Better Rugby Rules

Source: Rugby World Unites to Drive out ELVs – Stephen Jones

Extracts..

..”RUGBY union is set to abandon nearly all the radical experimental law variations (ELVs) that have been trialled this season. The Sunday Times understands that the sport is preparing to deliver a damning verdict this week on the experiments, which many believe are responsible for reducing games to a tedious festival of kicking and the elimination of many of rugby’s key distinguishing features, such as the scrum and the driving maul. “…

Chris Cuthbertson, the RFU’s ELV task group leader, says: “We have areas of concern in many areas of the experiments. Rugby is meant to be a game of chess, and we are in danger of turning it into draughts.” [Guess who’s been reading my BLOG – See original post Chess vs Checkers]

Ian McGeechan, coach of the 2009 Lions, has been asked to address the conference. McGeechan firmly opposes the measures: “They are changing the game, and not for the better. It has become so much more difficult now for teams to attack with the ball in hand.

And that cannot be right.”

COMMENTS:First of all I dont mind my analysis been used by the powers to be, I say thank god they saw sense.

The $64,000 question is, will they bring back the RUCK !

The above instrument is required to fix the ELVs.

Wynne Gray and Laurie Mains this last week have written articles stating what rugby has missed in the last 15 years, and readers of this blog know what I am going to say, BRING BACK THE RUCK ! Revolution is in the ranks, let’s hope the journos pick this argument up and push it through the rugby world print writers. Taking the ruck out of rugby is like taking dribbling out of basketball, or headers out of soccer, or spin bowling out of cricket. It should have never been done.

Source: Rucking will help sort out the mess – Wynne Gray

Extracts..

The continuing emasculation of forward play is the worst part about the modern game.[Blog: Exactly, this blog supports this statement 100%]

Watching officials condone crooked scrum feeds and lineout throws with as much bend as Muttiah Muralitharan’s elbow is bad enough.

But the ruck, the section of rugby which defined its character and created space, has been eroded.

That disintegration may have pleased queasy parents and nations who were not as adept at rucking as their New Zealand counterparts, but it is the blight in the modern game.

Every breakdown is a mess. Players who venture into that area are off their feet, coming in at angles, taking players out without the ball, playing the ball with their hands, releasing possession when support arrives rather than immediately – the offences are widespread.

Players sense they have freedom to lie all over possession. A free kick is a minor concession or punishment while teammates regroup on defence in a single line across the park.

Lawmakers have made rucking so hazardous they may as well have banned it. Rugby has suffered subsequently. There were hints the IRB had recognised the flaw, but getting them into action would be like asking both hemispheres to use the ELVs at the same time.

COMMENTS:Wynne Gray and Laurie Mains have basically said that the IRB’s tree loving ELVs have fooked up rugby, and the many TV money taking ex internationals who commentate on the game have no balls to state the obvious the ruck must be brought back, and immediately. Stand up Grant Fox, Murray Mexted and Stu Wilson ( well two of these are backs and wouldn’t know jack sh*t), and draw a line in the sand, cause there will be a revolution, and we will remember those that supported the issues and those that didnt! Heads will role !

PS: I have used harsh words in the last couple of postings, I cant say I am sorry ,I am loosing it, the rugby is so bad in the 2009 Super 14, its just gotta stop !

Laurie Mains, along with Wynne Gray (NZ Herald Senior Rugby Writer) have said it out loud “BRING BACK TRADITIONAL RUGBY RUCKING”…

Source: Laurie Mains in laws plea – Richard Knowler

THIS ARTICLE DESERVE A FULL REPRINT

A frustrated Laurie Mains has slammed rugby’s lawmakers and pleaded with them to stop changing the rules.

He also despaired that “PC crap” was having an impact on the code.

Former Kiwis coach Graham Lowe got former All Blacks coach Mains’ hackles up when he claimed rugby fans were switching to league because it was more exciting and less predictable, and that rugby officials had their “heads in the sand”.

And what irked Mains most is that he agreed with a few of Lowe’s sentiments.

“If the lawmakers would get their act together and go back and look at rugby when it was a great game and use that as a starting point and get rid of this debacle that we have around the tackle area, and get forwards involved instead of having them as defenders out in the backline, then we could get back to the great game that we used to know,” Mains said.

“I think our current administrators have a heck of a lot to answer for.”

Mains, who coached the All Blacks from 1992 to 1995, slated the Experimental Law Variations that were introduced last year.

“The ELVs are not working. The idea is fine but under the current law and with a lack of rucking and a lack of driving in our forwards and the debacle that is the tackle, the ELVs are not a band aid on it really.”

Rulemakers and referees have a lack of empathy for what happens at the breakdown and need to understand it is near impossible for players in the heat of battle to make accurate judgments and do everything right: “To issue yellow cards for that is absolute nonsense.”

