I am so over rugby union [Archive]

Hitcher

27th July 2009, 13:25

I am so over rugby union.

And not just because the New Zealand International Mens First XV lost convincingly to the South African Springboks in the wee smalls of Sunday morning.

And not just because the "marketing" department at the NZRU has prohibited inappropriate use of the term "All Blacks" that they believe is their registered trade mark.

And not just because that the first thing that our pussy-whipped forwards vow to do after a decent thrashing is to "muscle up" for next time.

And not just because the media is fascinated with the underwear worn by a crippled first-five eight.

And not just because Brad Thorn can do eight, or that some kids are so poor that All Blacks need to sell them bottled water, with a 5 cent-per-bottle donation made to some made up charity, when the same kids can get perfectly good water out of a tap for nothing.

And not just because Richie McCaw is a cheat and has the captaincy skills of a possum trapped in the headlights of an approaching Kenworth.

And not just because our national selectors think that Jimmy Cowan is the best halfback in the country.

And not just because referees and match officials are incapable of seeing the basic infringements (forward passes, unstraight lineout throws, ball fed under hooker's feet, offside, etc) that I can clearly see from my Laz-y-boy(TM)).

And not just because this game has some patently stupid laws (the mark, the 22m drop-out (what's with that 22m anyway?), the advantage line...).

And it's not just because people can become All Blacks without ever having played club rugby or indeed without ever having been a member of a rugby club.

And it's not just because the NPC changes every season.

No, it's because it's not my game any more. Full credit to the NZRU for doing that.

I am converting immediately to the beguiling and strangely compelling sport of wife bouncing. Rule 1: Use somebody else's wife...

Pwalo

27th July 2009, 13:38

On the other hand, the MotoGP and WSB/WSS I recorded this morning should be sweet.

Actually I'm pretty bored with the whole rugby thing. Too may games, too many series, too many rule variations, too many coaching staff, and we just can't seem to win any more!

Dooly

27th July 2009, 13:40

On yer Hitch, me too, but worse for me as well...........I'm a Warrior's supporter.:blink:

MisterD

27th July 2009, 13:47

And not just because this game has some patently stupid laws (the mark, the 22m drop-out (what's with that 22m anyway?), the advantage line...).

What wrong with the mark? It's one of the original features of the game, pre-dating the constant meddling with the laws to try to make it more "entertaining"...it's meant to discourage teams from hoofing the ball aimlessly into their opponents' 22 (and helping you out here, that's just a metric approximation to the original 25 yards)...however aimless hoofing seems to be the way to play the E (spit) L (spit) V's (spit).

HTH and all that.

ynot slow

27th July 2009, 13:54

On yer Hitch, me too, but worse for me as well...........I'm a Warrior's supporter.:blink:

Hell I like the All Whites as well.

Actually,years of getting up early in the morning to watch the ABs play in England or so on the only tv channel at the time(1972-onwards)complete with mum making toasted sammies or scones,was part of life for us.

But with the advent of night games,pay tv,it doesn't hold the same interest for me,and I bet I'm not alone here.I watch a test on prime at 9.30pm if in Auckland if unable to get to a pub to watch live,but didn't wait up till yesterday arvo on prime without knowing the result,just got up hit teletext and thought yep got me 8 points on virtual rugby.

The day didn't become a disaster after reading it from t/text,didn't kick the cat,dog or wife due to the loss,hey life went on.Yep I still want the team to win,but am not naive to think they are going to win everytime,just the bloody final of world cup would suffice now and again.

I think the rugby union don't realise the bullshit dept of thiers is telling them just that,"bullshit" on crowds wanting to pay $100 plus for tests in middle of winter at night.If SA can have day tests,why can't we and Aussie,oh yep $$$ from tv from northern hemisphere,night games in SA are better weather wise than here.

Hitcher

27th July 2009, 13:57

What wrong with the mark? It's one of the original features of the game, pre-dating the constant meddling with the laws to try to make it more "entertaining"...it's meant to discourage teams from hoofing the ball aimlessly into their opponents' 22 (and helping you out here, that's just a metric approximation to the original 25 yards)...however aimless hoofing seems to be the way to play the E (spit) L (spit) V's (spit).

