’t let it happen.
As a result, we continue to battle with the most perplexing area of our game for all involved – the breakdown. It’s still a mess.
I originally supported the ELV allowing mauls to be collapsed by the defending team but in practice it hasn’t worked. It unfairly favours the defending team – a wider problem rugby now has.
COMMENTS: About time the Auckland Grammar boy woke up. Grant Fox, Laurie Mains, Inga the Winga and Wynne Gray (many more no doubt) have called for rucking to be reinstated back to 1990s style. The jungle drums have started to beat !
Source: Teams to pay the penalty – Toby Robinson
Is it possible the old fuddy-duddies up north have got a point?
We got the ELVs because fans and players complained the game had become too slow. Too many rolling mauls, too many reset scrums, too many lineouts, too many shots at goal.
The theory behind the changes remains sound. A good game’s a fast game.
But freekicks have not worked. They have given referees and players an easy out and are destroying the “structure” of rugby union.
It is the set piece kicks to touch, lineouts, scrums and kickoffs that separates rugby from that other code. That make it a more tactical battle. That provide for all shapes and sizes.
From a fan’s point of view, they also build tension, provide a breather to take in the situation, understand what’s going on rather than wondering what the five freekicks in the last passage of play were for.
They also allow the players to formulate their next move on the chess board.
Quick taps create mayhem. Set piece creates structure
COMMENTS:I am going to have to get in touch with a copyright lawyer, rugby is like chess metaphor is been used by others far to often, I wonder if they pinched it off my blog !
Source: Forget mauls – bring back rucks – Inga
Legitimate rucking, and I’m not referring to stomping here, would free this area up. I know the image of the game needs protecting and violence cannot be tolerated.
So to further help in this regard, I would also propose that rugby introduce the league-style report system, whereby referees can signal incidents they are uncertain about which can be reviewed later.
Any rucking has to involve the player driving forward and removing players on the ground with a backward motion of the feet. It can’t involve static players stamping directly down. Players would have to be told very clearly what rucking meant, and the penalties for not doing it correctly.
A big point about the impact of rucking is that it discourages players from illegally slowing the ball down in the first place because they know the consequences of getting their bodies or hands in the wrong place.
COMMENTS: NOT bad for a wing ! All he says on rucking makes sense to me, yet he is short sited on mauls. Hey, let the forwards have some fun !
NZRU CEO Tew just doesnt get it !
Source: Tackle zone remains game’s spaghetti junction – Martin Davidson
…”Rugby’s spaghetti junction remains an unresolved mess despite ongoing efforts by administrators to clean up the adjudication of the breakdown area.Officials are still grappling to find a universal answer to clean up the tackle zone to ensure a fair contest for the ball at the breakdown.”…
…”Southern hemisphere nations have trialled new refereeing sanctions, with free kicks used to speed up the game.However, other than France and Scotland, northern hemisphere nations have not even bothered to road test such sanctions and they continue to argue offences at the breakdown constitute a full arm penalty despite the fact frequent stoppages are a blight on the game“…[BLOG: Both stiff and bent arm penalities requires the game to stop, yet rucking does not]
COMMENTS:The breakdown has two forms of policing, the first by the referees the other by the players. The method applied by the referrers has failed. Why: they dont see all, they are too slow to react and when they do react it requires the game to stop, the second method is by the players and its ‘rucking’. Rucking has worked tremendously well. Yet the mothers of little school boy Johny must be appeased. Wake up Mr TEW there is only one answer and the fact as a New Zealander you dont see this argument is a dam disgrace, it provides evidence that you dont understand the game that you lead. Please move aside. Laurie Mains please apply for the NZRU CEO job, thanks !
UPDATE1:Recently Mr Tews said the statistics support his case, well statistics can be molded any way you like to get any story you like, the way to design rugby is the same way an artist would design a canvas, gut instinct, feel, mood, with the lead from your design concepts. Tew does not have the ‘eye’ for great rugby design, I suggest you check out the “Heros of this Blog’ to see who does! One the great things rugby has in its concept is ‘self rule’, that is push that player onside, ruck players infringing (used to be), why you ask, because its a CONTACT sport, you cant have refs policing all aspects of the physical contests for possession (unless its dangerous), the physical contest must be sorted out physically. The PC world has fooked this up, and people like Mr Tew cant see that as they see money first and rugby concept second.