Mains said players would still be able to play good rugby if the administration brought back the rules of 15 years ago, when rucking was allowed in an attempt to generate quick ball.

“I would still hold out hopes that we put the PC crap aside and preserve the game because some of what Graham Lowe says is correct. Rugby league is gaining popularity because it is simpler and if you look at its laws they have not changed dramatically over the years, unlike rugby.

“If they don’t do that, then rugby is in serious trouble.”

Mains is also worried that the technical skills of forwards coaches from yesteryear are being lost.

“There is no forward coaching as we know it. That is also a major tragedy binding, driving and looking after the ball were an integral part of coaching, Mains said.

He also believed the game in New Zealand had suffered since former chairman of the laws Tim Gresson was tossed aside six years ago. Gresson, Mains said, had a firm grasp of what laws the game required and would not amend them unless he believed it benefited the code.

“Let’s hope rugby does not decline too much further before they see the errors of the last 10 years or so and go back to the basics of what rugby was and fix it up.”

COMMENTS: How did rugby get where it is today, lost. It got there because the leaders (CEOs) allowed it to get there, the CEOs listened to NON RUGBY LOVERS, thats sponsors like ADIDAS who dont know sh*t about the sport, plus they listen to market surveys taken with mums that are too scared to see little Johny get into a bit of scrap and a little bloody. Also the birth of professional rugby provided the impetus for PC administrator idiots to tweak this and that that took the game away from what the ‘founding fathers’ of rugby had been built up over a 100 years.

Mr Tew (CEO NZRU) this has happened under your 15 year watch. Fix it, or you will go down as a admin bumpkin who assisted in ruining this once great game.

Read the foundation posts ( top right hand corner of this page) for more !

Prev Post on the subject: I want 1990s rugby back, and I am not alone !

Source: We need to sort out ELVs  – Marc Hinton

Cooper said..

But the Hurricanes coach was prepared to speak out on the subject of the ELVs and the controversy that’s swirling around the IRB’s pet law changes.

“The ELVs have just given a whole lot of knockers of the game an opportunity to have a crack at us, at our game. That pisses me off because I’m not only hearing it in the media, or from fair-weather fans, but I’m hearing it from coaches, ex-coaches, and profile people who are having a crack at our game.

“I don’t think that’s good. The sooner we sort out the ELVs, the better. We need to unite as a group of rugby administrators, coaches and players and get behind the game, because at the moment it’s taking a knocking.”

COMMENTS: Is there free speech in rugby or not!  Cooper says unite, close ranks and stop the knocking. What rubbish, the idea of free speech means that if it smells like a duck, walks like a duck, then its a gotta be a duck ! Yes, you fan, you can make the big calls, promote ideas, say what is wrong, put ideas forward to fix it. IF YOU DONT, no body hears you.

If the game is getting a real knocking from loving adoring fans and coaches then it probably deserves it. So the IRB better fix it, the ELV meeting May should be very interesting.

Ronan O’Gara enters the history books..FOREVER !   

POINT: With all the rugby on this weekend around the world the best game of rugby can be awarded to the GRAND SLAM game. Question, how can you see the north taking a liberal view on the southern ELVs? Well you cant! The southern ELVs will be watered down to the northern style of ELVs. The rugby shown the Super 14 this year has been awful, I painfully watched the Chiefs vs Blues last night, and all I saw was 30 loose forwards playing a tackle bull rush, what a mess.

If you cant see it, then you must be under 40 and cant remember the good old days !!

Source: Big calls needed over Super 14 impasse  – Marc Hinton

Extracts..

New Zealand and Australia could split from South Africa, form a new alliance for franchise rugby, bring in Japan, possibly a presence in the Pacific Islands and start again with a blank canvas. Design the perfect season, with a heck of a lot less travel in it. In an ideal world the Tri-Nations would stay intact, but that would require significant goodwill from a  suddenly disaffected South Africa.

So, why wouldn’t they just go ahead and do it?

Money, that’s why.

At present South Africa bring in the lion’s share of the broadcasting revenue in Sanzar’s existing deal with News Corporation. That’s a tidy sum, and if the trans-Tasman alliance were to cut them loose they’d be sacrificing some pretty serious wedge.

Which brings us to the crux of the matter. Do Steve Tew and John O’Neill have the stones to make the big call?

Or will they fall meekly into line with the South Africans?

The next few weeks will tell that story.

COMMENTS: A: Of course they don’t, if it does happen (a split) it will because O’Neill says so, Tew is follow the leader. For the money or the good of the game, we shall see if professional rugby forces more stupid administration decisions.

Super rugby MUST:
1) Start latter !
2) Less travel demands.
3) 1 more Aussie Team.