HTH and all that.

The mark is a get-out-of-jail-free card. Rather than have the game limp to (yet another) restart after some wuss catches a high ball within the confines of their own 22m area, why not let the attacking team have at it on the same terms as they can in any other part of the ground? The object of the game, surely, is to favour the attacking team? The way rugby's laws have evolved, there is no longer much advantage to be gained from possession. Defending teams are allowed to stand right on the advantage line (hind-most-foot nonsense). This means that the attacking team has much work to do to even reach the advantage line. That generally results in the ball being kicked away down field for some opportunistic twat to mark.

In the Good Old Days(TM), 25 yards was a quarter of the field if indeed a full-size field was ever used (which venues such as Rugby Park in New Plymouth wasn't until very recently). For all the use it is, 22m may as well become 20m, which means that the same set of line markings could be used for pitches that are used for both league and union.

portokiwi

27th July 2009, 14:03

nothing wrong with the rugby. we got beaten by a better team on the day.
Not to say I am still on top of KB virtual rugby:Punk:
Yes the game pissed me off too but thats part of the enjoyment lol.
NZRFU did keep that manager that has been there for the loss of how many RW Cups and many many test matches.
But we allways say Hay he will bring the team back to form.... He gets :third: for getting paid so much for keeping the ABs

p.dath

27th July 2009, 14:04

MisterD

27th July 2009, 14:25

The mark is a get-out-of-jail-free card. Rather than have the game limp to (yet another) restart after some wuss catches a high ball within the confines of their own 22m area, why not let the attacking team have at it on the same terms as they can in any other part of the ground? The object of the game, surely, is to favour the attacking team? The way rugby's laws have evolved, there is no longer much advantage to be gained from possession. Defending teams are allowed to stand right on the advantage line (hind-most-foot nonsense). This means that the attacking team has much work to do to even reach the advantage line. That generally results in the ball being kicked away down field for some opportunistic twat to mark.

The object of the game is to score points by running and passing the ball from hand to hand between players who are on their feet and on-side (ie behind or level with the ball carrier).

In the Good Old Days (TM) if you were making progress forwards (and via the forwards) you retained possession and rucks and mauls sucked in far more defenders and attackers than now. This meant that neither back line was swamped with under-employed single-digit jumpers...

The mark (for my money) at least encourages some thought to kicking, either into space or short of the 22 to keep the ball "live". I'd hate to see a move to some version of league's 40/20 rule...that's just encouraging a lack of imagination and intelligence, something which characterises league games (and no, I'm not an inveterate League hater, if you'd asked the 10 year-old MisterD who he supported, the answer would have been "Warrington").

ManDownUnder

27th July 2009, 14:32

I'm guessing you didn't get any this morning Hitch?

Hitcher

27th July 2009, 15:08

I think the sport is now a business with a few very highly paid employees, and not so much a national past time.
For some reason this business gets more TV coverage than most. Can't figure out why, but full kudos to the CEO and his marketing team. Great job.

Pastime. Rugby Union has always been a sport, never a pastime. It gets "more coverage than most" because it's comparatively cheap and has a large viewing audience. The "CEO and his marketing team" deserve little kudos because, in order to retain their commercial broadcast arrangements, they have had to supply more "product" for the same price. That's why for the next month or so we will be "treated" to an endless diet of All Blacks vs Wobblies and Springboks tests as they compete for a trophy that nobody really gives a fig about.

If the Saffas decide their rugby interests are better served by playing in Europe (more money, same time zone and all of that), then professional rugby in NZ and Oz is fucked, because most of the Sanzar broadcast dollars/rand come from the Republic.

Winston001

27th July 2009, 15:15

I think the sport is now a business with a few very highly paid employees, and not so much a national past time.
For some reason this business gets more TV coverage than most. Can't figure out why, but full kudos to the CEO and his marketing team.

Must admit I've thought the same this year. Rugby Union seems to be fading as our national sport and I really don't know where the future All Blacks are going to come from.

