ELVs - The End is Nigh?

[Bruce Hornby-Trainset]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/ma ... ns-england


Does this look like the light at the end of the ELV tunnel, or will the NH unions lose theri bottle when it comes down to real horse-trading re. the World Cup, etc? The report clearly suggests, however, that the whole lot could conceivably thrown out, which in my opinion would not be a good thing.

[TTRITH]

It certainly seems that Australia are the only ones who want the ELVs left in.

Bring back the maul, the 5 metre pushover, and we no longer need vain wingers such as Varndell

[Bill W]

"This is not the end, it is not even the beginning of the end. It is, in fact, merely the end of the beginning."

[thebearisstilldeano]

And so it came to pass in the land of Roohgbye that the evil Lord Southemon, Wizard of the Lower Lands known to many as OzzieKiwi finally had victory in sight.

His foul ELVs, clothed in good intention but hiding a poisen so powerful it could remove the steroids from the Orks who previously had fought his forces to a standstill at the Chalice of the World, were at last on the brink of being accepted as rulers of every part of the once beautiful land of Roohgbye.

Despite the tears and gnashing of teeth by the poor peasants of Roohgbye they knew in their hearts that their posteriors were soon to be well and truely turned into vases for the ELVs. They looked on in sadness as the knights of the once proud fortress of :censored: lay down their arms and accepted the new laws the Lord Southemon in return for his support in their quest for the chalice of the World.

Little did they know that the Lord Southemon was planning to have his all seeing eye take over their lives and that the torture of the everlasting whistle of Rufferee would soon be shrill in their ear at every turn they made. Never again would the poor people of Roohgbye be bound together in fellowship, marching as one up to the sacred whiteline. Now they would spend their time looking to the heavens preparing for The Evil Lord Southemon's agony to be inflicted on their cauliflower ears.

They say in the chronicles that evil comes in many forms, and the soothsayers said many moons ago that Roohgbye would fall when the powers of the North sleepwalk to their destiny - that the happy union of Roohgbye will become a new empire of League, with small, fat, thin and slow peasants forced to stand and watch their once great land taken over by men from the one mould of Southemon shaped like the sly Macaw perched on Lord Southemon's shoulder.

Arise now good men of Roohgbye, for your voices in the grand gathering at :censored: will surely be drowned out by the Lord sothemon and his whistling devils - the ELVs. Arise now, bend over and take the Lord Southemon's pleasure all the way from Dunedin (where they actally fillmed Lord of the Rings).

[tigermad]

It certainly seems that Australia are the only ones who want the ELVs left in.

Bring back the maul, the 5 metre pushover, and we no longer need vain wingers such as Varndell

I do miss the rolling maul and the 5 metre pushover and will glady like to see the back of the ELVs bar one or two provisos. One only has to glance back to the Wasps game last September where the ball spent more time in the air than on the ground to realise that the ELVs are not a good idea and only add to the negativity in a lot of games this season.

[maskedsquid]

I think we have shown in the past month that ELVs needn't mean an end to exciting, attacking rugby.

I wasn't a fan of them at the start, and still do miss the rolling maul, but I think a lot of people in the game are using them as an excuse to play negative, risk-free rugby. I'm glad we are no longer one of those teams.

It is time to adapt and move into the future. If Leicester Tigers can step away from their traditional game and play free-flowing, attacking, running rugby, then there's no reason why other sides can't do.

I think we should tweak a few of the ELVs, or at least the refereeing of them, but generally I'm becoming a bit of a fan.

[smith482]

I'm with masked squid I don't like all of it particularly the aerial ping pong and would like to see the rolling maul return but overall I think now everyone has adapted we are seeing more exciting rugby. agree that the refs interpretations of the laws need to be sorted out too.

[westy154]

There are positives to be found in the ELVs, but lots of teams have used them as an excuse for poor or negative play.

As Tigers have found recently, there is no reason why exciting rugby cannot be played under them, and if all teams had taken this approach from day 1 of the season, we might all be sitting here now proclaiming what a success they were!

We even saw in the past weekend's internationals that mauls are possible, and can be used to great effect. they just have to be cleverer and more dynamic, as opposed to the lumbering leviathon's of seasons gone by. It could be argued (granted rather spuriously) that in the long run the ELVs could help to rejuvinate the practice of the maul. If teams are clever with it.

[maskedsquid]

That's three positive ELV posts on the trot. Astounding.

[ancientmariner]

After nearly a complete season I reckon the worst aspect of the ELVs is the inconsistency of refs' interpretation. If in fact there were such things as bent refs (perish the thought) it would be easy for one to indicate before most games who was going to win. Their job would be a lot easier if it was allowed to play the ball on the floor; half the time it's a complete lottery as to which side is penalised at the breakdown. TV close-ups show time and time again that players from both sides have their hands on the ball, yet one team receives a penalty advantage.

[Ads677]

We should also not forget that some of the refereeing decisions we moan about are nothing to do with the ELVs, simply a tightening up of an existing Law - eg hand in a ruck. And this is one of the reasons why the aerial ping pong has occurred.

Clearly, to give even more flowing rugby, better policing of the offside lines (by those guys with the flags at the side of the pitch) should make a difference, especially for teams like our 'new' Tigers who attempt positive attacking play.

[westy154]

simply a tightening up of an existing Law - eg hand in a ruck.

Correct. The breakdowns have been messy all season, but this has been nothing to do with the ELVs.

That's three positive ELV posts on the trot. Astounding.

I've always been of the opinion to wait and see how they panned out. The first half of this season was always going to be a write off as teams got to grips with them. The second half of the season we have so far seen some really good quality rugby. Some will say "in spite of", rather than "because of", and that may be the case, but if it is, there there is no real need to change back to the old laws; it would make no difference...

[dailywaffle]

The only two ELVs that need to go of the current crop are the maul pulldown - because it's dangerous and because it gives defences extra defenders - and the lineout one - as it enables the total blocking of the 10-12 channel and adds to defence numbers.

Wouldn't disagree.

[Bill W]

The only two ELVs that need to go of the current crop are the maul pulldown - because it's dangerous and because it gives defences extra defenders - and the lineout one - as it enables the total blocking of the 10-12 channel and adds to defence numbers.

Wouldn't disagree.

Nor would I.

But the protocols need significant attention. IMHO they are close to being unrefereeable.