Tbf that's more to do with the draw being held immediately after the last world cup and based off the world rankings at the time. Then it's just shit luck when you look at the pots.A pity really that the best Scotland team in quite some time will have to play gooseberry to these two while a pretty pedestrian England will get through.
This Australian team looks a forlorn bunch
Well, they are both number 1 in the world!The winners will surely come from this game, Ireland behind all night, will they pinch it at the end
Nah the sport is still wankUtterly baffling how some of you still slate this sport after that.
It IS confusing..Utterly baffling how some of you still slate this sport after that.
Two things would change my opinion:Utterly baffling how some of you still slate this sport after that.
I didn't say I understood it completely myself! I played very briefly in my late teens/early 20's - and even then only 3rd 15's.It IS confusing..
That was definitely an exciting game, but the slightest infringement and it can be 3 points. It's almost like having a 3/4 penalty in football.
There also always is confusion amongst players when infringements are pulled up.
Rugby can be exciting, but it is also very frustrating.
The whole game seems to be played in a state of confusion and baffles, like the confusion around a handball offence in football.
I do like it though.
Ah, I take it you're more of a 'cha cha' man?Nah the sport is still wank
But it's very much still a 'minority' sport. How can we in the majority seriously claim a sense of 'inferiority' foisted upon us by the 'minority'?Two things would change my opinion:
1. Rules that made sense or were at least explained
2. Dropping the inferiority complex towards football
Really? By my count:But it's very much still a 'minority' sport. How can we in the majority seriously claim a sense of 'inferiority' foisted upon us by the 'minority'?
Self imposed siege mentality perhaps?
Oh, you can kick it forwards (or head it) but you have to handle it backwards and that's about it.
OK, like I said, it becomes a lot clearer if you've played the game (I did very briefly and I'm far from an expert but just appreciate it for having done so)Really? By my count:
‘Not releasing’ (despite being under a pack of 20 stone apes)
‘Not rolling away’ (see ‘not releasing’)
‘Coming in at the side’ (of what?)
‘Bringing down the scrum’
‘Rotating the scrum’ (doesn’t it do that anyway?)
‘Deliberate knock on’ (why would anyone do it deliberately?)
Then the commentators don’t explain the decisions and there sometimes won’t even be a little graphic to state what it’s for.
Fair play for trying, but also in so doing you’ve shown why it plays second fiddle to football. I was forced to play at school, mostly by PE teachers who insisted on having scrums every minute. That didn’t endear the game much to me either!OK, like I said, it becomes a lot clearer if you've played the game (I did very briefly and I'm far from an expert but just appreciate it for having done so)
Once you are tackled it's in your best interest to conjure yourself into a position (backwards) so that a team mate can retain possession.
Sometimes it's difficult to do so and sometimes it's deliberate to allow (absent) team mate time to retrieve - that is considered foul play and a penalty awarded to the opposition (see 'grey area') The game has to continue as quickly as possible (both parties responsible) otherwise you would just end up with 80 minutes of pile on.
This covers 'not rolling away'.
The rule of offside is very much a part of rugby. As with 'goal hanging' in soccer, you generally are not permitted to be ahead of the ball when attacking. 'Coming in at the side' relates to the ruck - open play has broken down, been contested on the floor and there's a frantic scramble for possession - again it could descend into anarchy so a simple set of rules come into place - anybody joining has to do so from the rear (all of these breakdowns in play are forms of scrummaging) the 'marker' as it were is the rear placed foot of your rearmost team mate involved in the ruck - anything forward of that is considered offside (or 'entering from the side') you will never see somebody literally entering at the side.
As far as collapsing the scrum and all that shit is concerned, it's a mystery to me - Never got involved in any of that malarkey. I was as skinny as a rake back then so only ever played FB or on the wing.
'Deliberate knock on' relates to the opposition breaking down the oppositions attack when there was no chance of a genuine interception (professional foul in soccer - hand ball even. Remember - the ball has to be handled backwards except in the case of a charge down from a booted clearance.)
It really is a great sport albeit it littered with copious amounts of technicalities. And cauliflowered ears.
I can count on one hand the amount of times we played the game in 5 years of secondary school sports lessons. I hated the game - not helped by being absolutely football mad even back then so even the absolute briefest of interruptions to the expected game of football was met with derision.Fair play for trying, but also in so doing you’ve shown why it plays second fiddle to football. I was forced to play at school, mostly by PE teachers who insisted on having scrums every minute. That didn’t endear the game much to me either!
I played rugby at school and once scored a wonder try.I can count on one hand the amount of times we played the game in 5 years of secondary school sports lessons. I hated the game - not helped by being absolutely football mad even back then so even the absolute briefest of interruptions to the expected game of football was met with derision.
I played rugby literally by chance - joined the army early 1980's, couldn't get into the (sub unit within the regiment) football team and there was little interest in getting an organised second XI going altho plenty of scratch games on Wednesday afternoons or weekends.
Rugby was a different matter with so many Yorkshire and Cornishmen in the sqn.
I was intrigued but they always seemed to have better and more organised piss ups too.
Three teams - within the sub unit!
No, I agree with that bit, but that's very recent. They did used to make sense.Because the rules of football are crystal clear these days
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