I am soooo fed up with players getting cited for giving blatant cheats a clip or a tap (e.g. at rucks), where's the robust element of the game going. Nowadays you can haul down a scrum and get a penalty in your favour, lie offside blocking release and get a penalty in your favour, walk offside and push tacklers away, opening up a track for your strike player (see ABs), flop onto a tackle preventing release (and get a penalty)..... slag off a TJ and get no punishment (viz Claasens, Dickson), ask the ref to use a video or send off an opponent (yes, Geordie, you should be ashamed...).
Where's it all going to? Wendyball? People will be diving next (oh, already done....).
Ooooh I'm so fed up I could spit!
We want a return to real rugby! Bring back shoeing! Don't cite for handbags! If you're on the ground, you're out of the game!
(Not fed up enough to boycott the game against Bath however! Bit of a hypocrite IMO).
Leicester Tigers 1995-
Nottingham 1995-2000
Swansea (Whites) 1988-95
A game played on grass in the open air by teams of XV.
I tend to agree, the best way to stop repeat offenders lying on your side of the ruck is with your feet on their body, you can clear them out and ask them not to lie there again at the same time.
I understand that this isn't what the majority of the general public would want to see but i'm with JGriffin alot of rugby people actually think this may be a better way of policing the ruck.
It won't return though.
I'm concerned at the amount of appealing and falling over thats become part and parcel of our game over the last 3 years.
The East Yorkshire Branch
Coalville RFC - "It's in the blood"
I have a lot of sympathy with this, recent incident with Strokosh getting a tap on the head for laying all over the ball last week. Not that I'm advocating shoeing folks heads, but there was a day when you knew what was coming if you didn't shift out the way.
Sadly cheating(and I guess we've been accused of enough of it)is part of the game now, which is a shame as the spectacle is not the same.
"If you want entertainment, go to the theatre," says Edinburgh head coach Richard Cockerill. "Rugby players play the game to win.15/1/21.
It seems that there is an extra-corricular lesson at every scrum-half school which involves flailing arms in the air repeatedly and screaming penalty at virtually every breakdown.
But last season, the clearest example of rugby morphing into football came when Tom Homer scored a try and proceded to do a double somersault in celebration! If you want to know whats around the corner then read on!
Unfortunately, I am of an age when this started to creep into football, Somersaults, slides and dives .... then the 'cradle' celebration when a new born was to be celebrated, then the teeshirts claiming all kinds of injustices or undying love and more recently the 'handcuffs' for a convicted thug of a brother or drink-driver who caused manslaughter and finally, this week, a player sitting down 'driving' who had been arrested for driving a car without a liscence despite being in the country for 5 years. And don't look for any shame from any of these people, they don't know what you are talking about.
Many years ago the scrum was formed basically static and the ball would be sent straight into the middle channel and there would be a hooking battle. This would all take 45 seconds absolute max from start to end.
NOW .. we get hits and slips and missed binds and resets and many minutes and front rows popping up .... it is a statement of fact that only up only Brian Moore knows whats actually going on ... so the ref guess and pings alternate teams at random.
MAYBE we shoudl get back to these older Real Scrums not a "Race to the Hit" lottery ??
Coulc I also propose a change to the laws of the game. When a player makes contact with an opponent from an offside position (i.e. in front of the ball carrier) the resulting penanly should be advanced 10 yards and a mandatory yellow card issued.
2) Bring back the only penalty offence that should be given at the scrummage "No Charging"
after that let them get on with it
ie if someone brings the scrum down let the opposition just walk over the top of them unitil the score
oh and stop the feeding and make the hookers ... HOOK! - that might concentrate there mind on staying on their feet
Actually the current "Scrum Hit" and "Breakdown Clearouts" are far more dangerous than a bit of ruck shoeing which simply gives a few scratched and bruises not major joint / concussion injuries.
I guess the law makers are trying to make the game appeal to Mums of growing boys by taking out the ruck shoeing !!
