What is wrong with the game today ?

[OldSchoolRugga]

What do you feel is wrong with today's game of rugby union ? It clearly is not the same game, we grew up with and loved. It's not even the same game from 10 years ago.

Here's my view on what's wrong.

1) Too many rule changes each year (teams should play a couple of years without any rule changes), constant rule changes have brought on next two points...
2) Too many penalties.
3) Referee is more in focus every game than ever before, and blows the whistle far too often.
4) Too many up and unders, fault of the teams and coaches.
5) Basically all teams play the same type of game, try to bulldoze each other and have a really good defensive setup, the game has been extremely unattractive to watch for a while. One Australian ex-player (can't remember his name) said the game is unwatchable. Each team should have their own distinctive way of playing, however that is not the case.
6) Too many sponsors on the jerseys. It would be better if the sponsors were plastered all over the stadium, but only the team/country emblem should be on the jersey, with maybe the clothing sponsor.
7) Scrums are a disaster. Too much time taken to get it right and there is no more competition for the ball anymore. And that is the key factor for scrums. World Rugby has much blame for this.

These are what I can think of now. I still love the game. They say change is usually good, but for many reasons, rugby has changed for the worse.

 

[SaintAlby]

Scrum feeds still not straight.

The caterpillar at the breakdown.

Over the top celebrations on penalties.

Should the kicking clock be a minute for a penalty and 30 seconds for a conversion, it is worth more points but less time to take one.

Agree with the sponsorship on shirts, internationals are bearable but club rugby is getting too much. What's the view on players names on the back, some countries do some don't.

Can't think of anything else but there is probably more.

 

[Everyday EggChaser]

Men over 65 who are so disconnected from the idea of a professional and profitable sport making decisions for players 30 and under

 

[Saintjay]

To much social media scrutiny of referees, youtube armchair analysts and stoking of controversy for the sake of it.

Moving away from the 'referee is always right' to here's a thousand slow motion replays of why he's wrong and 1000 posts on corruption allowing Wales to beat Fiji.

 

[Don't Skip Leg Day]

Too many subs, we need to drop the number down to 4 or 5. Make the prop on the prop on the bench cover LH and TH, it's not difficult and not some dark art no one understands.

I'd not ref the breakdown at all, just let it play. Would be chaos but couldn't be worse than the nonsense we see from refs who all ref it differently anyhow.

Make World Rugby make a videos game to actually get young kids into the game. I'd also add market the game better, stop faffing with the laws and also ban Owen Farrell.

Job done.

 

[Which Tyler]

Too more subs, we need to drop the number down to 4 or 5. Make the prop on the prop on the bench cover LH and TH, it's not difficult and not some dark art no one understands.

I'd love to have subs be for injuries only - and enforce that by any replaced player HAS to take the next match off. We know full well that we can't trust rugby players (or coaches) to be honest about these things.

Unforseen consequence, of course, is that genuinely injured players stay on and make things worse if they don't think it's too bad.

 

[die_mole]

I'd love to have subs be for injuries only - and enforce that by any replaced player HAS to take the next match off. We know full well that we can't trust rugby players (or coaches) to be honest about these things.

Love it

 

[Pieter Steph du Teague]

Unforseen consequence, of course, is that genuinely injured players stay on and make things worse if they don't think it's too bad.

Would also be pretty much irrelevant in finals. No one's gonna care about having to miss the next match.

100% agree on reducing subs though. So many issues with injury/concussion stem from the players having gotten too big and too strong for their own good. If they all had to be able to play 80 mins then their size reduces, their strength reduces, collision forces reduce and we'll see less injuries.

 

[Everyday EggChaser]

Regarding subs, I think there should be more options on the bench with only a certain amount being used. 10 players on the bench to cover all positions, keep front row rotational for safety and then only 3 from the remaining players?

 

[miccloarch]

Too much freaking kicking. Yes it's part of the game but as long as we have contestable scrums and rucks, union will never become league, so this obsession with kicking needs to end. If World Rugby had any brains at all the next batch of rule changes will discourage kicking and force the hooker to hook. The job description is in the t!tle you goofs.

 

[NeilH]

What do you feel is wrong with today's game of rugby union ? It clearly is not the same game, we grew up with and loved. It's not even the same game from 10 years ago.

Here's my view on what's wrong.

1) Too many rule changes each year (teams should play a couple of years without any rule changes), constant rule changes have brought on next two points...
2) Too many penalties.
3) Referee is more in focus every game than ever before, and blows the whistle far too often.
4) Too many up and unders, fault of the teams and coaches.
5) Basically all teams play the same type of game, try to bulldoze each other and have a really good defensive setup, the game has been extremely unattractive to watch for a while. One Australian ex-player (can't remember his name) said the game is unwatchable. Each team should have their own distinctive way of playing, however that is not the case.
6) Too many sponsors on the jerseys. It would be better if the sponsors were plastered all over the stadium, but only the team/country emblem should be on the jersey, with maybe the clothing sponsor.
7) Scrums are a disaster. Too much time taken to get it right and there is no more competition for the ball anymore. And that is the key factor for scrums. World Rugby has much blame for this.

These are what I can think of now. I still love the game. They say change is usually good, but for many reasons, rugby has changed for the worse.

Couldn't have said it better

 

[OldSchoolRugga]

Couldn't have said it better

Much obliged.