Wynne Gray – Senior NZ Herald Rugby scribe.

Source: Time to ditch SA from Super rugby – Wynne Gray

The words in this article are sourced from heaven.  They should be placed on a stone tablet.

Excerpts

The tyranny of travel and time difference in this Super rugby series is one of its greatest downfalls while the seasonal familiarity of the accompanying Tri-series has eroded much of the sport’s intrigue.

New Zealand and South Africa have a rich rugby history but it is in danger of being watered down the longer Super rugby and the Tri-Nations continues. Tests every second year would do much to recapture some of that spark while it would also free up more time in the congested annual schedule.

This is a chance for New Zealand to get into a Pacific series where they can drive the tournament, they can make the deals, they can regather some lost followers.

Perhaps they could also reintroduce RUCKS instead of those disgraceful pile-ups, eliminate tap kick penalties for scrum infringements and get players on side; however, that is another story.

COMMENTS: I concur 100%, the bearded one has spoken, long live the bearded one ! NZ/AU should try his Australasian Cup idea as well ( see previous posts for more information).

Source: Republic threatens to split SANZAR– Greg Growden

SARFU says hands off Currie Cup!    So will SANZAR split ?

Good on ya SARFU stick to your guns. NZRU and ARU may just find out how small and isolated they really are, this was a stark reality after I read this statement.

South Africa has retaliated by saying it would form its own competition with Argentina, the US and teams from Scotland and Ireland.

Geographically the SA are better placed in the world to cater to the travel demands with other rugby playing nations. NZ and AU have the Pacific and Indian oceans to cross, we are 4 more hours on a plane from anywhere (… that has decent rugby opposition).

Of course SARFU may be doing all this squealing for a bigger cut of the SANZAR revenue pie.

PREDICTION: There is a 15th super rugby team to be allocated, SARFU and ARU both want it. ARU believe its there’s by right. If they don’t get you can bet that SANZAR is over. John O’Neill will see red and say to NZ lets go it alone, and form an Australasian Cup tournament ( note: which I favor, no matter the reduction in revenue for NZ/ARU).

Also dont you get the feeling SARFU union are getting a little pissed off with John ONeill brash and loud manipulative style of getting what he wants. He is not subtle.

UDPATE1: Source: Impasse over Super 14 expansion  – Marc Hinton

Money, as always, lies at the heart of the issue, even if the travel factor involving South Africa also creates major problems.

With South Africa’s SuperSport contributing 65 percent of the TV rights money for the tournament, any withdrawal by the republic would be felt hard in the pocket by Australia and New Zealand.

Whether the trans-Tasman unions are prepared to sacrifice that sort of money to forge ahead with a new competition without South Africa has to be highly doubtful.

COMMENTS: Little old NZRU and ARU better say sorry real quick, otherwise there are pay cuts coming and not only for the players !!

Rugby Fans are very pissed off, how the tweaking and fooking around with this great game has gone in the last 10 years.

First, just refresh your self with my foundation post ‘Chess vs Checkers’, a few quotes from there:

..”If rugby administrators break the rule ‘rugby is like chess’, they will have a hybrid game that is some where between checkers (union) and chess (league). A hybrid game will see rugby lose its hard won identity”..

..”Rugby union can be broken down into combinations: Front row, back row, loose forwards, back of scrum, centre field, back three. These combinations perform as units within the structured game of rugby, performing specialised roles, with specific skills and body shape. Fracturing the demand for a player with these specialised skills is a move away from the structured (chess) game and a move towards a more generic player (checkers). The generic player will be selected on his ability to multi task rather than perform a specialised role (ie15 loose forwards).”…

..”Forwards should be forwards, and backs should be backs”..

..”The honest intention to attract TV revenues from the temporary fan (those that watch rugby league, Australian rules, American football, and soccer) is commendable, but not at the expense of the ‘true rugby fan’. Rule changes and playing times suitable for TV viewing are not always in the best interest of the rugby fan, administrators must protect the base that got the game to from 1901 to 2008.”…

What others are saying…

Source: Rugby facing entertainment issues – Greg Ford

Some quotes..

It’s a sad indictment on the game, and a rather embarrassed looking Jerome Kaino knows it.

The big All Blacks flanker packed down for the Blues in their romp over the Cheetahs on Friday night. But for once his most loyal fans, his two sisters, didn’t go to the game. The reason? They’re sick of rugby. Tired of all the aimless kicking.

“They actually can’t wait for the league season to start,” Kaino said rather sheepishly.

“Rugby, they reckon, has become boring, so they can’t be bothered watching anymore. I was a bit surprised but when I thought about it, some of it hasn’t been flash, has it?”

The question, albeit rhetorical, deserves an answer, because this year, more than any, Kaino’s sisters are not alone.

