Why rugby should be a thirteen man game

 
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By runrugby, 5 Dec 2009 runrugby is a Roar Rookie

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What a disheartening year 2009 has been. The difference from past years is not the fact that the Wallabies have ridden a roller coaster of late. Rather, it is my indifference to the June tests that worries me.

It is an indifference that is shared across a wide range of fellow rugby tragics.

Each Sunday morning I get up early and head down to the beach to watch the nippers try their hearts out and learn the craft of water safety.

Each Sunday morning the dads gather to discuss the games they recorded and got up early for. Yet the dads don’t discuss the result so much, but rather how boring the current game is, and the comparative merits of rugby league.

These are dads who have grown up with union in the blood.

Maybe it is because we are saturated with an endless year of rugby.

Maybe it is the power of the remote control which glosses over the stoppages in play and focuses on the limited running rugby there is, or maybe it is simply time for the game to be remodelled, cognisant of a new viewing audience.

Personally, I find a lot of league boring. It feels like watching a basketball game, where teams run to each end only to chip or put an up-and-under kick to take the 50/50 gamble on who grounds the ball first.

But they have a point. Some league games are simply outstanding, where the ball is moved wide.

I think the solution is simple.

Sacrilegious as this statement is, I believe we should simply reduce the number of players to 13, by removing the flankers, instead of tinkering with the laws that only serve to further confuse and alienate the audience that they are trying to entertain. Why?

1) In 100 years of rugby, the field measurements have hardly changed; yet the power of today’s athletes mean that the pressure and timing on decisions, the width of defence, the girth of the front row, the length of the drop punt and the pace have all changed.

We have outgrown the surface. It is a bit like Shaq O’Neil playing on a basketball court where the ring is only 6ft high.

2) The breakdown would open up, as teams would not want to commit so many resources to each breakdown.

Each breakdown may result in the use of more backs, instead of forwards that would enable more space out wide – especially if the opposition gained a turnover. Let’s face it, we all love to see seagulling props have a run.

3) The backs would be given space to move – in particular closer to the ruck – opening up more angled runs.

Hopefully with more space, the backs would opt to run the ball, than simply kick for field position.

4) Players would generally be more fatigued, opening up more space as the game plays out.

5) It keeps the fundamentals of our game front and centre. I.e. the lineout and the scrum – albeit with less power or lift.

More tries could be made at the fringes of scrums where the attacking team is five metres out, instead of performing a drop goal, or Gary Owen.

Yes the pushover would be there, but it would be a confident team to have the backs leave their lines to join in.

My evidence is based around the simple fact that when you look at smaller, less powerful players such as schoolboy rugby levels – without the handling errors – or American high school football, rather than the NFL, the games are more expansive and enjoyable to watch.

I can appreciate that others would argue that this would send us down a path towards mirroring league; or that even league, with 13 players at hand, have built pretty formidable defence structures.

I would counter them by asking: what recent change to the rule books has guaranteed the willingness of teams to run the ball instead of kicking?

I just think it is time we address the elephant in the room and not continue to tinker with rules that I find difficult at times to explain to my wife – who, sadly, has had to support my rugby tragic condition.

We have a great game here. Let’s open it up to a broader audience, not enclose it to the few that appreciate the technicalities of it.

For the league die hards, you aren’t out of the woods either. Yes you had a brilliant year in 2009, but imagine the game with only 11 per side.

Let’s look forward to 2010.

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