Agree with most of what is said on here about rucks and scrums. nothing wrong with removing bodies with boots; makes for far quicker ball. However, the PC corporate types that the game is trying to attract nowadays area bit squeamish about the site of a few bruises and stud marks on legs!!!
The way to stop scrums collapsing is to go back to the old days where the ball comes in straight and it was a contest to see who could hook the ball.
As an ex prop (mainly loose head, but played tight head too), I needed to get a proper bind onto my hooker so that we were not split apart; fold into the scrum so that my Hooker could get comfortable(if you charged, the Hooker normally got crunched up and struggled to adjust his position). I had to think about positioning my feet to allow the hooked ball through to whichever channel was called and I had to concentrate on keeping my opponent Tight Head at a level so my Hooker could see the ball and I had to bind properly, on a shirt with ample grip, to ensure tht he didn't bore in and disrupt.
In otherwords I had to keep the scrum stable to allow my Hooker to hook!
Once all that had been done and the ball was won, then I could push, try and lift the oppo out of the scrum, go for the eight man shove, push round or slow walk to wheel or whatever the call was for that scrum.
All that pleasure, skill and technique has been removed from scrummaging by the need to smash into the opponent and nudge him back before the ball comes in. If the hit doesn't feel right then they go immediately to ground - pathetic.
No disrespect to Tom Youngs (great modern day player), but the fact that he can go from being a centre to an international hooker in less than 4 years shows how much the old core skils have been diminished - would never happen in my day!!
There, an old f**t's ranting over for the day - now where's my sanatogen!
Having said that, there is a head of steam from the NZ side to go back to 'crouch - engage'. Several down-under articles refer to aged NZ types pushing for it. (can't ref this).
Leicester Tigers 1995-
Nottingham 1995-2000
Swansea (Whites) 1988-95
A game played on grass in the open air by teams of XV.
jgriffin wrote:Having said that, there is a head of steam from the NZ side to go back to 'crouch - engage'. Several down-under articles refer to aged NZ types pushing for it. (can't ref this).
And this is just what rugby does, it focusses on tiny details that don't make a difference and misses (or simply doesn't address) the real issues. We went from 'Crouch-touch-pause-engage' to 'Crouch-touch-set' and now people want to go to 'Crouch-engage'. Forget the words, they mean nothing to the players. What possible difference can it be if the referee says '1-2-3-4' or '1-2-3' or '1-2' .... absolutely none.
As we have seen this year, the change to Crouch-touch-set has made not one shread of difference. We still get continual collapsed scrums as teams try to get the 'hit' on each other. And after the third collapsed scrum, the referee generally guesses on which team offended with the next 'guess' balencing the books. Who loses out? We do, as watching collapsing scrums is about as interesting as watching synchronised swimming!
The 'crouch-engage' was a reversion to old style scrummaging in content.
I couldn't believe the amount of flopping-on at the rucks - less in the internationals than in the LV but still quite unbelieveable. I think 'off your feet' refers to low altitude flying, because so many floppers were unpenalised.
Leicester Tigers 1995-
Nottingham 1995-2000
Swansea (Whites) 1988-95
A game played on grass in the open air by teams of XV.
I'd hold on to this game everyone as the RFU are already changing the game from the bottom up.
The New Rules of Play which impacts U7 to U9 have removed the knock on from the youngest age groups, it's just play on. Same for forward passes (very SH). At U9 they have removed the ruck, maul, scrum and lineout. Tackles are one on one with no contest for the ball.
And this we are told will help create world class rugby players.
SPIKE
It's not the winning or losing but the taking apart which matters.
SPIKE@srufc wrote:I'd hold on to this game everyone as the RFU are already changing the game from the bottom up.
The New Rules of Play which impacts U7 to U9 have removed the knock on from the youngest age groups, it's just play on. Same for forward passes (very SH). At U9 they have removed the ruck, maul, scrum and lineout. Tackles are one on one with no contest for the ball.
And this we are told will help create world class rugby players.
It will but they will be world class rugby league players!
The East Yorkshire Branch
Coalville RFC - "It's in the blood"