And…

But more than ever there’s a growing school of thought that rugby is becoming its own worst enemy. That one of the game’s great strengths its complexity is leading to its demise. Nobody the players, coaches, referees and fans can understand what is going on half the time.

A high-ranking rugby official who shall remain nameless admitted recently: “It’s got so bad I have found myself flicking over to Rove on the Friday night because I can at least understand that.”

To add to the confusion, two different sets of laws are being trialled in the northern and southern hemispheres and there’s as much confusion about what path the game should take on the field as there is off it.

The International Rugby Board is keen to seize the initiative and avert further confusion by staging a potentially face-saving meeting at the end of this month.

The traditionally more conservative north has looked on disapprovingly while the south adopted short arm penalty sanctions for most offences in an attempt to speed up the game. The experiment has been a mixed bag. The north stridently disagrees, arguing rugby doesn’t necessarily have to be fast for it to be compelling.

COMMENTS:  I would watch rugby every week for 52 weeks a year, however this last weekend I watched ZERO games. My main issues are:

• Tight five’s in the back line
• Field wide defence
• Kick, kick, kick
• Scrum resets
• Too many short lineouts
• Super 14 2009 jersey fruit salad (NZ teams).
• Too many fatties who dont have the skill running with the ball (fatties have other important roles)
• Reduction of traditional micro rugby contests: Backs vs backs, tight five vs tight five, etc
• All the above is the result of the loss of ‘traditional rugby structure’ (see my post called Chess vs Checkers).

Source: Stats shows there’s still wow-power  – Duncan JohnStone

Mr JohnStone says that Super rugby has the WOW power because the stats say so :

• First 4 weeks have seen 131 tries, thus the game must be more open.
• 20 out of 27 games has seen the score difference btw the teams less than 13

He claims that because of these stats it’s not boring.

Thank god this guy is not your financial adviser as he would have sold you shares a year ago, and we all know how that turned out. Mr JohnStone get it through your head, the score or even the number of tries does not measure the true nature of a skillful rugby contest. Maybe he should get data for these statistical questions:

• 1 How many kicks per game, and quality of them ?
• 2 How many minutes are forwards standing in the back line  ?
• 3 How many minutes do props/hookers run with the ball compared to backs ?
• 4 How many occasions do you see a pure back line one on one contests ?
• 5 How many mauls (yes I like them)  ?
• 6 How many long and short lineouts  ?
• 7 How many scrums,  with/without resets ?
• 8 How many styles of rugby have been demonstrated ?
• 9 How many minutes the game is dominated with the field wide defence pattern ?

NOTE : Pre and post ELVS game stats should be studied.

Mr JohnStone you can have a game that ends 6-0, and it can be considered a great game. I can point you to a few games of the ABs vs Boks over the years. Lots of tries can be seen as ‘basketball’ rugby, a style that breaks down the multiple of rugby contests for more dotting down action. (Please read Foundation posts of this blog for more explanation, thanks.)

Mr JohnStone is a half arse hack, thinking that the rugby public can be tricked into believing that the ELVs are better than ‘cheese on toast’ with a few ‘not so deep’ stats. This guy should be running a bank in Wall Street as this type of spin is well sought after there!

UPDATE1: Source: ELVs face one final talkfest  – Marc Hinton

The International Rugby Board has one last chance to sell its controversial Experimental Law Variations at a global gathering in London at the end of this month as the May deadline looms.

The IRB will convene a conference of 70 key stakeholders in London when the ELVs, which have been largely decried in the north, will be given the fine-tooth comb treatment.

But with the decisive May vote looming for the IRB’s council and the vibe from the northern hemisphere largely negative on the law variations, even the IRB is admitting prospects aren’t exactly encouraging.

“They will be debated in much detail over two days,” said IRB chief executive of the London conference on the ELVs. “There will be presentations, we’ll look at videos of matches, all the stats and everyone will get the chance to look at all the ELVs and take their thoughts away and discuss them within their unions.

“What will happen, I don’t know,” shrugged Miller. “We were asked after the 2003 World Cup to look at areas of the game, and put the process in place and have extended trials which we’ve done.

COMMENTS:The NZ rugby commentators in print and on TV have been given a silent mandate to push one view of the ELVs and that’s ‘be in love with them’, otherwise your local NZRU wont talk to you any more. I recall only two dissenters in NZ, and one was Pat Lam, thats it. All the ex rugby players paid via SKY TV are not encourage to diss the sport as it turns off the punters (note: When I mean diss, I mean constructive discussion about the outside influences pissing off local rugby fan.) Looks like to me that ELVs will be watered down as the ‘money north’ just dont share the love of them.

