The Current State of Rugby
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@mariner4life Rugby has problems, and of that there can be no doubt. The old boys mentality flourishes all the fucking way down from WR right to your local union. It could be better without doubt, but it doesn't want to be while the 6N are making money. And while they're scared of law suits.
IMHO of the 200-odd games in an NRL season, today's effort in Newcastle is an outlier, not the norm. Not even close to the average.
But it isn't popular for its complexity; is popular because of simplicity and accessibility. And that isn't bad.
Most of the time you could play any NRL game in black and white, and you wouldn't know who the teams were because it is so very narrow in its approach.
Rugby is like gourmet food - it can be fucking amazing but it can also be pretentious twaddle a lot of the time.
Rugby league is like pub food - it does the job, is usually of good quality, and some of the time you get a really good steak that helps you interested in going back.
@NTA said in The Current State of Rugby:
@mariner4life Rugby has problems, and of that there can be no doubt. The old boys mentality flourishes all the fucking way down from WR right to your local union. It could be better without doubt, but it doesn't want to be while the 6N are making money. And while they're scared of law suits.
IMHO of the 200-odd games in an NRL season, today's effort in Newcastle is an outlier, not the norm. Not even close to the average.
But it isn't popular for its complexity; is popular because of simplicity and accessibility. And that isn't bad.
Most of the time you could play any NRL game in black and white, and you wouldn't know who the teams were because it is so very narrow in its approach.
Rugby is like gourmet food - it can be fucking amazing but it can also be pretentious twaddle a lot of the time.
Rugby league is like pub food - it does the job, is usually of good quality, and some of the time you get a really good steak that helps you interested in going back.
You're bang on the money with the pretentious twaddle. It's too technical now.
Even the language of the game is inaccessible to youngsters and new comers. Talk of "mitigation", exits, pod systems etc. In the NH the players, pundits and coaches use rhetoric akin to middle management of the financial services sector.
The first ten minutes of the loss to the Springboks in Twickenham was technical pedantry. I can't even see those infringements as they happen. I couldn't explain them to a new comer. They were like neutral zone infractions in the NFL.
Cut out the nit picky refereeing. Card them if they clothesline each other or bin them for killing the ball 5m from their own line. We are sending players off for unsuccessful attempted interceptions for god sake.
Just let the players play.
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And it should be good
But no game in France this weekend will beat the game in Newcastle today
@mariner4life said in The Current State of Rugby:
And it should be good
But no game in France this weekend will beat the game in Newcastle today
Scotland, SA, Fiji and Wales say hi
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On the plus side: they're smart about their rules in league. They have the luxury of controlling it directly of course.
When the game threatened to be overtaken by roid munching freaks they brought in things like 6 again to help speed it up and make it more about fitness. That's something Rugby needs to look at because players north of 120kg are becoming too frequent.
@NTA said in The Current State of Rugby:
When the game threatened to be overtaken by roid munching freaks they brought in things like 6 again to help speed it up and make it more about fitness. That's something Rugby needs to look at because players north of 120kg are becoming too frequent.
Couldn’t agree more Nick.
Half the players don’t even look like people, let alone athletes.
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@NTA said in The Current State of Rugby:
When the game threatened to be overtaken by roid munching freaks they brought in things like 6 again to help speed it up and make it more about fitness. That's something Rugby needs to look at because players north of 120kg are becoming too frequent.
Couldn’t agree more Nick.
Half the players don’t even look like people, let alone athletes.
@MajorRage said in The Current State of Rugby:
@NTA said in The Current State of Rugby:
When the game threatened to be overtaken by roid munching freaks they brought in things like 6 again to help speed it up and make it more about fitness. That's something Rugby needs to look at because players north of 120kg are becoming too frequent.
Couldn’t agree more Nick.
Half the players don’t even look like people, let alone athletes.
Couldn't agree more - I saw a Twitter / X exchange earlier this week where someone mentioned something about the Boks being able to replace their entire tight 5 by bringing on 5 "mutants" at halftime. A jaapie chap responded by pointing out that Oz, Nyakane and Mbonambi are all 175cm or under. Not sure if this is true, but it simply highlights the point the original poster was making - a 175cm tall human being should not be weighing in at over 120kg - this is more mutant than a guy who's 6 foot 11.
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@MajorRage said in The Current State of Rugby:
@NTA said in The Current State of Rugby:
When the game threatened to be overtaken by roid munching freaks they brought in things like 6 again to help speed it up and make it more about fitness. That's something Rugby needs to look at because players north of 120kg are becoming too frequent.
Couldn’t agree more Nick.
Half the players don’t even look like people, let alone athletes.
Couldn't agree more - I saw a Twitter / X exchange earlier this week where someone mentioned something about the Boks being able to replace their entire tight 5 by bringing on 5 "mutants" at halftime. A jaapie chap responded by pointing out that Oz, Nyakane and Mbonambi are all 175cm or under. Not sure if this is true, but it simply highlights the point the original poster was making - a 175cm tall human being should not be weighing in at over 120kg - this is more mutant than a guy who's 6 foot 11.