Last Point: Thank god for the Six Nations having large balls, and slowing down the destruction of traditional rugby union. In the last year mauls, long lineouts and back play have been diminished to near nothing of what they used to be.
Source: Ian McGeechan joy as maul preserved in ELV shake-up – Mick Cleary
ELVs RECOMMENDED FOR ADOPTION INTO LAW:
ELVs NOT RECOMMENDED FOR ADOPTION INTO LAW:
Require further discussion…
..”Finally, the controversial sanctions ELV, which downgrades many offences to a free-kick and which has been in use only in the southern hemisphere, has been sent away for further review. That sounds like a death-knell. “..
COMMENTS: Did they bring back the ruck ?%?@$%?@%? The break down mess will continue…the IRB couldnt organise a piss up in a brewery or a brothel !
The ELVs devalued the long lineout (fixed), the maul (fixed), and the infringements(work in progress) and ruck(needs work). So 2 out of 4 is not so bad.
Source: Problem ELVs bite the dust – Dan Retief
Members at the ELV IRB conference
Bernard Lapasset (IRB chairman)
Bill Beaumont (IRB vice-chairman and Laws Project Group)
Mike Miller (IRB chief executive)
Oregan Hoskins (IRB executive committee)
Giancarlo Dondi (IRB exec)
Peter Boyle (IRB exec)
David Pickering (IRB exec)
Jean Pierre Lux (IRB rugby committee)
Geraint John (IRB rugby committee)
Francis Baron (RFU)
Rob Andrew (RFU)
Kevin Bowring (RFU)
Chris Cuthbertson (RFU)
Roger Lewis (WRU)
Joe Lydon (WRU)
Bob Yeman (WRU)
Phillip Browne (IRFU)
Eddie Wigglesworth (IRFU)
Owen Doyle (IRFU)
Roy McCombe (SRU)
Frank Hadden (SRU)
Colin Thomson (SRU)
Andre Watson (SARU)
Johan Prinsloo (SARU)
Peter de Villiers (SARU)
David Nucifora (ARU)
John O’Neill (ARU)
Robbie Deans (ARU)
Santiago Phelan (UAR)
Ricardo Garcia Fernandez (UAR)
Marcelo Toscano (UAR), Steve Tew (NZRU)
Neil Sorensen (NZRU)
Steve Hansen (NZRU)
Nick Mallett (FIR)
Francesco Ascione (FIR)
Carlo Casagrande (FIR)
Rene Hourquet (FFR)
Jean Louis Barthes (FFR)
Didier Retiere (FFR).
Laws ProJect Group
Bill Nolan (Laws Project Group chairman),
Dr Syd Millar (Laws Project Group),
Bruce Cook (Laws Project Group/IRB development manager),
Ian McIntosh (Laws Project Group),
Dr Mick Molloy (Laws Project Group/IRB medical officer),
Graham Mourie (chairman of IRB Rugby Committee & Laws Project Group),
Paddy O’Brien (Laws Project Group/IRB Referee Manager),
Pierre Villepreux (Laws Project Group),
Richie Dixon (Laws Project Group),
Rod Macqueen (Laws Project Group).
COMMENTS: Bring the bloody ruck back idiots !
Source: ELVs have had their fun but don’t deserve fairytale ending – Wynne Gray
..”Rugby lost its way and a fair chunk of its soul when rucking was eliminated.
The dynamic attacking action which encouraged continuity was considered too dangerous, both for players caught lying near the ball and in the battle for parental approval….the greatest crime was reducing rucks to some sort of scrabblefest while the referee resembled someone blindfolded at a children’s party trying to pin the tail on the donkey. Add to that approval for a minority of defenders to pull down rolling mauls and the game quickly lost its mojo and many of the facets which delivered its uniqueness.”….
Source: British and Irish Lions coach Ian McGeechan to warn IRB over ELVs – Gavin Mairs
Important Extract:
..”There has been widespread criticism that the impact of the ELVs, which include removing the maul as an attacking option because the defending team are now allowed to legally collapse it, has led to mindless kicking and resulted in backlines being clogged up with forwards.”…