Source: IRB insistent on late kickoffs for World Cup – Marc Hinton

International Rugby Board chief executive Mike Miller has confirmed the controversial late kickoff times for feature matches at the 2011 World Cup were a non-negotiable in discussions with New Zealand organisers.

Dear ‘World Rugby Fan’ when you watch the finals at the RWC 2011 you cant blame the NZ organisers for the poor rugby conditions. As the finals will be played between 9.00 and 10.30pm mid October 2011 (Semis on the 15/16th, final on the 23rd), I can tell you for a dead cert that the last 30 minutes of the game will make the out come a pure lottery. Why, the night dew on the ball will make it slippery thus knock ons will be high in number, and if you dont have a kicker with an 80% strike rate you will loose. If your team is a running side (say NZ) then you better be up 20 points with 30 minutes to go, if you are a tight five team (say England) then get to the last 30 minutes and be with 10 points, as you will have a real chance.

It would have to be a very warm day in October to secure excellent rugby conditions, and that’s not likely, and god help the playing conditions if it’s a poor day, it will be like playing rugby in South Island mid july (even though final is in Auckland in October). The ignorance of the IRB concerning the late night rugby conditions in October at Auckland, will more than likely to prove to be a huge mistake. I would put the odds at 20% of a excellent conditions at the 9.00pm kick off. I know I have lived in Auckland for 22 years. The night dew and cold chill will effect the game to the negative, and thats if the preceding day was fine, if the preceding day was wet well the ground will be a slippery rugby slide and fun for no one.

Thats why if you pay $1000 (??) for finals tickets you taking a huge risk, so good luck.

Seriously whats wrong with 7.30pm kick offs.

The New Zealand time of 7.30 pm the 23rd October 2011 (RWC Final) is around the world is:

• – Dublin –  7.30 am
• – London –  7.30 am
• – Paris –  8.30 am
• – Moscow –  10.30 am
• – CapeTown –  8.30 am
• – Sydney – 5.30 pm
• – Tokyo – 3.30 pm

Can’t the Northern rugby fans wake up earlier than 7.30 am, of course they can !! Hell to catch the train to work you need to be up a 5.30am ! Who is the IRB kidding !!

UPDATE1: Apparently NZ daylight savings is on for the finals. So thats better, but not way better. But I concede, it is better. The above times for the world cities was calculated with DST in mind. (See TimeAndDate.com)

Source: Two-pool idea looms as plan B  Tony Robson

Mr Tew on SANZAR future

“We’ve made it clear we respect their desires around the Currie Cup, but you are either in a joint venture or you’re not and you are prepared to make some compromises or you’re not.”

Source: ELVs make Super 14 a big turn-off: O’Sullivan – Greg – Growden

 Eddie O’Sullivan on the ELVs in Super 14.

Eddie O’Sullivan, one of international rugby’s leading coaches, has described the Super 14 as a dud and, due to the glut of free kicks, he can’t be bothered watching it.

O’Sullivan, Ireland’s most successful coach of the modern era and who recently took over as the United States head coach, admitted on an Australian rugby podcast last night that he had lost all interest in the Super 14.

“I’m not that taken by the whole thing,” he said. “I don’t agree with the law changes. The dynamics of the game I don’t like. It just doesn’t do anything for me.”

He said the experimental law variations had led to the decline in standard. “The law variations with the use of all the free kicks, I just don’t agree with. It makes the game different. It’s a hybrid game that is being played.” [Please read foundation posts: Chess vs Checkers]

My Comments: Looks like to me changes are a foot on all fronts.

When will English Rugby tourist ever learn ! (ha)

NOTE:
1) Shes not an Aussie, as they dont use paper, hands only !
2) She cant be a Sth African as they sh*t in there pants.
3) Not a Kiwi as there are no beer cans.
4) Shes not a Welsh, as they dont know where Africa is !
5) Shes not an Irish, as she is not drunk !
6) Cant be a Scot, she has a tan !

Source : Fears too many teams will spoil Currie– Greg Growden

ONeill

Before leaving for the SANZAR conference in Dubai last week, Australian Rugby Union chief executive John O’Neill revealed there were differences with South Africa over the Currie Cup.

“There are issues over whether Springboks continue playing in the Currie Cup,” O’Neill said. “The reality for all three unions is that we can only afford one level of professional rugby, which is Super rugby. Currie Cup, NPC and Premier Rugby in Australia is not the professional game.”

ONeill don’t care as his ‘Premier Rugby’ is a complete failure anyways ! Loosing $7mil, last I heard. So NZRU and the SARU have to bend to ARUs reality, by relegating the NPC and Currie Cup to 2nd grade standards.

Or do they !

