Schoolboy rugby better to watch than Waratahs

We just found that typo too and have updated the title. Cheers, Zac

Isn't this funny, it took several beers & wines to realise the title of this post is - "Schooboy". Somehow the 'L' in schoolboy has been omitted! Maybe we're all on the wrong track, & should be discussing Schoo-boy rugby, whatever that is!!!

Generally I agree with Bill - why do our professional players play such a limited game? I think it is a cultural thing, combined with the pressure of winning. Yet great teams like the All Blacks in rugby and Brazil in soccer prove you can play attractive, winning sport under pressure. Regarding the scrums, I believe your frustrations are widespread. In my view if highly paid professionals can't make the scrum work, than who can? I mean what other professional sport has a component of play that no players can perform? Oh, I also loved the ARC and did actually attend a number of games. It was great to see the game played without the usual pedantic ethos.

School boys is extremely structured and frankly soft. Back in my high school days my school from Campbelltown started playing in the gps competition as a proxy 2nd grade team for High. Let me see, we smashed them, the only team we didn't beat on the scoreboard was Joey's all credit to them. And yes it was only second grade but we only trained for 15 minutes of a friday with a mostly green team. We played hard in your face rugby , smashing anything that came our way(hell, I was sent off in our second match fortackling some Grammar bloke too hard, I kid you not!). Rugby is always going to be pretty when the opposition never really wants to get their hair out of sorts.

The reason why "schoolboy" rugby (read GPS) is freeflowing and all those other descriptions, is because they only play half a dozen games each year, so the attack doesnt get over clever and the defence is not tightly organised. If you are playing for a living, the players step up in both areas - may not be pretty but if you want to make a living it makes sense.

I love a good game of rugby – Waratahs or schoolboys or whoever. Would be good to reform schoolboy rugby to the point that there is at least more opportunity for private schools to play non-private schools. This would help to silence any elitist attitudes on the private school’s part, and help to silence any of the old chip-on-the-shoulder of the non-private school’s part. Now I can hear both sides saying “hey, wait a minute!”

Sheek, tongue in cheek? :) And be careful about using the term self flagellation in a topic about schoolboys ..... These GPS boys will get excited. One of the best things about schoolboy rugby is the rivalries and derby atmostphere, which one of the other topics (League vs Unions strengths) has touched on. Makes the games more enjoyable because of that.

Bay35Pablo, Have flagellated myself mercilessly. Your humble servant.....

Sheek, while I enjoy some of your posts, I in turn cringe when the elitist, Eton comments come out. Those type of generalisations just don't wash with me. They are just as applicable to cricket, and you don't see people carrying on about them any more. I'm sorry, but they are a crutch for weak arguments or someone who doesn't want to back up their position (neither which usually apply to you). It's the same as saying all leaguies are working class Westies with ug boots, battered wives and VB in the fridge. Good for a giggle but little else. Up until the last paragraph you had me mostly agreeing with you. And I'm the first to bash administrators. They're not posh idiots. They're just idiots. Rugby doesn't have a monopoly on them or what causes them to be idiots.

Welldone48, The beauty of schoolboy rugby, is that they don't clutter their heads with fancy tactics & strategy. They just go out there & play, relying on their basic skills & experience accumulated along the way. They play what they see in front of them. And like most schoolboys, they 'try' to score tries even if it doesn't always come off. Which supports my argument that you can change the laws all you like - it's still comes back to the attitude of the players & coaches themselves. I cringed when prominent people came out in support of the Waratah's 'win ugly' style. Yeah, occasionally it might be necessary. But my observation is that senior rugby teams win ugly far more often than they win pretty. Let's peg the pay packets of IRB & national administrators to the success of their game, & players salaries to how many people they bring through the turnstiles, & buy pay TV subscriptions. Let's see if that doesn't change their attitude. Then they might realise they are in the entertainment industry like all other sports. The elitist attitude of many rugby folk lives on - style over substance. Not to mention the enduring 'Eton wall game' mentality, which suggests the enjoyment of the spectator is irrelevant.

