Rugby union

[Swedish Paul]

I haven’t watched for a few years, but watching England/Argentina, this is now a game where if it looks wrong, it’s wrong…
I don’t think dirty play should be allowed, but when there is obviously no foul play. Probably have to stop watching for another few years.

 

[Ewan]

There are issues with the current rules about contact, and their interpretation. Has the potential to ruin the sport.

 

[Ebenezer]

I think it should be illegal to jump for the ball.
Eb

 

[Harry]

I enjoyed the match. All the drop kicks will certainly make the other teams rethink their defensive strategies. I don’t think our chap who banged his head on the other fella deserved a red card. In the end, it didn’t matter anyway. What do I know about rugby, it was very entertaining.

 

[Ewan]

Not a red card for me either. Purely a rugby incident in my eyes.

 

[zagatoes30]

Like it or not head to head clashes, even accidental, are likely to end up in a yellow or even red cards. Both players suffered cuts to their heads and Rugby needs to be seen to try and manage these incidents out of the game, gone are the days of it's a game for "real" men. Consistency is not always their though and this can become frustrating.

 

[cheshiremaserati]

There are issues with the current rules about contact, and their interpretation. Has the potential to ruin the sport.

If these guys have their way, Rugby will become a "tig and touch" game, there will be uncontested scrum and no-lift lineouts.

For heaven's sake, Rugby is a contact sport. Stop messing about with all this softly softly removing its contact nature. And of course, there is (according to my Grammar School games teacher) only one game of rugby, and it is played by 15 men.

And no way should it go like US Football with helmets and padding everywhere.

 

[jonny]

Hmmm, Doddie?

 

[Gooner]

Sometimes it’s played by 15 women these days.

Men or women, I think they want to play without getting early onset dementia in their 40s and 50s, or a broken neck. It’s not the same game it was back in day, maybe up until the 80s. It’s all about power and smashing your opponent now.

 

[jebroni]

I think players know the risks & as previously stated it is all about size, power & speed these days but if you are good enough you can reap the rewards. to put it into context my mate had his only Welsh cap against Samoa in the 1991 World Cup & for his efforts was given a £500 Burtons menswear voucher.

 

[Harry]

Currently watching the Australia v Fiji match and I can’t stand the shouty monotone female commentator. She has said it is very loud where she is - so maybe she has been stitched up with some bad headphones. But, why haven’t they found a better spokesperson? Claire Balding is shouty, too.
I might watch the England v Japan later with subtitles if they have the same commentary team.

 

[zagatoes30]

Didn't get to watch any of the Rugby this weekend but looks like the results went the right way for England and Ireland but the Aussies are probably a bit quieter today. From reading reports Ireland, South Africa and France seem to be cruising through the drop stages.

 

[dickygrace]

England got the job done but it wasn’t pretty. It’s a results business though. One foot in the QF.

The game is in a real mess at the moment with 4 or 5 huge issues which aren’t being sorted as they should be.

The head contact interpretations are hugely inconsistent. I could rant but we all know the mess that it is.

Players are too big and too many replacements are permitted. If they all had to play 80 mins (say 2-3 replacements max) they’d have to be more agile and less bulky and the game would be better to watch, more skilful, as it used to be. Sir Ian McGeechan and Sir Gareth Edwards suggested this 5 years back to WR in an open letter and it fell on deaf ears.

Players at all but pro level have new laws this season, ill thought out and clearly made by lawyers. The head injury and early onset dementia that @Gooner mentions is a concern, but the sport has done a great deal in the last 10-15 years to protect players and minimise risk. It has gone about as far as it can, but in doing so has spoiled the purity of the game and now games are won and lost on a head knock slo-mo.

Re @jonny mentioning MND, Joost, Doddie, Ed Slater, Rob Burrow et al hasn’t been attributed to rugby. If MND were, there’d likely be 100’s of ex players suffering.

And final one, and by far the most ridiculous is players who play for a country which is clearly not theirs.
I have zero issue with folk like Billy, Manu, Mako who moved here at primary school age. I’ve a massive problem with unions signing centrally contracted players for their regions and waiting 5 years for their nationality to change. ‘Scotland’ is a joke at present, WP Nel, Schoeman, Steyn, Van Der Merwe, Tuipulotu, Dempsey…. I could go on. And the best Irish side ever….. has 3 Kiwis Aki, JGP, Lowe and an Aussie (Mack) in it. Been with Irish and Scottish mates this weekend and they’re embarrassed by it. Decide your nationality at 15-16 years of age, set in stone, simple.

