The Tuesday Top Five

[nathan]

The significant drop in refereeing standards this year and the impact this will potentially have on the world cup. I'm astounded on some of the results particularly in SA this year and the influence refs have had on the game.

The age old excuse of 'well the team should've adapted/played to the whistle' doesn't apply anymore. It's gotten atrocious and is degrading the appeal of the game from an entertainment (and broadcasting/public interest) perspective.

 

[Brumby Runner]

The significant drop in refereeing standards this year and the impact this will potentially have on the world cup. I'm astounded on some of the results particularly in SA this year and the influence refs have had on the game.

The age old excuse of 'well the team should've adapted/played to the whistle' doesn't apply anymore. It's gotten atrocious and is degrading the appeal of the game from an entertainment (and broadcasting/public interest) perspective.

Especially when it is compounded by the home side's control of the replays on the big screen. Can maybe adjust to the ref, but difficult to anticipate the overexposure of some plays and the absence of others from the screen.

 

[Bobas]

No top 5 this week? Was think the smith twins looking at signing with the tahs. What is it with twins and wanting not to be separated... Happened to the brums when they lost fiangaas to the Reds they only wanted Saia from memory. Could tie it into that hilariously bad Matt Damon movie stuck on you somehow could make for a good paragraph.

 

[Sully]

No top 5 this week? Was think the smith twins looking at signing with the tahs. What is it with twins and wanting not to be separated. Happened to the brums when they lost fiangaas to the Reds they only wanted Saia from memory. Could tie it into that hilariously bad Matt Damon movie stuck on you somehow could make for a good paragraph.

I ran out of time Bobas. I might have some today. Maybe.

 

[Bobas]

I ran out of time Bobas. I might have some today. Maybe.

Sorry, I wasn't trying to hassle personally, I didn't know you or if anyone was down to do it.

 

[Sully]

I didn't feel hassled

 

[Lee Grant]

It wasn't a "quick throw". It was a "quick lineout". The issue of the ball boy touching the ball is not relevant. Only whether the conditions of a normal lineout were met - 2 from each team, went 5m, straight etc.

I thought it was a "quick throw" because it wasn't a quick lineout. A lineout, quick or otherwise, needs at least two players from each team and it wasn't the case.

The Blues accidentally had two in it - there was the would-be tackler and the fellow at the back, who was talking to five other teammates near to him, but Toby Smith was the only Rebel near to the line of touch. (And it's interesting that in the still frame I am am watching, there were five Rebels a few metres away from the line of touch looking toward their own goal line, probably cooking up a move).

Therefore it was a quick throw, albeit a straight one along the line of touch. It follows that the matter of the handling of a different ball by the ballboy should have been investigated - or more to the point: the matter of the formation of the lineout, or otherwise, should have been looked at in the first instance.
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[Bobas]

I thought it was a "quick throw" because it wasn't a quick lineout. A lineout, quick or otherwise, needs at least two players from each team and it wasn't the case.

The Blues accidentally had two in it - there was the would-be tackler and the fellow at the back, who was talking to five other teammates near to him, but Toby Smith was the only Rebel near to the line of touch. (And it's interesting that in the still frame I am am watching, there were five Rebels a few metres away from the line of touch looking toward their own goal line, probably cooking up a move).

Therefore it was a quick throw, albeit a straight one along the line of touch. It follows that the matter of the handling of a different ball by the ballboy should have been investigated - or more to the point: the matter of the formation of the lineout, or otherwise, should have been looked at in the first instance.
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I agree, I watched it a couple of times and the Rebels only have a thrower and one receiver in the correct area for a fast line-out.

Toby Smith may not have known if there was anyone behind him or if it was a new ball. But Leafa certainly should have known both things, yet celebrated like the try was going to be a sure thing.
The only thing I can think of was maybe the touch judge or referee gave them the all clear before they attempted it so Gardener only checked the throw distance.

 

[Eyes and Ears]

I thought it was a "quick throw" because it wasn't a quick lineout. A lineout, quick or otherwise, needs at least two players from each team and it wasn't the case.

The Blues accidentally had two in it - there was the would-be tackler and the fellow at the back, who was talking to five other teammates near to him, but Toby Smith was the only Rebel near to the line of touch. (And it's interesting that in the still frame I am am watching, there were five Rebels a few metres away from the line of touch looking toward their own goal line, probably cooking up a move).

