Rugby World Cup 2019

[Forcefield]

WTF is it with the modern scrummies endlessly putting up box kicks from the back of breakdowns? Hasn't the penny dropped the end result is play back where the kick took place, but without the pill? PLEASE STOP THIS SILLY PRACTICE!

I remember back in the day Brett Sheehan kicking perfectly timed short box kicks down the blind wing for Nick Cummins to absolutely nail someone on. Half the time it would end in returned possession due to knock on or opposition in touch. Don't know why we never try it.

 

[Adam84]

Box kicks are losing their value with the increased focus on protecting the man in the air as well, unless teams have a real height/aerial advantage with their wingers they shouldn’t be doing it.

 

[Derpus]

So a round to play and already more red cards than at any other WC in history.

Rules need a rework.

 

[Dan54]

So a round to play and already more red cards than at any other WC in history.

Rules need a rework.

Or alternately players are going to need to adjust to the laws?

 

[KOB1987]

Well at least England will still be the only host nation to ever be knocked out in the pool stages. Haha

EDIT: just realised I may have jumped the gun there a bit. The Japan v Scotland game is going to be epic!

 

[Omar Comin']

Or alternately players are going to need to adjust to the laws?

I think players basically have to start trying to tackle underneath chest height at all times. You're never going to get your timing perfect every tackle, and a slight misjudgement when attempting a ball and all tackle can easily end up hitting the head.

That said, I wouldn't be against a change to the red card that would allow the offending team to replace that player with a sub after 10 minutes (or maybe 20 in the case of a straight red). Red cards early in a match really just ruin the contest, and at the end of the day rugby is a professional sport competing for viewers and spectators. It's also an extremely harsh penalty for a team due to the actions of one player.

 

[dru]

RWC is losing it's shine :
x Teams playing with 14 men over huge periods
x Introduction of new interpretations such as penalising the play carrier in contact
x Over interruption from the TMO
x ruck and tackle rules seemingly inconsistent

I realise that in each case we see solid confirmations, but there is a sum total here that imo is diminishing the event.

I also recognise areas shining strongly especially some of the second tier performances as well of course as Japan. Japanese stadiums have been great, Japan has been an excellent host.

In the mean time the authorities have 4 years between RWC and need to be doing better.

 

[Dan54]

Must be just me dru, I am personally loving it!

 

[TSR]

Or alternately players are going to need to adjust to the laws?

I do think some adjustment on behalf of players is required Dan - but consistency is a big problem.

Take Scott Barrett’s Bledisloe red. No doubt under the rules it’s a red. But the same or similar things happens in games regularly and often goes completely unpunished. Likewise Kerevi’s forearm - definitely a penalty under the rules IMO, but innocuous and generally goes unpunished.

I definitely don’t want the TMO more involved and I don’t want games of 12 on 13 so I would rather revert much more to the refs call and let things picked up by TMO to be dealt with after game. I don’t think that is perfect - but it would, IMO, be better then what we have now.

As an aside, it drives me nuts that we police this stuff to the detriment of the game but we seem incapable of getting the ARs to police the offside line.

 

[Finsbury Girl]

I agree Dru, it's been a rubbish RWC so far, the constant interruptions and going back and forth to the TMO is killing rugby. That and the immense SOFTNESS in the game. Might as well play f**king touch at this rate.

And agreed Japan been fantastic host so far, the facilities look amazing.

 

[Adam84]

100% the TMO is taking up too much air-time, fans don't pay to watch a TMO replay the same footage over and over 15 times.

World Rugby needs to review how they handle these things, but TMO is taking up too much air-time, takes momentum away from teams and bores the fuck out of fans.

 

[Up the Guts]

One way to save time would be to do away with the recommendation process where the TMO brings up footage for the referee to watch and the game pauses for five minutes while they discuss it. Instead, just have the TMO say "dangerous tackle on red 12, yellow card white 5, penalty on halfway." Personally, I'm not a big fan of faceless men in the video box making decisions but I can't remember the last time a ref overturned a TMO recommendation so it might be best just to give them unrequited power and make them wear the consequences of incorrect calls.

 

[TSR]

If we go that way UTG, why not just make it a post game review for foul play.

As an example - the TMO (correctly) rules the Uruguay play offside in the lead up to their try which was disallowed.

But how many Wallabies offsides did he let go? I have trouble believing there weren’t any.

The game will be a nightmare if we let the TMO intervene every time the refs miss something.

Why not leave all the TMO intervention until after the game and let the ref rule on what he sees. In need increase the suspensions to act as a bigger deterrent.

 

[Adam84]

I think they need to adjust the threshold for the TMO involvement during general play, limit it to cynical foul play, like a punch to the head or eye gouging. Then when checking for a try, give the TMO slightly more power to check for things like a knock on or foot in touch, but limit it to the number of phases the TMO can go back.

Emphasis needs to be shifted back onto the referees on-field, i would prefer a second on-field referee if it removes the input of the TMO and allows decisions to be checked faster. World Rugby needs to improve their investment in referees as well, they have a $100million product been tarnished by the people officiating the game, if the on-field referees aren't up to the standard then they need to invest in that area, and help them get better.

 

[Up the Guts]

Fair points TSR, I certainly don’t want the TMO jumping in for every little thing. It’d be more like Adam suggests, give the TMO free reign over foul play and in the lead up to a try and limit the rest. I feel like a lot of spectator frustration is borne out of watching replays and the referee deliberate. The more they replay it the less convincing it becomes, imo.

I’d also like two on-field refs, the offside line and rucks are a mess. If we could have it being monitored independently that might clear things up.

 

[AngrySeahorse]

I agree with many that the officiating at this rwc has been subpar with lots of inconsistencies. However, did anyone just watch the nrl grand final? Holy shit balls i will not cop any criticism from loig supporters about our officiating. Im pretty sure we haven't had a trainer on the field contact the ball then directly result in a scrum for their team in good field position that leads to points scored shortly after. Farce.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

ASH, watched the last 20 minutes of that game and was astonished at the refereeing. Good Lord.

 

[formerflanker]

I agree with many that the officiating at this rwc has been subpar with lots of inconsistencies. However, did anyone just watch the nrl grand final? Holy shit balls i will not cop any criticism from loig supporters about our officiating. Im pretty sure we haven't had a trainer on the field contact the ball then directly result in a scrum for their team in good field position that leads to points scored shortly after. Farce.

Then of course was the farcical "6 tackles to go (long pause) no, last tackle" call.
A Union parallel would be "penalty advantage Gold (3 phases go by, then Black takes an intercept) Changed my mind play on. Try Black"

 

[formerflanker]

The class of Ricky Stewart (paying attention Mr Cheika?)
“You all saw it,” Canberra coach Ricky Stuart said. “None of us will be commenting on that tonight. It is not the time to talk about it. The Roosters achieved something special tonight. I don’t want to take the spotlight off that.”

 

[kiap]

In the mean time the authorities have 4 years between RWC and need to be doing better.

This is really the main point. The buck stops with WR (World Rugby), not individual on-field officials - even though some will be below par.

• Yellow cards aren't a big problem but red card send offs are. The authorities can fix this.

• TMOs are overly interrupting games. WR (World Rugby) can change this.

• Uneven turnarounds in pools due to the odd numbers of teams. This could be improved.