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Things I love to hate.


By Lindsay Clayton
January 2 2014

Don't get me wrong I love rugby but there are things that are down right annoying about the game I love. Here are just a few things that get right up my nose!

1 - Helping Hands

One of my least favourite to see are those players who just have to help one of the opposition, travelling at speed, into the advertising hoardings and then grapple for the ball trying to get the ref to admonish, or worse, the player they have just shunted into touch. Petty and unnecessary in my view.

2 - Ups and Downs

I love the power part of Rugby Union, especially the scrums, but at the moment they are rapidly become a joke. So many teams use scrums to waste time, having the ref reset for all sorts of silly little things when half or full time is due. Not sure what the answer is and lords know the IRB can't seem to get it right. Please someone, stop the resets...

3 - Ooops! was I in the way?

There seems to be a much greater propensity for just "getting in the way" at restarts, under a high ball and just when your team has just turned the ball over. How many times have you seen one or more players appearing to not know where the ball is and get in the way of an attacking player trying to gain possession? Or when one of their players has the ball ever so slightly putting themselves between ball carrier and potential tackler. There is a law against it and it needs to be applied more vigorously.

4 - Can't let you go!

I was watching a Saints or an England game, I can't remember which one, but Tom Wood was pinged for not rolling away but he was being very cleverly held down by one of the players who had come into clear out. Hard to spot I know but jeeze it's annoying.

5 - Visualisation.

Those place kickers who take the WHOLE time that they have looking a the posts then the ball then the posts and only just kick the ball in time. Really do need to do that!

6 - Drinks monitors

Every time there is a break in play half a dozen folks with tabards that have H2O on the back hurtle on to the field of play to refresh the players, even a couple of minutes after kick off! Barmy!!

7 - Magic sponge persons

Much like the Drinks monitors, every break in the game seems to be the trigger for the person with the bag and sponge to run to the nearest player and tend to them like a dying swan. There is need for medical teams, they should have to wait til the referee lets them on for non-serious injuries, like when a prop takes a knee.

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Things I love to hate.
Discussion started by Comeonyouwarriors.co.uk , 02/01/2014 19:48
Comeonyouwarriors.co.uk
02/01/2014 19:48
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014:01:30:20:53:47 by Powick Eastander.

Skipper
02/01/2014 20:55
1. Agree its completely unnecessary.

2.The one thing everyone complains about is that it wastes time. So stop the clock until the completion of a successful scrum. I would also further this to all breaks in play, line outs etc to prevent time wasting, we have a TMO why not use him as a time keeper as well? I am an ex second row and to see the amount

3. Blocking seems to be more and more acceptable, poor officiating unfortunately.

4. Yep very annoying again officials need to wake up or get their eyesight checked.

5. Again a time keeper to stop the clock or after they have used their full minute if the clock is not stopped as a lot of them go over the m crowd should let the team know by jeering.

6. Ban water boys from the pitch. Make the players run to the touchline for refreshment it would soon stop.

7. Agree completely, a prop pretending to have a twinge so he can have a quick break and a stretch before a scrum is very annoying, the same goes for a hooker before a line out to slow the game down and kill momentum. An alternative thrower should be nominated to keep the game flowing

I am surprised the standard of officiating did not make the list.

p1umb
03/01/2014 23:20
sort the scrums out.
if you ref them to the letter of the laws without shirking they will work

Skipper
05/01/2014 11:54
I refer you to the last line of my post.

I hope you both had a good new year. Its the Sale game when you are next down isn't it?

Big Bird Warrior
05/01/2014 23:57
"Not held" is what is really getting on my nerves! Player is tackled but as the tackler doesn't hold on to them, they get back up or wriggle along the floor, and the ref shouts "not held".

There are fine lines between holding on too long and getting pinged but I thought that once a player was tackled to the ground, they had to play the ball back!?

Asterz
07/01/2014 22:35
Seemingly everlasting knock-on advantages. Sometimes even coming back after kicking the ball away!

Old 7
07/01/2014 23:32
The rolling maul. Nothing more than legalised obstruction in my view. In every other aspect of play defenders can compete for the ball. In a maul that can't be bought to ground without penalty, it is virtually impossible to compete for the ball. Defence get a good straight shove on and the attackers simply spin away and gain a bigger advantage. Make it legal to bring it down again and bring back true competition for the ball.

Shoutin' Bloke
13/01/2014 12:49
Water Carriers should be shot, as everyone knows they are merely passing on tactics and lubrication has nothing to do with their role. As above, line the bottles up in a water zone, and the players can help themselves, or should we put little piles of chicken, pasta and other health snacks too, in case they start to burn all their calories off and faint from starvation too....get a grip.

Keep Coaching and Med staff in a zone near the stand, unless in the case of Meds, a serious knock is identified by Sir. The meds run on for an innocuous nudge, sprain and some snot, and then continue running off to the other side of the pitch, only to coach the team from where the Coach couldn't previously be heard by his team.

Provide a set square to the SH's and Mgt, to show them what a straight put in at the Scrum is, and also avoid 'wonkey donkey' line out throws by the Hooker which are not wind affected.

Ref Scrums better for sure. Some teams are attempting to make the Scrum almost unofficially 'uncontested' .Yardage penalties (attacking or Defence) for persistent reset requirements in any one setting of the Scrum. I know teams may still take a chance if their @#$%& are 60m from their own lines, but it needs to be ended, and soon. Maybe overturn the 'put in'? I think Cockers had a ping at Sale 'avoiding' scrummaging and only conceding a Pen, a few weeks ago.

Flag bearers that have little or no bearing on on field decisions i.e. Touch Judges who frequently take 10 metres out of most touch kicks due to their personally lack of stealth, and rarely have a clue about kicks through the sticks, but generally give each other a loving glance and wave furiously like another Jubilee has arisen. Pointless if Sir is increasingly not using them

TMO- We've probably fallen foul of more than most, but the concept is leading not to necessarily better decisions. Refs are deferring decisions they and Touch should be able to handle by themselves.

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