I do think it is a shame because a good rugby match is a complex game with far more variety than rugby league, American football, or soccer. But those great matches are becoming more rare. Whether its a problem with recent rule changes or simply playing at night I do not know.

Big Dave

27th July 2009, 15:23

It's the consistently putting the ball out of play for tactical advantage, the endless penalties and the stomping and rucking with the studs that does it for me.

And that Saints are 4 points clear and Carlton look like making the semis.

Hitcher

27th July 2009, 15:51

or simply playing at night I do not know.

I knew I'd forgotten something earlier that irritated the shit out of me...

Big Dave

27th July 2009, 15:55

I knew I'd forgotten something earlier that irritated the shit out of me...

Altz-hive-ers Disease. Amnesienema.

Next patient please, Goodness me young man...

oldrider

27th July 2009, 17:44

Mom

27th July 2009, 17:54

You forgot

Our elite rugby players are now gym fit, not match fit, they are not the hard men of rugby they once were.

The kicker (boom tish) for me though, is the stupid way we seem to have developed the kick the ball back and forwards type of game, I yell loudly at the TV and no one listens.

Owl

27th July 2009, 18:09

Eleven sentences starting with "And". That must be a new kind of record for one post!:D

Fatt Max

27th July 2009, 18:23

Nice one Hitcher, nutshells the whole union thing really

Even the blithering, blathering and bloothering from the NZRFU who fucked the world cup campaign for 2000 and are now well on the way to ripping the whole world off for 2011 world cup tickets is crap.

The game has gone corporate, the players are getting soft and it's all a bit of a toss now, regardless of Saturday's result.

My 2c anyway, I prefer football

wysper

27th July 2009, 18:46

On yer Hitch, me too, but worse for me as well...........I'm a Warrior's supporter.:blink:

I can beat that.. I am a black caps fan!

With rugby, I find it pretty hard to understand the rules now. I very rarely know what the ref has blown the whistle for....bit like netball really.

Laxi

27th July 2009, 18:53

On yer Hitch, me too, but worse for me as well...........I'm a Warrior's supporter.:blink::slap::bash::buggerd:

I cant stand union, I'd rather watch AFL:puke:

Big Dave

27th July 2009, 19:32

Winston001

27th July 2009, 19:34

I knew I'd forgotten something earlier that irritated the shit out of me...

Everything's OK Hitcher, I heard some chap on the radio explaining its all about (sic) physicality....:shit:

James Deuce

27th July 2009, 19:45

Sacrilege!!!

Burn the heathen!!!

Turn him into a Newt!!

Usarka

27th July 2009, 19:48

Scrumbags!

Big Dave

27th July 2009, 19:56

Scrumbags!

Maaaate - you got tackled by a door. :laugh:

Usarka

27th July 2009, 19:59

Maaaate - you got tackled by a door. :laugh:

Either that or an awesome falcon....:third:

Winston001

27th July 2009, 20:03

I can beat that.. I am a black caps fan!

A Witch a Witch!!

And a brave one too. :D If rugby is starting to fade, it is still a mega sport compared to cricket. No-one plays it (our national team certainly don't), it takes hours to achieve a result, and if you are really really lucky, days to reach a draw. :shit:

Fairs fair, the snick of willow on leather is a pleasant background for an afternoon in the sun. And it's cheap television which is the only explanation I've ever come up with for why cricket intrudes on the national consciousness at all.

Still, no disrespect to those who enjoy the game. :done:

MaxB

27th July 2009, 20:21

I love the game and have been invovled in various ways over the years but some of the recent goings on leave me cold.

A mate summed it up on the weekend, the period when our rugby whored itself to the highest bidder and forgot about the grassroots and clubs will be known as "the Adidas Years".

Hitcher

27th July 2009, 20:47

The NZRU has trademarked a rugby heritage that was paid for with the sweat and sacrifice of talented and dedicated amateurs. Those amateurs were people we could all identify with. On those rare occasions when they lost a test, they had left everything on the paddock, and we their supporters (never "fans") knew that and didn't really think anything of it. Tests weren't "just another game" or a higher pay packet.

