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David Pocock of the Western Force faces his opponent, Gerhard Mostert of the Lions in their Super 14s match (AP Photo)
Last year was an annus horribilis for rugby, particularly in Australia. The 2010 season is shaping up to be a cracker, in my opinion.
Many of the factors that soured the rugby world for players and supporters last season have been resolved. And, in addition, there have been some interesting initiatives put in place for the coming season that should bring back some of the excitement and unpredictability that makes rugby such a glorious game to play and watch.
Last season players and supporters had to put up with different laws being played in the southern and northern hemisphere. This nonsense is now over. We have the one set of laws that will be played throughout world until the end of the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
As well as the nonsense over the ELVs (and the witless rejection of the ruck and maul reforms by the RFU, in particular), we had an interpretation of the tackled ball that rewarded the defending side over the attacking side.
SANZAR, under the influence of the new referee’s manager New Zealander Lyndon Bray (a very good referee in his own right), has brought in a new ruling that restores the advantage in the tackle situation to the attacking side.
The tackler now will no longer have all the rights to attack the ball. Instead of being allowed to hold on to the ball, even when he is on the ground, the tackler must release immediately as he hits the ground.
This has always been the law and it is now (thankfully and at last) being restored.
Under the former rule, sides became fearful of running the ball, especially in their own half, as the risk of giving away a penalty at the tackle was perceived to be too great. The South African sides, particularly, adopted a kick-at-every-opportunity game which was successful but induced boring and unattractive rugby.
SANZAR also will co-opt the scrum coaches in Australia (Patricio Noriega), South Africa (Balie Swart) and New Zealand (Mike Cron) to go round the franchises which have troubles at scrum time and help them to get things right.
As a sign of the good times, the NSW Waratahs captain Phil Waugh has promised that ‘the biggest thing for us is to play an attractive style of rugby.’
My moles inside the Waratahs camp told me that the leading proponent of the ‘win ugly’ philosophy of the Waratahs last season was Waugh. The style was unsuccessful, in that the Waratahs missed the Super 14 finals by one bonus point. It also drove away spectators, both from the SFS and from watching the Waratahs on television.
So it is significant that Waugh is now adamant that ‘winning with style’ is the new philosophy of the team. My guess is that certain members of the NSW Waratahs board have had a strong chat to the captain and told him with some force that the traditional Waratahs style is the way the team is going to play.
This traditional Waratahs style happens to coincide with instructions to referees to referee with an eye to rewarding teams that run with the ball, rather than kicking, defensive sides.
Several off the field issues that tended to be a worry for the rugby community last season have also now been resolved in the best possible manner. Sevens Rugby is now an Olympic sport which will help the spread of the game to areas away from rugby’s traditional areas.
Melbourne has won the fifth Australian Super Rugby franchise. South Africa has agreed, too, to an enhanced Super Rugby schedule that will provide quality rugby in the SANZAR countries from February through to October. There will be 20 local derby matches under the new schedule that comes into force in 2011, instead of the three we have now.
The Melbourne Rebel franchise, too, has recruited a brilliant front office and there is every hope that the franchise will add significantly to the depth and quality of Australian rugby.
We have just had the first round of trial matches. The Reds – Waratahs drew a crowd of 3700 at Lismore, a country ground in the Wairarapa of NZ had a sell-out 7000 to watch the Hurricanes and the Blues, and at Cape Town over 18,000 spectators came out to see the Stormers demolish the Western Force.
The signs are looking good. Bring on the 2010 Super 14 tournament!