SARU can go with the North, more money, easier time zone, less travel demands, and keep the Currie Cup (for how long, I dont know). NZRU can play with ARU by playing the Wynne Gray Australasian Cup plan, that would work. Yes revenue would be less, but thats ok as the ARU/NZRU now have a traditional overseas clash in USA/Japan each year ( well from 2009) to make up the short fall.

My bet is that SARU will go, if the 22 weeks idea is required by the ARU. Currie Cup is very important to the SARU, good on them !

UPDATE1: SARU is not singing the same song as John ONeill. John wants the extra team to be based in Aussie, and a April Start, SARU want the extra team in Sth Africa and a January start. CAN YOU SMELL THE END RESULT, bye bye SARU ! If John ONeill lets SARU get its way that a huge negative for ARU, a disagreement that will break up SANZAR. Good for this rugby fan, I favor a professional Austrialasian Cup, with an start in April.

Source: South Africa will fight for new team, says president

To Do list
1) SANZSAR break up – nearly done.
2) ELVS minimised – working on it.
3) Fruit Salad Super 14 jerseys scrapped – delegated to Lindsay Knight/Murray Mexted.
4) Bring back buck – long shot, but on the strategy table.

Joke Revised..

Q. You’re trapped in a room with a tiger, a rattlesnake and an Australian CEO John ONeill.  You have a gun with two bullets.  What do you do?

A. Shoot the Australian CEO John ONeill – twice

JOKES

Q. You’re trapped in a room with a tiger, a rattlesnake and an Australian rugby fan.  You have a gun with two bullets.  What do you do?

A. Shoot the Australian fan – twice

***********************************

An Australian player went to the doctor and said: “I’ve just been playing rugby and when I got back I found that when I touched my legs, arms, head, tummy – everywhere – it really hurt.”

The doctor replied: “You’ve broken your finger.”

 ***********************************

Now this one, due to ABs performance, is o so true !

Q. What do you call 15 guys sitting around the tv watching the Rugby World Cup final?

A. The All Blacks

Source: Change of rule could tempt stars to return  – Gregor Paul

Mr Paul who wrote this article suggest that the rule requiring ex ABs to playing Super 14 to qualify for the Tri nations and ABs duties is outdated and should be scrapped.

Mr Tew said the rule was devised to allow those players who decide to stay in NZ a fair right to get preference in selection over those players that chase better revenue rewards.

If a player shows loyalty to NZ rugby then why shouldn’t they get preference, after all ex ABS are ‘X’ for a reason, either there form has gone, or to old, or slow. Having a ‘supposed’ fancy CV from northern rugby scene or other codes is not as good as ‘one on one’ matchs ups through the Super 14 round robin competitions with other ABs selection contenders.

Mr Tew dont change the rules, no exemptions, ever !

Luke is a player that shined when he was outside Dan Carter, on his own he will prove to be average. To prove me wrong, he should play Super 14 so he can earn his place, and be selected on merit.

Mr Henry blows his own trumpet and creates ‘rugby fear’ to get his own way, remember, when he said we wont win the world cup if players are not rested from Super 14 duties, yeah right, how did that work out ! The fear this time will be, ‘we dont have a first five, and we shall struggle in the Tri Nations’. Next thing he will say is that we cant beat ‘global warming’ unless Luke plays in the ABs !! Dont you think Henrys hot air creates global warming ! (ha)

Henry does what ever he can, break any rule, side line any other interest, to get his own way. NZRU rules, are rules, have a back bone !

Source: Sanzar to expand Super 14

Conferences are a must for the SARFU, as it reduces the unfair travel demands and long periods away on tour for them. This also would make it easier for Japan or USA teams to join in (well not by much, but its the thought that counts – Auckland to Tokyo is 13 hours).

The other good idea about conferences is it allows the cream to rise to the top, and once the winning conference team is found, they play against the other winning conference teams, thus less one sided matches. I guess we will end up with NRL finals format as well.

Funny how the NEW super 15 will be a very close mirror of NRL, jes, that ARU CEO gets near every thing he wants. We could save several $100k, by allowing him to be a joint CEO of the NZRU/ARU as well. I mean what does our guy (ak NZRU CEO) win at !!

The Australaisan Cup wasn’t such a bad idea, but I guess the African TV coverage is just too much for a sponsor to miss out on.

Source: O’Neill calls for end of ‘sunscreen rugby’

O’Neill set off on Monday for a Sanzar board meeting in Dubai where he will bring up the heat issue and also move for an expanded competition.

“Personally, I think we start Super rugby too early and that’s one of the things on the agenda for the Sanzar board meeting,” he said at a news conference in Sydney.

“Late February, early March in Brisbane is a very humid, hot place and an afternoon game to boot.

NO problems here mate! If this is SANZARs attitude then what about Rugby in NZ between June and July at night, that is ‘scuba rugby’, and a waste of time for the viewing public.

