Eddie Jones and the ELVs

 
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By Shaun, 16 Sep 2008 Shaun is a Roar Rookie

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South Africa Rugby Union assistant coach Eddie Jones speaks to the media. AP Photo/Francois Mori

Eddie Jones, the great “student” of the game of rugby union, one-time coach of the Reds, Brumbies, Wallabies, and currently the Saracens Director of Rugby, has made his views crystal clear on the ELVs, comparing them to Twenty20 Cricket: a simplified rugby spectacle for the masses.

He sees that they are of most benefit to Australia, and is not in favour, believing their creation to be fundamentally flawed. While he may have his finer points as a technical advisor, his indictment of the global trial of the ELV’s is not one of them.

In a recent column for the Independent, Eddie has slammed the ELVs, arguing that they “quickly achieve the polar opposite [of the IRB’s desired effects].”

Eddie believes that he can make such a judgement after “having looked (at) the opening round of (European) matches”. Eddie’s article was written after one round of the Guinness Premiership, the Magners League and three rounds of France’s Top 14. Now we all realise from what we have seen in the Super 14 this year that the ELVs, let alone any raft of changes, take more than the opening matches to settle down.

Eddie continues, calculating that on average per match in the Guinness Premiership and the Magners League respectively, 3.3 and 1.2 tries were scored. What is clear from a comparison of the Super 14 with and without ELVs (noting the difference between the current and Super 14 ELVs – the free kicks), however, is that the number of tries per match was boosted from an average of 4.76 in 2006 and 4.68 in 2007 to an average of 5.70 per match in 2008.

Eddie then says how the ELVs have created hesitancy and confusion within teams – as above; judgement has been passed far too early.

Now Eddie goes on to tell us, that “there are fewer scrums and line-outs, more kicks (and in his analysis, therefore less “actual” ball-in-play time), less pick-and-drives and generally less set-pieces.

So you ask, what is my point exactly?

Do I believe that the ELVs result in the game that Eddie Jones goes on to describe, as one without a job for his scrum coach Cobus Visagie and with less specialists?

While that question requires further, more long-term and deeper analysis of the effects of the ELVs than presented here, it is my view that Eddie has crucially not actually analysed the true effects of the “sanctions ELVs”, or the “cheat’s charter” as they have been labelled by sections of the English media.

From what I have seen this year in the Super 14, there have been more tries, more scrums, more or less the same amount of line-outs and more of the ball in play – all in my opinion, due to the sanctions ELVs.

Having a free-kick gives you the tactical choice to tap-and-go, take the scrum or go for the line-out as your strategy and situation dictates. It is for this reason that John O’Neill has campaigned so hard for the Northern Hemisphere to trial all of the ELVs (and specifically this one) in some form or another.

While I was annoyed at the way the “ruck/maul unplayable” free kick was refereed in Saturday night’s game and do not believe that the sanctions ELVs are perfect, it remains absolutely clear that without the sanctions ELVs, the ELVs do not function as they were intended.

It then becomes clear to us that Eddie has only analysed the ELVs in isolation, not with a view to the bigger picture, and I would make two direct criticisms:

1) That it was the NH Unions, not the iRB, that allowed the “polar opposite” to be achieved by their collective non-trialling of the “sanctions ELVs”.

2) That he failed to include any constructive criticism of the current global ELV trial, which would have led to him to the conclusion that the “sanction ELVs” were mistakenly left out of the global ELV trial.

No real disrespect to Eddie himself. In many ways he has done rugby proud in Australia, but here I believe he has undoubtedly erred.

PS. I find it quite intriguing that Eddie, as a once strident opponent of “boring” English-style rugby (Eddie playing mind-games perhaps?) and as a Wallaby coach who directed as much time to scrums as they had game time, has now changed his tune somewhat. Would that be Eddie playing games again, or just him playing to the tune of his new masters/country?

Eddie Jones article: http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-union/news-comment/eddie-jones-elvs-produce-only-gremlins-for-a-game-which-suits-all-sizes-928839.html

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