Waratahs coach blasts rugby stoppages

Can't stand the nsw coach he acts like he's gods gift but he's done nothing worthy of acting the way he does, do you hear jk crying about the forward pass that lost the blues the game and rugby is a winter game look at all the injured wallabies last year from playing on hard grounds I guess the aussies are just to soft (-:

BS, the team that is under the pump will still do it - to get a breather and time to think and talk about their next tactic are other motivations. As is breaking the momentum of a team trying to play 'up tempo' Running the clock down is only one motivation. Clock stopping may help though. Although people with somewhere to be, tv with programs to keep etc may not like it.

But surely not the last, Brett

Just stop the clock when the whistle is blown for a scrum down and restart when the first call of the engagement sequence is made. Simple stuff. Anybody have any suggestions as to why this wouldn't work?

Spot on Cheika! Time wasting in Super Rugby is a disgrace! What the hell are the forwards doing between when the scrum is called and when it is formed! Milling around like a bunch of Brown's Cows while the clock keeps ticking! Do Rugby administrators realise the planning, organisation, financial and time commitment that some fans make to attend a game? Then complain about small crowds! This time wasting is simply robbing the fans of value! The clock should be stopped more often during games and the referees should be given a directive to demmand players to "get on with it". This is low hanging fruit for Rugby in terms of improving the spectacle. JUST GET ON WITH IT!

If the official temp was 27 in Sydney, that is measured at Observatory Hill, out of the wind and in the shade. Ground temp in the sun would be 10-20 degrees warmer......We employ the Doctors for a reason, their call on medical matters, coaches stick to picking your team and getting them to play to the best of their ability. Next we'll be letting coaches tell players when they are allowed to play after a head knock and concussion. A better idea would be to only play night games at this time of year....oh who's choice was it to apply to play an arvo game...the NSWRU.

Let's be fair dinkum, the stoppages are 'gamesmanship'. It was in the Blues interest to slow the game down, and slow it down they did. Forwards feigned injury, boots came off, etc, etc. No other sport grinds to a halt so frequently as rugby. Time referees took charge.

27 hot!?!? Mate that's still jumper and tracky dacks weather! Soft kiwis ;)

Hot cocoa, marshmallows only for sid ein front at halftime I've always thought it particularly cruel when eg Fiji had to play the All Blacks in Dunedin - before the new roofed stadium. But then Canberra gets bloody cold too Dehydration's risky if you're not acclimatised. Drinks breaks rare, less time than collapsed scrum or two?

drought - no rain; not necessarily hot 21C in Auckland today. Wellington, also in severe drought, a high of 19C.

Agree. Neck and spinal injuries are nasty and none of us like to see the ambulance drive onto the field or a player stretchered off in a brace. We all know people who have broken their necks. Some are lucky and some end up parapalegics. The law changes have done a pretty good job of reducing those. So in all changes can be made as suggested but not at risk to players as pointed out.

So should the teams from warmer climates (Reds, Sharks) get extra breaks when they go down to Chch, Melbourne or Invercargil (now that dunedin got a roof) maybe a quick hot cocoa to warm up?

The current scrum setting rules are designed to eradicate neck injuries that occurred in the days before refs took over the engagement process. I too would like to see quicker scrum engagements but would need to see medical records that prove the merits of the current system before I joined the chorus of calls for quicker engagements. Perhaps a compromise between the old and new methods is needed? For example, all middle row players should be bound and set within 15 seconds of the ref calling for a scrum. At the moment, an inordinate amount of time is spent setting the feet of the front row, then getting their binds on, then waiting for the middle row to bind and only then do they drop and set. Surely they can do the same things at a faster pace - let the assistant referees do something for their money and time it from the sideline. 15 seconds to get to the spot, bind and set - too difficult for today's professional athletes?

I'm afraid they'll become like league scrums, and the game will lose half it's old audience.

And another piece of the Johnno puzzle falls into place...

I thought the same thing. Besides, I'd thought they be used to heat given the north east island of oz has been in drought pretty well all summer.

The scrums are the frustrating part. Having been at the game yesterday the time it took to set scrums was ridiculous. You could argue heat, but it is happenng more and more across every game - how often do you also see some big foward drop to ground when a set piece is called yet 5 seconds ago was ok to run around the paddock? I even got to the point of timing yesterday how long it took for the whistle to be blown and for the subsequent scrum to be packed (and that is without an injury stoppage). Two scrums in the second half nearly reached 2 minutes- these long stoppages do not help the game appeal to a wider audience I am afraid.

lol he just might, your guess is as good as mine lol. Skils and technique yes . Uncle Alan lol, as I like to call him give me a laugh in the morning, good old Alan he does have some jokes. The funniest thing I find is how boy bands seem to go on the Alan Jones show, It always gives me a laugh, how excited Alan Joens is when the boy bands come on his show, too funny. Human Nature, have gone on there a few times, so has Boyzone, some other bands too. Always a good laugh, is the Alan Jones show. he loves ripping into Aussy rugby too, always a good laugh,.

Alan Jones might have had other reasons for wanting to put his arms round the players and join the huddle...

Hot to a Kiwi maybe! Certainly not hot enough to warrant a drinks break at 1/4 and 3/4 time. Over 30 degrees maybe, but not at 27. That's just soft.