NO half measures please…yeah right ! (Tui)

Source: All Blacks “won’t play” Air NZ Cup – Neil Reid

Henry says…

“If they are playing Super 14, the Iveco Series, Tri-nations and the end of year tours; there are 15 games I think again for the All Blacks this year.

“Then there is another 13, possibly 15, Super 14 games.

“That is getting up to 30, when you have pre-season games. Can they play anymore games than that?

“So something has to give. And I think the decision is that the All Blacks won’t play Air New Zealand Cup unless they have been injured and need to make sure they are right for rugby above that level.

“I think that decision has been made over the last few months.”

After many years of low involvement by the ABS in the NPC they have finally been removed completely from the NPC. I never forget Murray Deaker telling Jock Hobbs that taking ABs out of NPC would destroy the base of the game in this country, and Hobbs response was that ABs would never be removed from the NPC. Well that’s until the almighty dollar entered the room. Henry is not innocent he has has for decades bent union rules to get what he wants ..here is some examples : NZ players playing for Wales that had incorrect birth rights (Shane Howarth – Granny Gate,  Players removed from Super 14 in the world cup year (Cotton Wool Club).

Its a shame that this has happened, it is now even more imperative that a 22 game competition like the “Australasin Cup” become a reality, as this will allow a full match up of professional,semi professional and amateurs players to see who has the goods.

UPDATE: More Henry rule bending, Luke MacAlister does not qualify to player for ABs in this years coming Tri Nations as he will not play in the current Super 14. The NZRU have this rule to ensure professional players qualify for AB selection and dont get any ideas about manipulating the NZRU to get the best deal for there bank account. Well Henry needs him (due to Carter injury), so do you really think the NZRU rules mean anything any more, they dont! They are expendable for the almighty dollar. Luke is bums on seats and TV ratings ! EVERY THING IS NEGOTIABLE AT THE NZRU. If the rule is broken or a ‘dispensation’ is given to Luke, then every professional player will see that the NZRU is weak and will bend if you have the upper hand.

From a selfish point of view, I would like to see him play in the Tri Nations, and he will, but principles are principles, so if the NZRU integrity is to be defended he should not.

Source: Fourth Bledisloe Test switched from Denver to Tokyo – John Matheson

The NZRU banked about $NZ4 million ($3 million) from last year’s Bledisloe Cup Test in Hong Kong and can expect to pull in at least $NZ5 million from their Tokyo jaunt.

Four Bledisloe cups games, are they freaken kidding, bumkins at the ARU and NZRU dont give a toss on how much they exploit the game for the buck, too much rugby with the same boring arrangements.

Have no doubt the way the CEOs are treating this great game is a dam disgrace, the NZRU are just as fat with expensive staff as those of the investment banks at Wall Street. Why dont they just cut costs, sack the ‘special hangers on’, you only need one All Black coach and not three. Notice all the new jerseys in the super 14, that is in the hope that you buy the new jersey so they can have your cash, no matter they look oh so ugly. Funny how Man United doesnt do the same, as you cant build a brand when you change the logo every new year.

A question for those that have seen more than 20 years of rugby, are you watching the ‘kick and hope, force back Super 14’, I get the feeling that many of you are not. NZ crowds are down, maybe its more than economics, maybe the fiddling of this great game of rugby union is slowly destroying the loyal fan base. We shall see!

UPDATE: Source – NZRU seeks to trim costs by $2.6m – Wynne Gray

The Rugby Union has slapped the handbrake on its spending to try to shave a further $2.6 million from its bills as the effects of the global economic meltdown are felt this season.

While the NZRU has reserves of $55 million, it remains anxious about the future and has worked through plans to trim nearly $1 million from its costs. The remaining $1.6 million savings will come from:

* A salary freeze on all NZRU staff salaries.
*Reduced spending on age-group camps, assembly costs and development programmes.
*A reduction in television match officials in the national championship.
*A cut in All Black costs.

The above is a step in the right direction….not enough, need more cost cutting: I mean what do you need Wayne Smith for, the ABs back line been crap for years ! [ Or is it that we need a forwards in the backs coach, instead of a backs coach only (ha)]

*****I refer you to a post by Wynne in May 03, 2008.*****

Source NZHerald : Wynne Gray: Forget the world, let’s make it more interesting at home

 Extract..

Let’s consider a few alternatives and start with the World Cup, which is not going to disappear. That event is scheduled quadrennially for September and October.

So in the other three years of the cycle let’s make that the time for both inbound and outbound tours or tests. Forget the sort of unbecoming drive-by internationals we are getting from Ireland and England in June.

The Super series should begin in April and run for about 20 weeks of round robin and finals competition. New Zealand rugby would be better served if the competition had the same number of teams but no South African content.

