waiopehu oldboy
George Smith (75)
Can someone tell Willie Lose there's no gate any more, even for the tackler.
Bay 5-0 & pussies lucky to have nil, as they say
Bay 5-0 & pussies lucky to have nil, as they say
WOB, I'm watching some pretty good rugby so far (which as ever is scary for an Aussie supporter). What sort of player retention rate are these teams getting from one season to the next - 60-70%?
In which case - more than scary!That would seem about right as an average. Counties had 11 on debut Thursday night, several others have 10 or 12 new players (albeit some are new to their province, not to this level per se), others as few as six.
And my kiss of death remains strong
Points system got changed back, God knows when
I cringed on a few occasions where players had an opportunity to pilfer (on there feet with the clean out yet to arrive) under the old laws and they just had to pull out and back off.
The players using their feet is not new, but now is almost mandatory at every breakdown (it looks like soccer with the amount of players trying to kick the ball) so I am expecting a stray boot to cause major damage to a player or two. I can see a halfback getting a serious hand injury.
The other one I see is the ability to legally clear beyond the ruck. I can see this one being a big problem with the key element that is required under the ELV's is the clean out and pushing over the ball. This will make the obstruction rule irreverent at times IMHO especially close to the try line.
Can you explain that to me? As I understand it, under the ELVs the defending player can pilfer if he is on his feet and behind the offside line. What am I missing?
Yeah, but I think this is to do with the offside line. So it is where the "contact in the tackle" occurs, so if you slip down the legs I am not sure if its the initial or last contact (does a higher tackle give you a better chance at a pilfer?). The other issue is being aware of where the contact is (too much doubt in players minds maybe?) and also can they reach the ball from behind the offside line (which is now subjective instead of being set) as players palace it back? (eg: a tackle around the ankles means you may have to reach the full length of a body and arms from behind the offside line which is impossible. So think of a 1 on 1 tackle off a break up field with no support from either team - you just stand there and wait for other players to turn up because you cant pilfer? )
I think I get your point here, I guess it depends how its refereed, as I see it the ELVs encourage players to clean out while staying on their feet, ie walking over the ruck - i dont think that extends to taking out players not part of the ruck - if thats your point. Maybe I am misunderstanding you though? Not sure of what you mean about obstruction either?
A few of the Northland players picked up on the fact that if you got to the ruck early, drove hard and through the ruck (as the ELV's encourage) you can drive an opponent past the ruck by several meters easily and legally. So the rule that was implemented to stop the cleanout beyond the ruck / taking players out / punching a hole or etc is now nullified by a hard charging quick arriving clean out pushing over and beyond the ball. So close to the line they can almost legally bulldoze a path to the line through the defence.
Early days but the Canterburians look to have this one under control - despite your KoD!