New Laws, old Laws.

[Big Dai]

Just musing over a pint down at the "One Eyed Turk" with sons and a few mates. Could we have a game played and televised with two top teams playing the game as I used to know it...........or do it half and half. Half old laws, half new? Then some of these wise fellows (Alternative word inserted), pundits I think they call them, could do some analysis or other such Tom foolery and find out just how far the fiddling about with things has brought us forward.

1967 v 2017 fifty years of "progress"....................

No lifting at the line out
Winger throwing in
Kick direct to touch from anywhere
Mark anywhere (on the ground)
Their throw even from a penalty kick to touch
3 points for a try
Scrums can wheel
No charging (Passive engage)
Dummy from the base of the ruck
...............There are more you can think of I'm sure

[jgriffin]

TBH I think the majority of changes have been for the better, from my own perspective the change to the touch-kick was magic as often the game used to consist of scrum/lineout, 9 to 10, 10 kicks it out.
The change to the tackle area has been the bugbear for me. The old system (still favoured by Smurf) didn't stop people using their hands or obstructing, but was much easier to police and significantly kept the game speed up.

[Big Dai]

We were discussing things like dummy runners? My jaundiced memory suggested it was a certain team in black that invented them?
Before they used them it used to be called crossing

[strawclearer]

Just musing over a pint down at the "One Eyed Turk" with sons and a few mates. Could we have a game played and televised with two top teams playing the game as I used to know it...........or do it half and half. Half old laws, half new? Then some of these wise fellows (Alternative word inserted), pundits I think they call them, could do some analysis or other such Tom foolery and find out just how far the fiddling about with things has brought us forward.

1967 v 2017 fifty years of "progress"....................

No lifting at the line out
Winger throwing in
Kick direct to touch from anywhere
Mark anywhere (on the ground)
Their throw even from a penalty kick to touch
3 points for a try
Scrums can wheel
No charging (Passive engage)
Dummy from the base of the ruck
...............There are more you can think of I'm sure

Oh for the days of both scrums staying together for warmth and companionship - "they're called a 'pack' for good reason, young Strawclearer" - and trundling slowly round the pitch, keeping well out of the way of the three-quarters who had acres of space to pirouette, flick their long hair out of their eyes and run round instead of through each other. It was sometimes difficult to spot exactly when scrums and lineouts started but they were always completed without fuss and without intervention by 'Sir'. It was never better as a 'spectator sport'!

[JP14]

Just musing over a pint down at the "One Eyed Turk" with sons and a few mates. Could we have a game played and televised with two top teams playing the game as I used to know it...........or do it half and half. Half old laws, half new? Then some of these wise fellows (Alternative word inserted), pundits I think they call them, could do some analysis or other such Tom foolery and find out just how far the fiddling about with things has brought us forward.

1967 v 2017 fifty years of "progress"....................

No lifting at the line out
Winger throwing in
Kick direct to touch from anywhere
Mark anywhere (on the ground)
Their throw even from a penalty kick to touch
3 points for a try
Scrums can wheel
No charging (Passive engage)
Dummy from the base of the ruck
...............There are more you can think of I'm sure

It’s a very annoying law that you can’t kick straight out anymore but it’s only annoying for the team that kicks it out stripaight on the full

[JP14]

Am I right in thinking that hookers used to throw the ball in a lineout one-handed “American football” style

[Tiglon]

I generally roll my eyes in despair when people whine on about how much better things were in the past.

E.G. "the world is such a violent place these days". Yeah, OK Margaret, how about we arrange for a group of vikings to rape and pillage your town every summer, then we'll see how how worried you are about hooded youths hanging around on street corners, or people driving at 33 mph down your cul de sac.

However, unrelated ranting aside, it is important to measure and assess the changes that you make, so the idea is an interesting one. It's always worth looking at what might make the game better - and perhaps some such things can be found in the past.

[LE18]

Am I right in thinking that hookers used to throw the ball in a lineout one-handed “American football” style

Yes you are correct, stood sideways on and bowled in like a cricket bowler. Before that though, wingers threw in, and I remember one of my clubs defensive line out ploys was the "Bunch and Take", whereby all 8 forwards crowded belly to bum behind each other, no more than 3 yards in length, winger threw to 2nd man in the line, he was protected by hooker at the front, they caught ball and all 8 then drove forward. We often lost!

[G.K]

I generally roll my eyes in despair when people whine on about how much better things were in the past.

E.G. "the world is such a violent place these days". Yeah, OK Margaret, how about we arrange for a group of vikings to rape and pillage your town every summer, then we'll see how how worried you are about hooded youths hanging around on street corners, or people driving at 33 mph down your cul de sac.

However, unrelated ranting aside, it is important to measure and assess the changes that you make, so the idea is an interesting one. It's always worth looking at what might make the game better - and perhaps some such things can be found in the past.

Not all Vikings were bad, some of them were born to disadvantaged families and had a poor upbringing so it wasn't really their fault.