Rugby - not set pieces

[the plastic paddy]

Hair pulling like that needs to be stamped out like eye gouging...

Never had much respect for some of the dirty Bok players, or Jerry Collins who used to try and rip George Smith's hair out...

BOD did it in 2003 as well had a penalty awarded against him and at the next opportunity found Smith to apologise and give him one of his dreads back! Bod's was accidental. However, as someone pointed out on MF, if it was womens rugby Tuilagi would be told to tie his hair up, not that I am defending Ashton who is a complete and utter c**t.

 

[stoff]

Rugby Heaven are now even confused as to what sport they are covering:
"

Australian fly-half LeBrock James came close to helping launch a late fightback but his long-range penalty sailed just wide of the post in the 75th minute.


http://www.theage.com.au/rugby-union/union-news/leicester-edge-clermont-in-euro-cup-20111218-1p0fq.html#ixzz1gwUSrfoA​

"
He's going to be busy with the rest of the Europe campaign, the T14 and the NBA on his plate.

 

[Swat]

I suspect we could start a thread for rugby heaven f#ck ups...

 

[Moses]

I suspect we could start a thread for rugby heaven f#ck ups...

View attachment 1852

That's quite shocking, is on the full site as well.
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/u...g-a-grate-job-by-forwards-20110913-1k7vh.html

Strange it went three months before anyone picked it up

 

[Lee Grant]

Coaches
• Aussie Scott Johnson, Director of Coaching at Ospreys, is trying to stop the galactico attitude of the younger players, Only those who have had more than 50 games for the club are permitted to have coloured boots – other than black, of course.

Commentators

• Saracens v London Irish
Nick Mullins (commentating with Ben Kay and Austin Healey) - “London Irish is playing one of their last cards: Hala'ufia is replaced by new man,Treviranus, who may well become one of Austin and Ben's favourite players for some reason, as the season wears on.”

Austin Healey: “Second only to Nutley”

• Talking of private parts: sounded painful at the George Sevens when commentator Gavin Cowley mentioned that the Aussie players were “losing balls between their legs.” Ouch.

• Mark Robson in some Northampton match when a reserve came on: “Here comes Samu Manoa – just a spoonerism away from being a country.”


Referees

• Alain Roland Clermont v. Leicester spotted an irregularity when Clermont winger Sivivatu took a free kick. He did the Carlos Spencer trick of tap “kicking” it with his knee. I always imagined that to be an infringement, but afterwards Rolland let him tap the ball properly, and pass it.

• Neil Patterson during Dragons v. Perpignan came up with a new rugby saying. It probably won't catch on as much as “lazy running” or “truck and trailer,” but it was descriptive. He told a player he couldn't “do the Spider”. The player's expression was priceless, but he soon worked out that the ref didn't like him bridging his body over the ball with half his weight on his hands.

I call it the “Dallagio Starfish”, but “Spider” will do.

• Nigel Owens during Leicester v. Clermont after too many players were giving him advice: “If I hear any more conning I will blow a penalty.” Well done Nige; I hope that catches on because that's another thing that gets up my nose.

• Leighton Hodges Gloucester v Connacht in response to Andy Hazell's whinge that Gloucester's scrum got penalised but they had the dominant scrum: “There haven't been enough scrums yet to show you are dominant”. Well done Hodgo – and also for pinging players from both sides for “accidentally” taking up space.

And just quietly, yours truly hates the assumption that the superior scrum is never at fault; seen it lots of times.

 

[Ruggo]

This thread just keeps delivering. Cheers Lee.

 

[Lee Grant]

PS Swat - on the far cup.

I think you missed Growden's play on words - or more likely that of the sub-editor who made up the "grate" comment.

 

[Swat]

Either way their efforts to win the prestigious far cup are grating on my nerves...

 

[Swat]

• Aussie Scott Johnson, Director of Coaching at Ospreys, is trying to stop the galactico attitude of the younger players, Only those who have had more than 50 games for the club are permitted to have coloured boots – other than black, of course.

This is the greatest thing I've heard in a long time. He should also not allow ridiculous try celebration hand gestures unless the individual is scoring their 50th try for the club...

 

[#1 Tah]

This is the greatest thing I've heard in a long time. He should also not allow ridiculous try celebration hand gestures unless the individual is scoring their 50th try for the club...

Or that you must acknowledge the last pass/architect of the try.

 

[Brumby Jack]

I am shocked that LG has an error in his article. I blame the sub-editor..

That is unless he was referring to the George 7's from last year?

 

[Lee Grant]

Referees

• Alain Rolland in Toulouse v Harlequins berated the Quins manager Grahame Bowerbank for batting the ball away from a Toulouse player who might have had a chance for a quick lineout throw. But that was nothing compared to what happened just before full time.

Will Skinner, the Quins openside flanker, had been replaced, and was sitting on the bench when the ball came near him. He also batted the ball away from a Toulouse player. Rolland gave Skinner a red card and he had to go into the dressing room. Later he was charged by the ERC as having committed an act contrary to good sportsmanship, "in that he played the match ball illegally in the technical zone". He got suspended for 4 weeks, which was later reduced to 2.