Time zones and an absence of provincial tribalism are sporting enemies in the Super series. Transtasman combat is an answer; eight NZ sides and six from Oz playing in front of capacity crowds at smaller stadiums would also be more financially sustainable, logical, interesting and easier to follow.

Players would have the progressive build-up of club and country, while an amateur club and amateur NPC competitions could run underneath the professional series.

A gap between the round robin and finals could be put aside for the Bledisloe Cup, while tests against the Springboks would become far more appealing if they went into the September-October international window. The distinctive honour of tests would return if players were involved in six or eight a year rather than double that as they are now.

The All Blacks could then take leave before Christmas. All professionals could have January and February to condition and March to prepare with their team before an April start.

More on this subject : Super rugby – It’s in safe hands (not) ! 

MY COMMENTS: Why the hell NOT !!!

Source : South Africa ‘threatens’ to quit Super 14 – Neil Reid

I know for a fact the late and great John Drake would be pleased with this outcome, he would promote a true Australasian Cup. That would be 12 teams from NZ and 6 from Aussie going through 18 rounds of games with a 4 team play off, thats 22 weeks of professional or semi professional rugby. This would give the Aussies (and NZ)  a solid media program against there league mates, and give TV 22 weeks of competitive rugby over a very large market, any sponsor would love that !!

This is good for all, as all regional teams get exposure to top rugby. This would also dilute the power from old super 14 power regions (Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin).  Just imagine Taranaki  or Hawkes Bay winning the ‘Australasian Cup’.  Yeah man, I would watch that !!

So whats the down side…I will miss the 3.30 am starts to watch SARU games, yeah right !

Of course the NZRU would have to stop the big money deals from pulling ‘Dan Carter’ types out of the NZ scene to the Aussie scene, we cant have Dan playing for Perth for a $1 mil a year can we !! But they (Aussie) will cry we must allow players to get larger financial rewards to ward off the Nortern clubs stealing our NZ/AU players. Well then no internationals for them then ! If the NZRU ever break the tribe vs tribe rule that would lessen the apeal of regional match ups in an Australasian Cup. I guess nothing is going to be easy.

Go SARU go !!

Source: Super-sized comp is at broadcasters’ mercy: O’Neill– Greg Growden

The ARU has no, zip, zero domestic competition that can get a TV audience. Therefore it must create one, that will compete with rugby league for advertising revenues and sponsorship, and all round media time.

NZRU and SFRU don’t have this problem, NZRU problem is however a small market, and SFRU has an issue with time zone. So who needs who. SFRU don’t anyone, NZRU needs ARU for commercial reasons, ARU needs NZRU desperately to make up decent teams within a solid competition.

So should we say bye bye to SFRU, and have a nice season of professional rugby with a mix of ARU and NZRU teams. There is a lot of upside to that thought.

But remember this, John O’Neill does not care about local NZRU competitions, and you may say nor does the NZRU as the money just isn’t in the local market.

Keep an eye of future developmemnts,  I shall !!

The ‘Mile High’ Stadium : Capacity 80,000, home to the AFL Denver Broncos.

Is this where the ABs will stave off recession concerns, [Note: the fact that the NZUSD is now $0.51 @ 20090205 so that the Adidas payments are twice as large]. But we must also consider the ARFU and they are in deep financial poo, player wage cuts, losses from domestic failed season programs. So expect at least a 3 year deal for the Bledisloe cup clash.

Mind you, what a rugby trip, snow skiing oustide Denver is great, rugby on the weekend. That’s a plus.

Can you imagine ABs on Hollywood duties in a couple of years, photos of Paris Hilton and Dan Carter seen at local night club in LA…oh god that’s not a plus.

UPDATE: The arictle below suggest that the return for the NZRU alone would be around $6,000,000 NZD, so it’s gonna happen…

Source: Bledisloe Cup’s American debut nears – Neil Reid

NZRU Manager:… maybe we should have given ‘le sabbatique’ a miss then, is that why the Aussie didn’t like the idea, darn them Aussie another better management decision by the green and gold.

‘Le Sabbatique’ was good for Dan Carter bank account, and will prove not so good for NZRU bank account, as one wonders if Dans missing presence from All Black ranks costs the NZRU in gate taking and general interest by the public…who are already pissed by ABs playing overseas in Denver and Hong Kong.

Well its all go for another year blogging on Rugby and lets hope the ELV laws decided upon arent another stuff up by the administrators.

NOTE: The NZDUSD is now at 0.5075 (today) and will fall further, and as the payments from Adidas are in $USD thats very nice for the NZRU, so all you rugby volunteers out there dont feel sorry for the NZRU when they cry out for funds by playing games in Denver for more monies. They should have a very nice year. I wonder if ticket prices are more reasonable through the super 14 this year, lets see !!