Rugby Union World Cup 2011

[Coxy]

The closing minutes tonight were no different to the painfully slow play the balls that dominate similar League games.

Ah, but in League they only get 6 of them. The All Blacks could've done 100 of them to close out the game. So. ####ing. Boring.
Overall I thought the game was good though. Still boggles my mind how bad teams of that calibre are at setting up and using an overlap.

 

[ethos]

Still boggles my mind how bad teams of that calibre are at setting up and using an overlap.

Same. And when they do, all the backs just run at an angle towards the sideline.

 

[Jeba]

Coxy and ethos hit the nail on the head. How the hell is it exciting when a team is able to just hold the ball for the last 5 minutes of the game if they're going to win???

And FFS, you may as well have put me on the wing if you're just going to straighten into the defence anytime there is an overlap.

 

[Coxy]

Same. And when they do, all the backs just run at an angle towards the sideline.

Yep, but usually that's because the play before someone 3 or 4 in from the sideline has cut inside instead of stayed out and draw and pass.

I mean I know there's 15 on the field so there's more defenders, but there's usually more than 2 lying on the deck in the ruck that are effectively out of play. So many times last night I saw teams with 2 or 3 man overlaps and the ball never went more than 2 passes away from the ruck.

I don't know if it's just the style of play that m1c alluded to earlier ("tournament" style) or if the players just genuinely lack vision. I suspect it's a combination of the two. Most of their backs lack vision, and they're told not to use it even if they have it in this kind of game.

Compare it to big games in league, like finals and state of origin and tests, even though teams will generally play fairly tight, they still leave the option open for their backs to use their instincts and put something on. And the result is some exciting play. Some league teams are guilty of going one off 5 times and then bomb, but they're getting fewer these days. That said, I think League's problem at the moment is too much reliance on set moves and patterns, and I think that's because we're suffering a similar problem to Union - our halves are overcoached as juniors and not encouraged to develop their instincts.

Just my opinion, and I tried my best not to be unfairly critical.

 

[Nashy]

Completely different game. Don't like it, don't watch it.

France needed to force the ball out of their hands, they didn't and the All Blacks won.

 

[Coxy]

Completely different game. Don't like it, don't watch it.

Thanks for such a wonderful contribution to the discussion.
Kinda like "that's the law, don't like it, leave".

 

[Bucking Beads]

Thanks for such a wonderful contribution to the discussion.
Kinda like "that's the law, don't like it, leave".

At least he is consistent.. Wonder if we can rehabilitate him.

 

[Nashy]

You union bashers only want to make sure you get your say to look all knowledged in a game you know nothing about. It's been like it on here for years.

2 minutes on the clock in a league game, the slowest play the ball you will ever see, slowest runs, kicking out to run the clock down. How's it any less of a pussy act than what the All Blacks did?

 

[Coxy]

You union bashers only want to make sure you get your say to look all knowledged in a game you know nothing about. It's been like it on here for years.

2 minutes on the clock in a league game, the slowest play the ball you will ever see, slowest runs, kicking out to run the clock down. How's it any less of a pussy act than what the All Blacks did?

It was just crap how they could sit there with the ball at the back of the ruck and do nothing. At least in League you have to pick the ball up, you have to run it. It was a major anticlimax.

 

[Nashy]

Well, they wanted to win. Why give the other team another chance with ball in hand when it's so close?

 

[Porthoz]

The closing minutes tonight were no different to the painfully slow play the balls that dominate similar League games.

Any comparison to League games is completely unfounded.
For starters as Coxy said, there is that 6 tackle thing that limits the "damage", and you will generally get the losing team trying to play the ball quickly, as well as chancing their hand with offloads and second phase play.
When a League game score is close, that game won't die until the last minute.

Besides, when you talk about "similar" League games, you're talking about top flight games such as 4 Nations or World Cup finals, or even Origin. Are you seriously trying to compare it?

I can live with people using the Reds rugby style as publicity for the the "game that bores the sh!t out of the gods", and even though yesterday was digestable, it was yet another kicking fest for territory and penalties. Yawn...

 

[Coxy]

Any comparison to League games is completely unfounded.
For starters as Coxy said, there is that 6 tackle thing that limits the "damage", and you will generally get the losing team trying to play the ball quickly, as well as chancing their hand with offloads and second phase play.
When a League game score is close, that game won't die until the last minute.

Besides, when you talk about "similar" League games, you're talking about top flight games such as 4 Nations or World Cup finals, or even Origin. Are you seriously trying to compare it?

I can live with people using the Reds rugby style as publicity for the the "game that bores the sh!t out of the gods", and even though yesterday was digestable, it was yet another kicking fest for territory and penalties. Yawn...

^^^^ This.

It was as boring as a game of soccer.

(May just turn allies into enemies with that comment)...

 

[Kaz]

You union bashers only want to make sure you get your say to look all knowledged in a game you know nothing about. It's been like it on here for years.

You don't have to be knowledgeable, to see most games are f@cking boring.

 

[Coxy]

You don't have to be knowledgeable, to see most games are f@cking boring.

Hehe exactly. It's like when people rave about a really crap TV show or movie and say "oh, you just don't understand its nuances and subtlety"...no, it's just crap.

 

[Bucking Beads]

I don't like how they play the ball. The rucks and mauls suck. Line outs are ok and the scrums are yawn. They need more tries.

 

[Porthoz]

^^^^ This.

It was as boring as a game of soccer.

(May just turn allies into enemies with that comment)...

Nah, I was born and bred into soccer and can understand how a League fan could find it boring, although the comparison with Yawnion is pretty unfair imo.

Soccer can be attractive and has something no other game can rival, which is the incredible skill on display, especially at the top level.
However, it's also a game full of cheats and actors, and is completely at the mercy of tycoons and magnates, who try to "buy" trophees and titles, by pinching players from the hard working, but less fortunate clubs, who nurtured said players into stars.

All of the above irks me to no end, even more so after I was introduced to League, where honor and fairplay still means something, even though it's probably the toughest game on the planet...

But I don't want to hijack the thread, so as far as I'm concerned:

/soccer rant

 

[Coxy]

Nah, I was born and bred into soccer and can understand how a League fan could find it boring, although the comparison with Yawnion is pretty unfair imo.

Soccer can be attractive and has something no other game can rival, which is the incredible skill on display, especially at the top level.
However, it's also a game full of cheats and actors, and is completely at the mercy of tycoons and magnates, who try to "buy" trophees and titles, by pinching players from the hard working, but less fortunate clubs, who nurtured said players into stars.

All of the above irks me to no end, even more so after I was introduced to League, where honor and fairplay still means something, even though it's probably the toughest game on the planet...

But I don't want to hijack the thread, so as far as I'm concerned:

/soccer rant

Even when I advertise it as a bait I get a bite. Hehe.

 

[Fozz]

Hehe exactly. It's like when people rave about a really crap TV show or movie and say "oh, you just don't understand its nuances and subtlety"...no, it's just crap.

Or like Kieran Foran.