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Rugby Union is in a terrible state. So many aspects of the game have become completely incomprehensible. Scrum penalties are awarded completely on the whim of the referee. Every single ruck is chock-a-block full of illegal plays that go largely un-checked. General play has degenerated to such a point that rugby has become the most boring sport to watch. Administrators have crippled the game, betrayed traditional rugby nations and sold-out life-long supporters.
If something isn’t done to fundamentally change the laws of the game it will become such a repellent spectacle that within 20 years no one will be left to watch rugby let alone play it. Our only chance to save the game is to sign up to the Stellenbosch Protocol as quickly as possible and possibly introduce sanctions against those miscreant national unions that don’t.
Mauls must be stamped out of the game. The ruck must be completely over-hauled. Scrap all restarts. Only John O’Neil can save us.
What a lot of rubbish!
If you believe any of the statements above you are almost certainly Australian and without a doubt in need of a slap about the face. Wake up. The Sky isn’t falling. Much like global warming, the true ills of the game are hidden amongst so much ridiculous hype and over-the-top hyperbole that an educated understanding of the situation cannot be attained from the mainstream media.
Australia is unique in that it is the only country wherein rugby union plays second fiddle to league. It is also the only country in the world wherein the mainstream media consider union to be the more boring of the two codes. The most damaging fallout from the battle between league and union isn’t one of ‘bums on seats’, it is about how union views itself.
Rugby union in Australia looks at itself through league-coloured glasses and inevitably it doesn’t like what it sees.
Before we accept all that is apparently wrong with the game, let’s look at the state of rugby from another perspective. Internationally the game is in great health. Argentina has become a consistent force away from home. South Africa’s Super 14 teams seem to have sorted out some of their team unity issues. Italy has come along in leaps and bounds since their inclusion in the Six Nations. Ireland has become a genuine challenger to the Southern Hemisphere teams.
The United States has an established professional league with surprisingly few foreign players. England is waking to a bright future, and Japan was seriously considered as a host for the next World Cup. This year a group of amateurs from Portugal will experience the highlight of their playing days when they are absolutely destroyed by the magnificent All Blacks. Around the world national and provincial competitions continue to excite fans, fill newspapers and weary the fingers of sleepless rugby bloggers.
The sight of the British Lions still makes old men cry and young men sing. The Haka is as provocative as ever. England played rugby on Crocke Park to the wonderful applause of 80,000 Irishmen. The Pacific Islands have emerged as a devastatingly hard hitting solution to help finance the development of the small island nations of Fiji, Tonga and Samoa.
Styles of play come in and out of vogue, adding a fantastic dimension to rugby appreciation. Almost every country that plays the game does so differently, providing colour and relief to the international rugby landscape. Even within national competitions different teams become famous or notorious for adhering to this style of play or that.
Does this sound like a game in desperate need of a major overhaul? Regular reviews and changes of the rules, such as the Stellenbosch Laws, keep the game evolving as the effects of professionalism are played out. Realistically, only a selection of these suggested law changes may be adopted. Even if every last letter of these proposals were copied and pasted into the rule book it would, when viewed within the context of the greater framework of rugby laws, represent but a tweak to the way the game is played now.
Australian rugby is in a down cycle. No one should hide from the administration, selection and coaching mistakes made by the ARU in recent years. However, any review of the game needn’t start with the words ‘What’s wrong with the game’. When viewed in a clear and sober light, there seems very little wrong with the game other than the way in which it has been run in this country
I propose an absolute ban on any rugby reporter responding to accusations of the game being boring. If you want colour and movement, watch a Baz Luhrman film. If you want to watch rugby, there is a hell of a lot of it being played out there.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.