Re: If you must discuss Union, do it here II : Tue Dec 20, 2011 11:32 pm  

Catalancs wrote:

French whores

Re: If you must discuss Union, do it here II : Tue Dec 20, 2011 11:46 pm  

Conroy wrote:

It's a somewhat double edged sword similar to SL and the NRL.

IMO the more English players playing in the NRL, the better for the England test side and better for the youngsters in SL.

Surely it is the same for WRU? The more players testing themselves at a higher level each week, the better?

But you have to balance it so as not to leave your home fans, your bread and butter with such a poor spectacle that they don't bother turning up.

Re: If you must discuss Union, do it here II : Wed Dec 21, 2011 12:42 pm  

Scrums ruining rugby union. I've said it for a long time but have always been shouted down. Pundits and the blazer brigade can continue to say everything's fine with their fingers in their ears, but the game as a spectacle is dying.

Scrums ruining rugby union. I've said it for a long time but have always been shouted down. Pundits and the blazer brigade can continue to say everything's fine with their fingers in their ears, but the game as a spectacle is dying.

Re: If you must discuss Union, do it here II : Wed Dec 21, 2011 1:39 pm  

Catalancs wrote: Scrums ruining rugby union. I've said it for a long time but have always been shouted down. Pundits and the blazer brigade can continue to say everything's fine with their fingers in their ears, but the game as a spectacle is dying. As someone who's always played in the front row, in my opinion scrums are an important part of Union. The best way to manage them, I think, would be to have a standard speed of call for the referees. As a front rower you've enough to think about without having to guess when the referee is going to let you engage, and so end up either going too early or being on the back foot because they guessed better than you did.

Catalancs wrote: Scrums ruining rugby union. I've said it for a long time but have always been shouted down. Pundits and the blazer brigade can continue to say everything's fine with their fingers in their ears, but the game as a spectacle is dying. As someone who's always played in the front row, in my opinion scrums are an important part of Union. The best way to manage them, I think, would be to have a standard speed of call for the referees. As a front rower you've enough to think about without having to guess when the referee is going to let you engage, and so end up either going too early or being on the back foot because they guessed better than you did.

Re: If you must discuss Union, do it here II : Wed Dec 21, 2011 3:13 pm  

Goochie wrote:

As a front rower you've enough to think about without having to guess when the referee is going to let you engage,

There's the drinking games, rubbing winter green on your mates' gonads, slipping aftershave into drinks, how to dodge taxation.....heaven knows if you had to pass, tackle, run....

Re: If you must discuss Union, do it here II : Wed Dec 21, 2011 10:33 pm  

tigertot wrote:

There's the drinking games, rubbing winter green on your mates' gonads, slipping aftershave into drinks, how to dodge taxation.....heaven knows if you had to pass, tackle, run....

..Ah...the Dark Arts that us "girls" in the backs would never understand

Re: If you must discuss Union, do it here II : Tue Dec 27, 2011 10:19 am  

USA union international considering move to rugby league. http://www.wearerugby.com/news/articles ... oin-legion I knew Newcastle and Wasps were having serious financial problems, but Sale too? http://www.rugbynetwork.net/boards/read ... 4,12915278 Some of the comments by Sale Sharks fans with regard to Stockport County are disrespectful, arrogant and crass at best.

USA union international considering move to rugby league. http://www.wearerugby.com/news/articles ... oin-legion I knew Newcastle and Wasps were having serious financial problems, but Sale too? http://www.rugbynetwork.net/boards/read ... 4,12915278 Some of the comments by Sale Sharks fans with regard to Stockport County are disrespectful, arrogant and crass at best.

Re: If you must discuss Union, do it here II : Wed Dec 28, 2011 1:09 pm  

Goochie wrote:

The best way to manage them, I think, would be to have a standard speed of call for the referees. As a front rower you've enough to think about without having to guess when the referee is going to let you engage, and so end up either going too early or being on the back foot because they guessed better than you did.

It's funny watching some of the old games from the 80s and 90s on ESPN, before the era of "crouch, touch, pause, engage". Somehow, front rows managed to find ways to engage, bind and push without scrums continually needing to be reset or collapsing without the assistance of a referee to talk them through it.

I can appreciate the whole safety aspect of a controlled engagement, but it's gone much too far the other way now to the point where - as you say - front rows are trying to anticipate the cadence of the referee to steal a march on the initial hit, causing more problems than it solves.

Re: If you must discuss Union, do it here II : Wed Dec 28, 2011 8:41 pm  

From the olympics.org official website:

Rugby variants
At the end of the 19th century and start of the 20th century, this sport saw a rise in popularity at all social levels and was exported worldwide, thus giving rise to different variants.
The two main ones today are rugby union and rugby sevens. There is also “touch rugby”, “rugby flag”, “rugby 10s” and “beach rugby”. Each has its own variation of rugby’s rules, but all share the same spirit.

Am I missing something here?

Re: If you must discuss Union, do it here II : Wed Dec 28, 2011 11:03 pm  

Can't say I am surprised.