• Colonel WSD Craven of England in France v Wales, 1920 got so fed up with the scrums that he put the ball in himself. Not a bad idea that Colonel.

• David Rose Northampton v Bath gave 4 cards for cynical play near the offenders' goal lines. He must be watching Poite and Garces refereeing recently. Let's hope that this practice catches on. I am sick of players giving up 3 points to save 5 or 7, with the chance that the penalty kick may be missed.


Blogs

• From the always entertaining Bock The Robber comes this gem, pertaining to yet another tight win by Munster in the Heineken Cup: this time against Scarlets at Thomond Park:

Munster did it to us again, for the fourth game in a row. Dragging us to the very brink before finally dogging out a win. ….. my friend, Wrinkly Joe, has been told by his doctor to stay on the cigarettes, the saturated fats and the booze but give up Munster rugby because it’s bad for his heart.

 

[Inside Shoulder]

Uplifting as this is, I found your "signature" depressing: lets hope for better reffing in 2012: without the pressure on them to get the nod for RWC they should revert to a more sympathetic treatment of the game they play in heaven.

 

[spooony]

In a nutshell, football players spend 90 minutes a game pretending they’re hurt, while rugby players spend 80 minutes a game pretending they’re not!

 

[Lee Grant]

Uplifting as this is, I found your "signature" depressing: lets hope for better reffing in 2012: without the pressure on them to get the nod for RWC they should revert to a more sympathetic treatment of the game they play in heaven.

Happy New Year all. I may as well start it off with a digressive rant in reply to Inside Shoulder's post.

Some folks blame current referees for the rash of scrum penalties but their predecessors have a bit to answer for. Today's refs have inherited a legacy of encouragement of the power hit. Nor were officials the only ones to blame: all the stakeholders of rugby went along with it.

Now more and more commentators on TV and in the print media are complaining about what the sport has spawned: scrum collapses attributed to the power hit, the cuckoo in the rugby nest. Also there are more ex-players now leaving the "if the scrum is done right there is nothing wrong with it" school and joining the "this is not the game I grew up with, let's fix it" school.

It probably needs the TV broadcasters to whinge to the IRB that they are not getting full value for money. Mention of the "M" word may focus the attention of IRB members; it usually does.


There is a law that says that front rowers cannot charge into opponents from a distance when the scrum packs down. If the IRB instructs referees that charging any distance, even 6 to 12 inches, is in breach of that law, the power hit will disappear within 3 weeks.

Back in the day there was power all right, but it was a power push after the put in, which was the official start of the scrum. Now the power starts with an engage hit. This was never part of the scrum; it's a modern confection. Now the the front rowers have to stagger to keep their balance before the scrum even starts with the put in - and sometimes they go down. No wonder there is no clear tunnel for the ball to go into, time after time.

Without the power hit the tunnel will be more credible, as it used to be. A straight put will be both easier to do and more easily enforced. Defending hookers will therefore try to hook the ball against the head more. Thus the demise of the power hit could see the rebirth of the hooking contest.

Too soft? Don't tell any old timer the old Bok scrums were soft - nor the All Blacks' scrum after Danie Craven gave them a master class in 1949.The power after the put in was immense.

Power and technique were more relevant then; now dud scrums can benefit from the guesses of referees and if the other team engages too early (another abomination of the power hit) the duds look halfway decent.

The power hit is not the only reason why scrums collapse: there were some collapses in the old days too; but I'll warrant that we will see more rugby in 80 minutes if that one law is tweaked.

But we won't know if that is the case until we try something different. Rocket science? I don't think so: just tell them that charging in from any distance is unlawful. Simple.

 

[Lee Grant]

Referees

• Jérôme Garces in Ospreys v Saracens ordered 14 scrums which resulted in:
- Resets 5
- Collapses: 15
- Free kicks: 3
- Penalties: 10
- Yellow cards: 2
- Time taken for 19 scrums (including resets) but not counting time outs: 22 minutes 40 seconds (28% of 80 minutes)

Scrums

• RWC 2011
- 22% of penalties at the RWC were awarded at the scrum, second only to the breakdown – 48%
- 27% of scrums at the RWC resulted in either a penalty or a free kick, compared to only 12% in 2007.

• 6N 2011
- 44% of scrums resulted in a penalty or a free-kick. [Faaaarque]
- 54% of scrums collapsed, either forcing a reset, free-kick or penalty. [Faaaarque]

 

[Inside Shoulder]

15 collapses from 14 scrums - better than Bradman

 

[Bruce Ross]

• 6N 2011
- 44% of scrums resulted in a penalty or a free-kick. [Faaaarque]
- 54% of scrums collapsed, either forcing a reset, free-kick or penalty. [Faaaarque]

I seem to remember a view from the North that scrum collapses were predominantly an Australian problem, because of our deficiencies in scrum technique.

 

[Moses]

15 collapses from 14 scrums - better than Bradman

14 scrums + 5 resets = 19 feeds
From 19 feeds, there were 15 collapses. 5 of these were reset and 10 attracted penalties.
Of the 4 feeds that didn't collapse, 3 had a free kick awarded.. so there was 1 completed scrum??

 

[Inside Shoulder]

Yet have you seen the crowds they get for French Top 14 and no doubt for this game too?