Rugby 2013

[BonnieShels]

Holy Jesus!

[SkStu]

Couldn't you just see it coming? FFS...

[BonnieShels]

After that first half... yes. That play just summed it up.

[tricky_colour]

Must be a big betting scam

[Charlie Darwin]

I hate to see Ireland but, sadly, Kidney Out is the silver lining.

edit: I actually forgot this is Ireland. He probably signed a four-year extension under veil of secrecy during the week.

[BonnieShels]

with you Charlie. He has to go now.

[swinfordfc]

And give BOD back the armband!!!!!!!

[OwlsFan]

Kidney failure in Edinburgh?

Can never understand how a rugby team can play without a goal kicker. At home against a weak side perhaps but away from home? Bizarre. Are they usually not worth about 15 points a game (3 tries?)?

[Stuttgart88]

I did enjoy Brian Moore changing his tune during ENG v FRA from "quit pushing each other, it's not football" (yet again a football dig) to just "quit the muppetry" (my words) after the amount of tripping, bitch-slapping, elbowing and play acting got a bit out of control, probably forcing him to cop on that these things happen in rugger too! Not to mention a wrong refereeing call that led to a try. I thought rugby's TMO system was a lesson for all. Oh, maybe not. And yes, I understand the limits on its allowed use.

[Stuttgart88]

Rules based questions:

Scotland employed what looked to me to be a rush defence a lot of the time. If, say, Ireland's 10 or 12 delayed a pass left, that meant that the possible recipient was already marked by a Scottish tackler who had run ahead of the ball BEFORE the pass would be released. Therefore unless the passing is lightning fast the only option is either a dangerous missed pass (risking interception) or a very deep pass back to, say, 15.

My amateur reading of this is that the Scots defenders were essentially offside but not penalised. They were regularly ahead of the ball long before it was actually passed, although they would have started to advance when the original pass from 9 or 10 was made, when the Scots would have been behind the ball.

The effect is to limit the attacking team's ability to move the ball along the line and I thought it was ridiculous how Ireland was disadvantaged by this on Sunday. No wonder we couldn't convert possession into points. What is the rule re-rush defences and offside?

Also, is it now implicitly accepted by refs that the scrum put-in is nowhere near straight? Not only does the team awarded the scrum have the advantage of their hooker getting first "go" at the ball, but the ball is routinely rolled in crooked just to make sure!

[Charlie Darwin]

They're only offside if they run before the ball has left the ruck. Otherwise you'd have players offside every time a pass is made. Rush defence does push this to its limits but if he starts his run from an onside position he can't suddenly become offside just because the centre caught the ball.

[osarusan]

As long as the defensive line are all behind the last foot of whichever player involved in the ruck is closest to their own line, they can go wherever they want after the ball leaves the ruck.

Yes, the crooked put in has been getting worse in recent years, to the point that the hooker doesn't even need to hook the ball at all most of the time. Brian Moore goes crazy over this.

[shakermaker1982]

Ireland dealt well with the rush defence against Wales. A few grubber kicks might have been worth a try yesterday. We did miss Sexton but rush defence does Murray no favours because he is so s l o w in getting the ball away. Defence just resets every time.

Jackson is getting a lot of stick but when senior players keep giving silly kickable penalties away against a team that wouldn't score a try if the game went on for 3 days is plain stupidity. Heaslip our beloved captain one of the main offenders. Just stay on your feet, particularly when the ref is 2 foot away.

Best bottling the line out on more than one occasion also didn't help the cause. Inside the 22 & let them off the hook.

The squad is a bit thin at the moment so there won't be too many changes but Murray needs to be dropped for good. If the French play like they did for 55 mins vs England then it's going to be painful. England aren't any great shakes yet somehow going for a slam?

[peadar1987]

Is there anything to be said for expanding the sex nations, or introducing promotion and relegation to it? On one hand you wouldn't want to ruin the tradition and history associated with the tournament, but on the other, it could really help popularise rugby in Europe if teams like Romania, Georgia, and Russia were playing against top rugby nations, whether that's as a result of them playing in the 6 nations for a season or two, or if one of the big nations spend a while in the second tier.

[passinginterest]

Is there anything to be said for expanding the sex nations, teams like Romania, Georgia, and Russia

They'd certainly bring better looking women to the party.

[peadar1987]

They'd certainly bring better looking women to the party.

Ah if it's women you're after I'd think very carefully about putting Italy in danger of relegation!

[BonnieShels]

Is there anything to be said for expanding the sex nations, or introducing promotion and relegation to it? On one hand you wouldn't want to ruin the tradition and history associated with the tournament, but on the other, it could really help popularise rugby in Europe if teams like Romania, Georgia, and Russia were playing against top rugby nations, whether that's as a result of them playing in the 6 nations for a season or two, or if one of the big nations spend a while in the second tier.

I remember saying this on here a few years ago.

I think that while we shoudln't go straight to a relegation situation I think there should be for maybe 3-5 years after the Six Nations a match betwen the bottom team in the competition and the top team in the ENC. After a period it should then become a play-off match for a place in the Six Nations for the following year.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europea..._(rugby_union)

Definitely worth considering. Never gonna happen though.

[Charlie Darwin]

The gap in quality is still far, far, far too big. Italy have been in it over a decade and they're still getting one win a year if they're lucky.

[BonnieShels]

The gap in quality is still far, far, far too big. Italy have been in it over a decade and they're still getting one win a year if they're lucky.

Exactly. So give the teams below a chance to fight it out with the first team on a regular basis. I mean how close were Georgia to beating us in 2007?

[Schumi]

Georgia lost at home to Japan and Fiji (whom our reserves beat 53-0) in November and only beat Belgium by 5 or 6 points in the last few weeks. They seem to have regressed since that world cup.