Real rugby returns in Waratahs-Lions game
Roar Pro
By Doug Buckley, 15 Mar 2010 The Crowd is a Roar Pro
- Tagged:
- Lions, penalties in rugby, Rugby Union, Super Rugby, Waratahs
12th March 2010 will go down in history as the day real rugby seriously took on Whistle-Ball. Wait, Whistle-Ball? You know, that mad circus whose main aim is to manufacture situations so that the whistle is blown for penalties within a specific forty percent or so of the grass.
In the Waratahs–Lions game at the week-end, every point – and there were 85 of them – came from tries and conversions. In fact the Waratahs did not attempt a single penalty goal, preferring to go for the lineout every time.
What a contrast with so much of the rest of rugby in recent years: a stupid, negative nonsense wherein more often than not, more points are scored from penalty goals than from everything else combined – that is from tries, conversions and field-goals.
It really is pretty close to madness to find fit young men playing such a negative game, particularly when there is deliberate milking of penalties.
Our game should be driven by the skill and strength and speed and intelligence of 44 healthy young chaps, rather than by the cunning of elderly coaches, the judgements of elderly referees and the skill of a couple of glamour-boy kickers.
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The Crowd Says (13) | Page 1 of Comments
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Shahsan said | March 15th 2010 @ 6:31am | Report comment
It was rubbish. A poor rugby game, aside from some nice, easy tries. If that is what so-called “rugby” fans consider great rugby, then count me out.
The only decent rugby in the Super 14 on the weekend occured in the Chiefs vs Crusaders match, especially the first half.
The Bulls were impressive against Highlanders, and Reds were good against the Force, but neither games were real contests.
Lee said | March 15th 2010 @ 6:38am | Report comment
I am sorry but the reason the Waratahs didn’t have one kick at goal was because it was the Lions, a team that has already had 70 plus put on them and will again when they play the Crusaders this weekend.
And if that it the type of match that Aussie fans want to see week in week out then I am not sure the rest of the rugby world wants them involved anymore.
Sorry about the rant but I am getting sick of people holding up these defense-less games as being where we want rugby to go – we don’t want to get to the point that basketball is at where tries are so common place that they are barely appreciated. We want to be where football is at, where a try has to be well worked out and rely on attacking skill as oppposed to defensive frailty.
ricardo said | March 15th 2010 @ 7:29am | Report comment
am we’re pretty sick if whiners like you too..what do you want the poor tahs players to do?..allow the lions through to make the scores closer? run into tackles and into touch not to score tries?..geez..even if the scores were close people like you lot will find something tgo whine about..the outcome of lions game simply means the tahs were a seventy points bettwer team than the lions..live with it!
blowouts and arm-wrestles are not new nor particular to rugby union..
ricardo said | March 15th 2010 @ 7:29am | Report comment
and we’re pretty sick if whiners like you too..what do you want the poor tahs players to do?..allow the lions through to make the scores closer? run into tackles and into touch not to score tries?..geez..even if the scores were close people like you lot will find something tgo whine about..the outcome of lions game simply means the tahs were a seventy points bettwer team than the lions..live with it!
blowouts and arm-wrestles are not new nor particular to rugby union..
Lee said | March 15th 2010 @ 8:15am | Report comment
I am not complaining about the Tahs at all, the Lions are a rubbish team and the Tahs played well to put them away. But they were always going to win, and I guarentee you that most other teams(Force, Sharks exlcuded) would have gone for tries and not kicks against them.
BUT my point is that this was a one-sided romp, involving a team with possibly the worst defensive record in the Super 14. It should not be held up as a great game of rugby. No game where one side is 70 points better than the other is a great game, indeed no game where one side can score 70 points against the other should be held up as a great game.
Not having a go at the precious Waratahs at all…just the article for making out that this was a good game.
Shahsan said | March 15th 2010 @ 8:30am | Report comment
I totally agree with Lee.
Just because a game has many tries does not make it a good game. Some of the best games ever played saw no or few tries (World Cup 1999 semifinal anyone?). It’s all about the battle and the execution. If these are done well then tries come as a consequence and as just reward. I don’t want to watch a game designed so that the only measure of how good a game is is based on whether many tries are scored.
JK said | March 15th 2010 @ 7:07am | Report comment
No one want’s these scorelines, and I don’t think anyone’s getting too excited, for one thank god for the roar otherwise I’d be thinking the Tah’s played well, but thanks to my fellow posters I have been brought safely back to earth!
I don’t believe it will be a regular occurence, nor is it the way rugby is heading, but from a Waratah fan perspective it was nice to see tries scored, running the ball ,solid execution and great counter attack. Sitting in a room with non rugby people, for that game they got excited, last week it was boring to them. I know it wasn’t a true reflection of the standard of rugby being played in this competition, but if it wins over one extra new fan what’s wrong with the that on occasion, the Waratah’s have different struggles here in NSW, as long as the diehards know these scores are not a true reflection, then sometimes this kind of play can help win over the casual observer, hook them in, then it’s easier to explain the more complex aspects.
For me, the Tah’s now need to find a happy medium, however I won’t complain if they put 70 points on the Saders or Brumbies, that would be cool
Grimmace said | March 15th 2010 @ 8:01am | Report comment
The ‘tahs can only play the opposition they are given on any particular day. It was good to see the ‘Tahs let loose and if they only get one thing out of that game it is the knowledge that they can shift the ball around their backline..
We can’t say that they’ve turned the corner yet, that will have to wait until they play some quality opposition. But positive signs.
Doug Buckley said | March 15th 2010 @ 2:11pm | Report comment
Then on 14th March 2011 the Queensland Reds and the Western Force put on 60 points, only 6 of them from penalties. No-one is saying that big-scoring games are always better. What we are saying is that games dominated by penalty goals are a silly, semi-random waste of time in which the origin and basis of rugby have been forgotten. But there is hope if two of this week-end’s matches are an indication.
Lee said | March 16th 2010 @ 5:02am | Report comment
If teams don’t offend then other teams won’t be able to kick penalties…people need to realise that if this was a game against the Crusaders, Brumbies, Hurricanes, Stormers then the Waratahs would probably have kicked those penalties.
Let’s keep this in perspective…and this isn’t a dig at the Waratahs, man their fans are a bit precious at the moment.
Shahsan said | March 15th 2010 @ 7:15pm | Report comment
What if the penalties are justified? Then whose fault is that?
Chris K said | March 15th 2010 @ 7:36pm | Report comment
Love how people continue to give the tahs crap, the brumbies played worse against the same sharks team we played and scored less tries agaiinst them, played even worse against the same lions team but are still lauded for their performances. The Waratahs have played better than the brumbies overall this season yet nobody gives the brumbies crap. Hypocrites the lot of you
Shahsan said | March 15th 2010 @ 7:49pm | Report comment
Who is giving the Tahs crap? Some of us who know the game well are just saying: don’t call it a game of real rugby when it was a one-sided no-contest.
It’s true that the Tahs executed well and did well what they had to do. But many of us are just waiting for them to play how they played for the first 55 minutes against the Bulls for 80s minutes against an opposition that doesnt lie down and die.
I believe it will happen soon and when they do, and do so in a worthy game, I will give them all the due kudos.
Just don’t call it a great game or a great perfomance when it wasnt. You devalue your opinions with such statements.