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Thread: Desperate times call for desperate measures...

  1. #1
    Legend Contributor Alison's Avatar
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    Desperate times call for desperate measures...

    Interesting food for thought in this piece from Tank Lanning on ZA's "Front Row Grunt" website:

    "Rugby lacks space, has been made overly complicated, and is officiated via the subjective interpretation of one man. In his Sport24 column, Tank Lanning is calling for change, radical change. WARNING: Requires very open mind!

    Rugby is not the game it used to be. Players are bigger, stronger, fitter and faster. Tasks that could only be completed by all eight forwards working together are now handled by just two or three players, and sometimes even backs! Defence is no longer an optional extra for the okes who had less than five beers the night before, instead it is an impenetrable wall of science.

    The end result is that the fatties are not kept busy on a single part of the field. Something that used to allow the peacock type thinnies out wide to strut their stuff in miles of open space.

    So we have a shortage of space, a game made overly complicated by the clumsy oafs who run the show, which is implemented via the subjective interpretation of referees under pressure to speed the game up.

    We also have the primary try scoring method being via legalised obstruction called a driving maul. This because unless you have a man-beast like Nemani Nadalo out wide or a freakish talent like Sonny Bill Williams or Israel Folou at centre or fullback, it’s pretty damn hard to score tries!

    While remaining true to the changes made to make it safer, the game needs to be simplified, and we need to find ways to create more space. I suggest the following:

    Scrum: If needed, allow the props to steady the scrum pre-hit by putting their hands on the ground. Allow props to bind anywhere. Allow scrumming in, but not scrumming up to force the pop. Enforce the straight feed so as to get the scrum set higher.

    Maul: Allow teams to maul all they like, from wherever they like, but in a maul, the player carrying the ball must be at the front of the maul. This makes it a fair contest as the opposition can then tackle the ball carrier, but still allows for mauling skill. This in the old fashioned “Rolling maul” way, though, where you had to slip the ball to the person rolling off the side of the maul.

    Breakdown: Both the tackled player and tackler can play the ball immediately from wherever they find themselves. Players arriving at the tackle situation can play the ball, be it on the ground or in the air, but must approach from behind the ball.

    The biggie: While the attacking team continues to play with 15 players, the defending team plays with only 14, these to be chosen from the 15 players that started the game or were subbed into the game after kickoff. The attacking team to be defined at every primary restart such as a scrum, lineout and kick in, and the defending team given 15 seconds to decide on the player being left out. The team playing with 15 men get 4 points for a try, while the team playing with 14 men get 5 points for a try.

    It’s bold and brave, and perhaps just a little insane … But not without precedent. Cricket is hardly a sport sailing in the calmest of seas right now, but knowing that the fans wanted sixes rather than wickets, the powers that be implemented rule changes like limiting bouncers and restricting the amount of players in the deep to do exactly that."

    http://www.frontrowgrunt.co.za/2015/...rate-measures/

    I'm not too sure about that last one!!

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    Immortal Contributor The InnFORCEr's Avatar
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    How many beers did he have the night before he wrote that

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    80 Minutes, 15 Positions, No Protection, Wanna Ruck?

    Ruck Me, Maul Me, Make Me Scrum!

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    Veteran beige's Avatar
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    Yeah that's what rugby needs - MORE F*CKING LAWS.

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    Champion MI5_Dog's Avatar
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    here's a better idea (it's better because I thought of it)
    let's make the field 1/3rd larger!
    Everything stays the same only there's more space to 'run'.

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    Veteran Ecky's Avatar
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    ... or take a couple of players off to make room.

    Maybe speed up the scrum by having no push and the 1/2 feeds it into the 2nd row

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    Veteran Sheikh's Avatar
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    Scrums and line-outs to be taken within 30 seconds of the ball going dead (there are plenty of replacement balls around the park these days). If the team in possession aren't ready, the ball goes to the opposition; if the team in possession are ready and the defenders aren't, then they get a free scrum/line-out.

    All penalty kicks and conversions are done off the clock so that you can't wind the clock down setting up for a penalty for a couple of minutes. If need be, shorten the halfs to 30 or 35 minutes because of this.



    Alternatively, if you are concerned about a lack of space, you could play on unused cricket pitches. You might actually want some more players on the park due to the extra space, and allow players in an offside position to receive kicks or passes. You can change the scoring system, too, so you get consolation points for only missing your kicks by a small amount.

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    Legend Contributor brokendown gunfighter's Avatar
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    unfortunately getting consolation points for narrowly missing wont help us-we miss by a lot.Bringing in a penalty 50 metres downfield could be the go!

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    Immortal jargan83's Avatar
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    The author of this article has done full retard.

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    Champion Ralto's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ecky View Post
    ... or take a couple of players off to make room.

    Maybe speed up the scrum by having no push and the 1/2 feeds it into the 2nd row
    Change the numbers on the jumpers i.e. make 1 the fullback not the prop.

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    Champion Ralto's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Alison View Post
    Breakdown: Both the tackled player and tackler can play the ball immediately from wherever they find themselves. Players arriving at the tackle situation can play the ball, be it on the ground or in the air, but must approach from behind the ball.
    If the referee is closest, the referee is allowed to fly hack the ball in the direction of least defenders - thus adding the dimension of wacky crazyness to our already wacky crazy game.

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    Last edited by Ralto; 21-05-15 at 20:04. Reason: wacky and crazy lack of punctuation

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    Rookie F Man's Avatar
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    Fix the scrums by spreading the pack in single lines across the field. Allow helmets and pads to combat concussion issues. And speed the game up by reducing the number of players and allowing one forward pass every phase. I call it "rugby elevens".

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    Champion NTT's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jargan83 View Post
    The author of this article has done full retard.
    You should never go full retard!

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    Veteran chibi's Avatar
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    I'd like to see what sort of game we would have, if we went back to the laws and (more importantly) refereeing interpretations and directives used during the period between 1997 and 2001. I thought the game was at it's peak then. I'd like to see whether it was how the matches were policed at the time, or whether it was just that professionalism in training/preparation hadn't been fully exploited yet.


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    Veteran SNOB's Avatar
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    I do agree with the scrummaging aspect even if the rest is written by a closet mungo.

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    May the FORCE be with you!

  15. #15
    Veteran beige's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by chibi View Post
    I'd like to see what sort of game we would have, if we went back to the laws and (more importantly) refereeing interpretations and directives used during the period between 1997 and 2001. I thought the game was at it's peak then. I'd like to see whether it was how the matches were policed at the time, or whether it was just that professionalism in training/preparation hadn't been fully exploited yet.

    I was watching the 2000 Wellington Bledisloe match a few weeks back and thought the same thing (with a bunch of Maoris - masochists evidently). I have a feeling it's a combination of the two.

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