 

[Five Meters Out]

Good call Rugby Fan.
The game at the top level is moving to more akin to American Football (Gridiron). For example - International Rugby games move methodically from one play to the next; long breaks between each play as injured players are checked or boot laces tied; there are numerous players coming on and off the field; the Referee's (Umpires) and TMO's are reviewing every play in minute detail.

However, here in Tajikistan the club game is doing well and the passion remains. Fans continue to attend in numbers they always have. Referee's are wired to the touch judges, who can intervene, but generally keep it to a minimum. Because it's club level, defences are less organised, tacklers are less adept at their art and thus players are inclined to run the ball.
Club rugby is the only rugby I'm really interested in now. I attend every Saturday, whereas the All Black-Italy game was the first World Cup game I'd tuned into.

 

[Kiwiwomble]

Good call Rugby Fan.
The game at the top level is moving to more akin to American Football (Gridiron). For example - International Rugby games move methodically from one play to the next; long breaks between each play as injured players are checked or boot laces tied; there are numerous players coming on and off the field; the Referee's (Umpires) and TMO's are reviewing every play in minute detail.

However, here in Tajikistan the club game is doing well and the passion remains. Fans continue to attend in numbers they always have. Referee's are wired to the touch judges, who can intervene, but generally keep it to a minimum. Because it's club level, defences are less organised, tacklers are less adept at their art and thus players are inclined to run the ball.
Club rugby is the only rugby I'm really interested in now. I attend every Saturday, whereas the All Black-Italy game was the first World Cup game I'd tuned into.

i would go as far as say the club game in general is still great (it is here in melbourne)...in general we should get getting down the park more than watching international at home

 

[OldSchoolRugga]

Good call Rugby Fan.
The game at the top level is moving to more akin to American Football (Gridiron). For example - International Rugby games move methodically from one play to the next; long breaks between each play as injured players are checked or boot laces tied; there are numerous players coming on and off the field; the Referee's (Umpires) and TMO's are reviewing every play in minute detail.

However, here in Tajikistan the club game is doing well and the passion remains. Fans continue to attend in numbers they always have. Referee's are wired to the touch judges, who can intervene, but generally keep it to a minimum. Because it's club level, defences are less organised, tacklers are less adept at their art and thus players are inclined to run the ball.
Club rugby is the only rugby I'm really interested in now. I attend every Saturday, whereas the All Black-Italy game was the first World Cup game I'd tuned into.

You are 100% correct on that. Incredible amount of stoppages, dummy runners etc. Rod McQueen really started it with all the dummy runners in late 90's. He even admitted borrowing elements from NFL to implement in rugby. Irony is, NFL has borrowed so much from rugby. Even half time talks with coaches, defense coach is from the NFL.

 

[saddened]

Where do you start.
-The ball may be in play just as long or longer than previous eras but for most of that time it's up in the air from box kicks or it's being hit up into the line for little or no gain over and over waiting for penalties or scrums which lead to penalties.
-The sport imo went the power/set play route to allow the northern hemisphere teams to compete and it lost what made it special to watch.
-For a sport which now prides itself on protecting its players , it sure likes repeatedly putting them in harm's way by repeated scrum resets and fostering a culture of scrum penalty as a points strategy which youngsters then learn from .Scrums are still the most dangerous thing on any football field, particularly for novices. How a clip across the chops is deemed a yellow card but pile driving 8 blokes weight into one blokes neck gets the 8 blokes a penalty doesn't make sense to me or a parent of the kid with the neck.
As an Aussie who used to play and watch rugby , it's safe to say the sport is dying here. Rugby Australia can blame everyone it wants but it sold its provincial game rights to pay tv a generation ago.....kids stopped watching, they've reaped what they've sown.
You could go on and on about why it isn't the sport it was
-too many penalties,
-too many types of penalties,
-penalties from Scrums
-long stoppages
- refs behaving like school principals
- backs who hardly ever touch the ball
- box kicking over and over again
- the lack of space between the attacking and defensive line needed addressing to better suit the modern athlete.
- too many subs


In the end , all of it would be forgiveable if the ball got run more, a lot more, but it's so rare now that any backline play is automatic highlight reel stuff.

My generation still watch because they remember what it used to be and have a glimmer of hope they'll see something special- the next generation won't be so kind

 

[McTallshort]

The breakdown. It's like a wrestling match. Bring back rucking and watch the game speed up and concussions come down.

Oh and less subs

 

[Kiwiwomble]

The breakdown. It's like a wrestling match. Bring back rucking and watch the game speed up and concussions come down.

Oh and less subs

yeah....i cant help feel in an attempt to help player well fair but stopping people rucking...we've forced team to develop neck rolls and diving in to clear out....which in my book are much worse

almost everything for me also comes down to subjective rules/laws, the ref having to make judgements rather than just implementing black and white

 

[McTallshort]

yeah....i cant help feel in an attempt to help player well fair but stopping people rucking...we've forced team to develop neck rolls and diving in to clear out....which in my book are much worse

almost everything for me also comes down to subjective rules/laws, the ref having to make judgements rather than just implementing black and white

Stopping rucking was more down to how it looked in TV cameras and nothing to do with player welfare..... is my slightly twisted opinion on it.

 

[OldSchoolRugga]

Stopping rucking was more down to how it looked in TV cameras and nothing to do with player welfare..... is my slightly twisted opinion on it.

What's weird is that John Eales said in a chat with former World cup players, that rugby needed to remove rucking. You would think a player of his accomplishment and level, would still approve of rucking.