All of this recent bullshit about "respect for the jersey" is just twaddle aimed at selling merchandise. I would never own or wear an All Blacks jersey because I was never good enough to be picked to wear one.

Playing test matches in "neutral" overseas venues is the beginning of the end. It will become increasingly prevalent until matches here in New Zealand are the exception rather than the rule.

Forest

27th July 2009, 21:02

Kiwi's seem to have trouble getting past the AFL uniform.

Shame really - it's a good game with a unique type athlete.

A good contest displays hand and foot skills, long distance running and full body contact.

Plus it has Collingwood. A team that everybody can hate - even those folks that don't follow the AFL.

In all seriousness, I do wish that the AFL would take hold in other parts of the world. It's a hell of a fun game to watch.

MisterD

28th July 2009, 08:33

Playing test matches in "neutral" overseas venues is the beginning of the end. It will become increasingly prevalent until matches here in New Zealand are the exception rather than the rule.

I live in hope that the NZRFU and IRB numpties will take a good hard look at the success of the Lions tour of SA and bring back proper rugby tours...

The things that drive interest in the game are a) local rivalries and b) proper international tours where we make big foreign names play on a wet Wednesday in the Wairarapa in between Tests.

The success of AFL is not that it's a fantastic game, but it is chock full of local rivalries...

bull

28th July 2009, 09:37

Bring back rucking at the breakdowns and get rid of the quick whistle blowing as soon as it looks dangerous in there - good old days meant if you were lying on the wrong side you got rucked not saved by the whistle. Even in kids rugby the kids know they can just lie on the ball and hope the ref doesnt call it either way it slows down the other teams progress.

Bring back Rucking!

Swoop

28th July 2009, 09:43

Actually I'm pretty bored with the whole rugby thing. Too may games, too many series, too many rule variations, too many coaching staff...
Also, too few braincells.

Caught a little bit of the Australian Taxi Car racing on the weekend. That has become so tedious that it is unwatchable. Formula 1 is following suit rapidly.

Thank goodness for Moto GP.

Wingnut

28th July 2009, 18:09

Rugby Union is not compulsory viewing, neither is League, (not even close) simply turn it off! :mellow:

Or even better, if you don't like it, don't turn it on! :shifty: Too simple for words really! :whistle:

I tend to agree with you there to a point, but its when you get constantly bombarded with Rugby shit on tele, in the papers, on the radio. It gets a bit much at times.

Forest

28th July 2009, 18:27

The success of AFL is not that it's a fantastic game, but it is chock full of local rivalries...

That's a good call.

I recommend going to at least one Carlton-Collingwood game at the MCG. Even if you don't know anything about AFL, the atmosphere in the crowd is incredible.

Big Dave

28th July 2009, 18:52

That's a good call.

I recommend going to at least one Carlton-Collingwood game at the MCG. Even if you don't know anything about AFL, the atmosphere in the crowd is incredible.

I would prefer if you didn't mention last Friday thanks.

MisterD

28th July 2009, 20:25

Even if you don't know anything about AFL, the atmosphere in the crowd is incredible.

I've been to Man U v Liverpool, so...

Hitcher

28th July 2009, 20:35

the atmosphere in the crowd is incredible.

That's something else rugby's promoters have got wrong -- they've taken the crowd out of play. Canned music (NZ music "anthems") at every stoppage in play, canned chants when the DJ decides the home team needs a bit of encouragement, and the concept of having fun is expressly forbidden by the venue owner's conditions of entry.

p.dath

28th July 2009, 20:50

That's something else rugby's promoters have got wrong -- they've taken the crowd out of play. Canned music (NZ music "anthems") at every stoppage in play, canned chants when the DJ decides the home team needs a bit of encouragement, and the concept of having fun is expressly forbidden by the venue owner's conditions of entry.

I still remember the first time I was at Mt Eden park and hearing the crowd cheering. I turned around an no one was cheering. I looked up, and realised the crowd noise was coming from a speaker.
Everything is so fake.