The game I’ve always loved is in a bit of a mess after 30 years of professionalism, it could learn a lot from Rugby League. I’ll still watch the RWC for the next few weeks, I can’t see us winning it, but I do hope it’s won by a nation who haven’t bent the laws, and are represented by men who play for THEIR country; and a moment of brilliance to win it not a red card from a TMO that they’ll rescind 3 days later when it’s too late.

Rant over, but I think we are too far down the tracks to get back to what it once was. Now roll on the cricket in India

 

[zagatoes30]

England got the job done but it wasn’t pretty. It’s a results business though. One foot in the QF.

The game is in a real mess at the moment with 4 or 5 huge issues which aren’t being sorted as they should be.

The head contact interpretations are hugely inconsistent. I could rant but we all know the mess that it is.

Players are too big and too many replacements are permitted. If they all had to play 80 mins (say 2-3 replacements max) they’d have to be more agile and less bulky and the game would be better to watch, more skilful, as it used to be. Sir Ian McGeechan and Sir Gareth Edwards suggested this 5 years back to WR in an open letter and it fell on deaf ears.

Players at all but pro level have new laws this season, ill thought out and clearly made by lawyers. The head injury and early onset dementia that @Gooner mentions is a concern, but the sport has done a great deal in the last 10-15 years to protect players and minimise risk. It has gone about as far as it can, but in doing so has spoiled the purity of the game and now games are won and lost on a head knock slo-mo.

Re @jonny mentioning MND, Joost, Doddie, Ed Slater, Rob Burrow et al hasn’t been attributed to rugby. If MND were, there’d likely be 100’s of ex players suffering.

And final one, and by far the most ridiculous is players who play for a country which is clearly not theirs.
I have zero issue with folk like Billy, Manu, Mako who moved here at primary school age. I’ve a massive problem with unions signing centrally contracted players for their regions and waiting 5 years for their nationality to change. ‘Scotland’ is a joke at present, WP Nel, Schoeman, Steyn, Van Der Merwe, Tuipulotu, Dempsey…. I could go on. And the best Irish side ever….. has 3 Kiwis Aki, JGP, Lowe and an Aussie (Mack) in it. Been with Irish and Scottish mates this weekend and they’re embarrassed by it. Decide your nationality at 15-16 years of age, set in stone, simple.

The game I’ve always loved is in a bit of a mess after 30 years of professionalism, it could learn a lot from Rugby League. I’ll still watch the RWC for the next few weeks, I can’t see us winning it, but I do hope it’s won by a nation who haven’t bent the laws, and are represented by men who play for THEIR country; and a moment of brilliance to win it not a red card from a TMO that they’ll rescind 3 days later when it’s too late.

Rant over, but I think we are too far down the tracks to get back to what it once was. Now roll on the cricket in India

Not a rant at all Dicky, all valid points and as often happens those in power aren't always the best to listen and / or then implement change. The country issue has always been one of my bug bears, once you pick a country stick to it you certainly shouldn't be able to represent one country and then renationalise to represent another, the only exception might be to those who have been forced out of their country by wars, political upheaval etc but these should be extreme edge cases. The number of athletes who have represented other countries and now run under a different flag including Americans running for GB.

Another rant over

 

[zagatoes30]

Big weekend, the Irish are hopeful but no one is prepared to plan further than today. England need to play better than they did in the last game if they are to progress and France / South Africa is anyones guess. Wales potentially have the best chance but they have been known to throw away opportunities.

Either way there are likely to be some sore heads over the next couple of nights

 

[drellis]

I feel England will beat Fiji by 15 -20 points. I I'm 44 and I love the way for the last 20 years or so England are a tournament team and appear to raise their game/adapt in a way the english national football rarely does.
The footballers mentally choke, the rugby lads don't seem to at tournaments

 

[zagatoes30]

I'm sure there are some bad Irish heads this morning, I noticed that the flags that were flying proudly in everyones garden yesterday seem to have been taken down this morning.

It was a great game but Ireland just weren't as good as they have been during the group stages and the All Blacks have just been getting better and better since the loss to France.

 

[zagatoes30]

Another tense game, not sure my heart can take much more of this

 

[dickygrace]

If there’s any Kiwis or Argentines on here I’ve two cheap spares for Friday’s Semi.

 

[2b1ask1]

Argentina hasn’t been that pasted since 1982!!!