ParraEelsNRL
Referee
- Messages
- 27,694
Haha well played.
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Haha well played.
Seems an odd thing for him to say given Super Duper Rugby 12/13/14/15/16/17/18/19/20....... is ready to cut teams on account of it being a sh*t game. He is just another league jealous dribbler.
http://amp.smh.com.au/sport/the-fit...-then-change-these-rules-20170405-gveawh.html
Want to improve rugby union? Then change these rules
April 5 2017 - 4:42PM
Tennis, we hear this week, is about to look at changing their rules, or at least trialling some rule changes, including "sets of first to four games, sudden-death deuce points and no service lets ..."
Good luck to them.
Much more urgent in my book is to trial a couple of key rule changes to rugby union, in order to revitalise the game in this country.
No.1. Lose one forward and one back. Yup! Less pressure in the scrum from having no No.8 would see less of those deadly dull and sometimes tragically deadly scrum collapses – and make one less flying back-rower to cut down back-line moves.
And who'd really miss a back in the first place? See, losing a centre or a winger would not only get closer to David Brockhoff's ancient dictum that "all wingers should be drowned at birth!" but also free the game up.
All up, it would give traditional rugby as we know it a little more of the electricity so apparent in sevens, without losing the much loved structure of the game, while creating more space for everyone.
See, the essence of the joy of rugby is running with the ball in hand, and the greatest exponents of that – as in Russell Fairfax, David Campese and Mark Ella for example – were thrilling for their ability to firstly, create space, and then use it to devastating effect. They brought the crowd to their feet, essentially through evasions, not through collisions.
The problem right now is with super-fit players going for 80 minutes on end, faster than ever before, there is bugger-all space left!
In the modern professional game, if a player like Campese were to emerge, the likelihood is that even before he could unleash his goose-step to mesmerise opposing wingers, three of the flying super-fit back-rowers would have knocked him over. The game needs to get that space back, needs to get away from constant collisions as the major feature of the encounters – which would see a commensurate decrease in concussion issues – and get back sleight-of-hand, sidesteps, spinning away, open canters with defence scrambling from everywhere to bring the brute down.
And while they are changing rules, the other key thing is to get rid of the endless damn penalty goals, by taking the reward for such solo ventures from three points to two points, or even just a point. As I have long said the idea that one bloke kicking from 50 metres out from straight in front – just to punish one lousy hand in the ruck – should weigh in at three-fifths the value the whole team combining to send the winger over in the corner, is ludicrous!
And yes, of course I know what you're thinking.
You're thinking that if rugby union suddenly went to being a 13-man game, with just a point or two for a penalty, it would then resemble, more than ever, you-know-what. It might then have to deal with endless Saturday night atrocities, not to mention annual Mad Monday scandals to shake the game to its core. You're thinking that no sooner had it become 13 man, than every second or third bastard playing the game would then have to have tattoos covering every bit of skin up to the beard line, looking as if they have the imprint of the carpet of the Goulburn RSL on them, from having spent too many drunken nights sleeping upon it?
Well, you're wrong.
Rugby league has that territory so well staked out, I really don't think rugby union can make much of an impact. But everywhere else, we'd rule!