Well said Pablo, I have been supporting the Waratahs for as long as I can remember, and have been a season member since 1999, and something keeps pulling me back. You've been a Balmain fan and been trained to suffer??? I've been a Tah's fan for 30 years so I too feel the same....

I've watched schoolboy rugby, and been a Tahs member since 2003. Granted S14 can be a drudge at times, but you take the good with the bad. Anyone who'd rather watch schoolboys than S14 is welcome to it. Schoolsboys is faster and at times more skillful than club rugby, but less hits and less crafty. So I'd rate it about 50/50 with club rugby. But then I went to a CHS school. Having followed the Tahs since 1994, I have watched some woeful games, seen them implode, choke and drive me nuts. I have travelled to Canberra to watch us lose, been abused by snotty private school kids and had beer thrown at me. Just made winning that first time so sweet. I have also seen some games and tries that made me want to watch another game straight away. Rugby can't guarantee the same game and style time after time. Players change, opponents change, tactics change. Rules change and expectations change. As they say, you can't have the day without the night. Even the Crusaders have had bad seasons. But then I've supported Balmain in the RL since 1990, so I've been trained to suffer .... So if you don't like S14, don't come. I'd rather have 15,000 fanatics in the SFS than 30,000 people with half of whom don't care. My mates and I curse and bemoan scrappy games (like the Chiefs game), but we come back every year, because we love the game and love it when it's good.

jacko, in the case of the juniors, up to U15;s most of the private school boys are playing in both comps. Way toooooo precious!!!!!!

I completely agree. I'd like to add. - Forwards faking an injury to get the clock stopped. When did we turn into a bunch of girly soccer players that roll all over the floor so that everyone can get a breather. Why should the game stop because of someone needs a massage from a trainer. By the time you have some forward 'looked at' by a trainer, set the scrum, reset the scrum, argument between the umpire and forwards, reset the scrum, it's been 10minutes. Why are we paying $58 a ticket to see 30minutes of scrums and being dealyed by 15minutes worth of forwards that need a drink of water.

Jacko, I'm in my mid 30's now and I still play on those fields.....

True, the old concrete pitch, covered in sand!

I love the way everyone defines schoolboy rugby as nothing but a few overly expensive schools (ok, ability to purchase good quality recreational drugs is obviously a plus if you attend one) as gods gift to the game. Its so manufactured its in the same league as S14! Sheesh. I dont think private schholboy rugby is entaining enough! Give me the rough & tumble and disorganised chaos of suburban kids rugby rather than that private school prissy stuff any day (even over S14). Poor little private school rugby dears have no idea what its like to get smashed into a a field made of dirt & mud rather than manicured lawn mowed to a regulation height and lovingly maintained by a "groundskeeper". There are no dogs to dodge, big divots or sunk areas, dog poo (dried and/or gooey), dead birds or broken glass to avoid. and thats before the dreaded concrete cricket pitch. Now thats entertainment.

I was watching the reds and there were more trainers on the go during that game than players. Admittedly, it was a stinking hot day. Players got heat stroke. I dread the day Rugby turns to league in the trainers stakes. Their play is outrageous with runners/waterboys/trainers being on the field the whole game. Someone takes a run and they get water immediately, or in Manly's case, Toovey pushes people into holes etc. I agree, cut the runners unless someone goes down, which is generally the case at the moment. I did love the ARC. I lament it's loss for attacking rugby. There was something very free spirited about the style of play during that comp. I actually find Schoolboy rugby a lot more structured, or it was when i was going through anyway. Set pieces are all planned to within an inch of their lives.

Ummmm.... of course free kicks were converted to scrums in the ARC. A "short arm" is a "free kick". There's no difference between the two, and you could opt for a scrum in the ARC just as you can today.

I can only agree with you about school boy rugby. skillful players playing with the correct attitude and against well matched oppositions. It is a blueprint for Sydney grade to reinvent itself. Frankly, it is not that far off now. maybe a marketing push to get the message across. Open attractive rugby. Professional rugby will always be tighter less risky. different game, and long may it be so. Rugby can be enjoyable in its many forms. In the meantime, Bill, dust off your tickets, invite some mates and get those club cards working for you. Come and have a look at the Tahs go 'round. They go good!!!!!