Therefore it was a quick throw, albeit a straight one along the line of touch. It follows that the matter of the handling of a different ball by the ballboy should have been investigated - or more to the point: the matter of the formation of the lineout, or otherwise, should have been looked at in the first instance.
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You could argue either way and probably the right answer is there was a missing condition for it to be one or the other.

 

[Lee Grant]

A bit late with recommendations for the Tuesday top five, and I haven't seen all the games yet but …

Australia looks like the weakest conference in games against teams from the other two conferences - though I haven't done a count.

Aus seems to have the weakest group of referees also, though SAffer Stuart Berry is a plus in counterpoint for our guys.

Talking about officials - were the Chiefs dudded against the Canes late in their game on Saturday?

What happened to the Reds in the second half v. the Rebels? They should take the names of all the players who played after the break - I didn't recognise some of them, they played so well - and give them a run next week.

CFS played his best game for ages despite getting to be as big as his dad.

Any more talking points for the Tuesday Top 5 writer ??
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[RugbyReg]

Just when everyone was getting down and dirty on our goal kicking, JOC (James O'Connor) and Foley step up. How'd Lealiifano go?

 

[Brumby Runner]

I think a good look at what's happening in scrum front rows would be topical. Maybe a montage of scrums from the Brumbies/Lions game. Ben Alexander was again penalised heavily against the Lions, but clearly his opposite was pulling him down with his elbow pointed to the ground. But when Jaco came around to that side, rather magically the Lions prop kept his arm up and the elbow at the horizontal, and just as surprisingly, the scrum stayed up.

Just to show my lack of bias, also show the other side as Alan Ala'alatoa was also guilty on occasions of the same tactic.

The other very apparent illegality I believe I saw was in the Tahs/Sharks game where the Sharks LH seemed to be getting his head well under Kepu's chest and lifting him up when the ball was fed by the Tahs. Can this be done without actually boring in?

 

[Pedrolicus]

Tuilagi's forced omission from the English team might be a good excuse to look at their potential WC squad.

 

[Lee Grant]

The other very apparent illegality I believe I saw was in the Tahs/Sharks game where the Sharks LH seemed to be getting his head well under Kepu's chest and lifting him up when the ball was fed by the Tahs. Can this be done without actually boring in?

Only if you are a yoga expert.
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[Braveheart81]

The Sharks were packing incredibly low to the ground but on one of the scrums that the Tahs got penalised, the Sharks LHP spent the entire scrum with his hand on the ground supporting him.

They have a very strong scrum and their technique is good but you can't let them win a penalty whilst their scrum was only staying up because of a hand on the ground. They certainly had the dominant scrum overall in that game though.

 

[Wilson]

Always comes back to that dominance, if you can establish it early (ideally before and during the game) you'll win more penalties and get away with more, rightly or wrongly. It'll be interesting to see how the reds scrum goes against the sharks this weekend, given its full strength incarnation has soundly beaten every other scrum they've come up against. I just wish we had a game against the stormers this year to really test it out.

 

[Lee Grant]

Late suggestion.

Aus made the final of the London Sevens - too late to make any difference in the the Rio qualifications - even if they won.

Aus will qualify in the "repechage" but the key difference is the priceless impact on seedings.


The rise and rise of winners USA.

Final placings for the London Sevens (Top 6): 1. USA (22 World Series points), 2. Australia (19 points), 3. Fiji (17 points), 4. England (15 points), 5. New Zealand (13 points), 6. South Africa (12 points)

Final standings in the 2014/15 HSBC Sevens World SeriesTop 6): 1. Fiji (164 World Series points), 2. South Africa (154 points), 3. New Zealand (152 points), 4. England (132 points), 5. Australia (120 points) 6. USA (108 points)
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[Hugh Jarse]

& won the Women's 7's in London.

 

[Teh Other Dave]

After the women's sevens big win, this would have to be the highlight:

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/u...try-at-the-london-sevens-20150517-gh3ty3.html

<insert pen mightier than sword joke here>

 

[Pedrolicus]

Hey peeps, I'm doing the TT5 this week, hit me with you're pressing issues. Always like to get the inside track from the biggest brains in Australian rugby.
Cheers.