@junior said in The Current State of Rugby:
@MajorRage said in The Current State of Rugby:
@NTA said in The Current State of Rugby:
When the game threatened to be overtaken by roid munching freaks they brought in things like 6 again to help speed it up and make it more about fitness. That's something Rugby needs to look at because players north of 120kg are becoming too frequent.
Couldn’t agree more Nick.
Half the players don’t even look like people, let alone athletes.
Couldn't agree more - I saw a Twitter / X exchange earlier this week where someone mentioned something about the Boks being able to replace their entire tight 5 by bringing on 5 "mutants" at halftime. A jaapie chap responded by pointing out that Oz, Nyakane and Mbonambi are all 175cm or under. Not sure if this is true, but it simply highlights the point the original poster was making - a 175cm tall human being should not be weighing in at over 120kg - this is more mutant than a guy who's 6 foot 11.
Watching Scotland v SA here and have to agree. Bish bash bosh.
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@MajorRage said in The Current State of Rugby:
@NTA said in The Current State of Rugby:
When the game threatened to be overtaken by roid munching freaks they brought in things like 6 again to help speed it up and make it more about fitness. That's something Rugby needs to look at because players north of 120kg are becoming too frequent.
Couldn’t agree more Nick.
Half the players don’t even look like people, let alone athletes.
Couldn't agree more - I saw a Twitter / X exchange earlier this week where someone mentioned something about the Boks being able to replace their entire tight 5 by bringing on 5 "mutants" at halftime. A jaapie chap responded by pointing out that Oz, Nyakane and Mbonambi are all 175cm or under. Not sure if this is true, but it simply highlights the point the original poster was making - a 175cm tall human being should not be weighing in at over 120kg - this is more mutant than a guy who's 6 foot 11.
@junior said in The Current State of Rugby:
@MajorRage said in The Current State of Rugby:
@NTA said in The Current State of Rugby:
When the game threatened to be overtaken by roid munching freaks they brought in things like 6 again to help speed it up and make it more about fitness. That's something Rugby needs to look at because players north of 120kg are becoming too frequent.
Couldn’t agree more Nick.
Half the players don’t even look like people, let alone athletes.
Couldn't agree more - I saw a Twitter / X exchange earlier this week where someone mentioned something about the Boks being able to replace their entire tight 5 by bringing on 5 "mutants" at halftime. A jaapie chap responded by pointing out that Oz, Nyakane and Mbonambi are all 175cm or under. Not sure if this is true, but it simply highlights the point the original poster was making - a 175cm tall human being should not be weighing in at over 120kg - this is more mutant than a guy who's 6 foot 11.
Sounds like you need to visit Porirua for a dose of reality
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N I like you and you know that
But that is shit the Sydney private school piston wristed gibbons that you hate tell themselves to feel superior to to the western Sydney bogans
Rugby union has lost its way
And even if I am wrong, it 8s most certainly not the sport I played a little over a decade ago
@mariner4life said in The Current State of Rugby:
N I like you and you know that
But that is shit the Sydney private school piston wristed gibbons that you hate tell themselves to feel superior to to the western Sydney bogans
Rugby union has lost its way
And even if I am wrong, it 8s most certainly not the sport I played a little over a decade ago
The Rugby World Cup is the third biggest international sporting event in world behind the Olympics and the Football World Cup.
The sport keeps growing and growing and growing.
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@mariner4life said in The Current State of Rugby:
N I like you and you know that
But that is shit the Sydney private school piston wristed gibbons that you hate tell themselves to feel superior to to the western Sydney bogans
Rugby union has lost its way
And even if I am wrong, it 8s most certainly not the sport I played a little over a decade ago
The Rugby World Cup is the third biggest international sporting event in world behind the Olympics and the Football World Cup.
The sport keeps growing and growing and growing.
@sparky said in The Current State of Rugby:
@mariner4life said in The Current State of Rugby:
N I like you and you know that
But that is shit the Sydney private school piston wristed gibbons that you hate tell themselves to feel superior to to the western Sydney bogans
Rugby union has lost its way
And even if I am wrong, it 8s most certainly not the sport I played a little over a decade ago
The Rugby World Cup is the third biggest international sporting event in world behind the Olympics and the Football World Cup.
The sport keeps growing and growing and growing.
I'm sorry but this is complete bullshit
The RWC is not in the top 10 sporting events for either revenue or viewership
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@sparky said in The Current State of Rugby:
@mariner4life said in The Current State of Rugby:
N I like you and you know that
But that is shit the Sydney private school piston wristed gibbons that you hate tell themselves to feel superior to to the western Sydney bogans
Rugby union has lost its way
And even if I am wrong, it 8s most certainly not the sport I played a little over a decade ago
The Rugby World Cup is the third biggest international sporting event in world behind the Olympics and the Football World Cup.
The sport keeps growing and growing and growing.
I'm sorry but this is complete bullshit
The RWC is not in the top 10 sporting events for either revenue or viewership
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N I like you and you know that
But that is shit the Sydney private school piston wristed gibbons that you hate tell themselves to feel superior to to the western Sydney bogans
Rugby union has lost its way
And even if I am wrong, it 8s most certainly not the sport I played a little over a decade ago
@mariner4life said in The Current State of Rugby:
And even if I am wrong, it 8s most certainly not the sport I played a little over a decade ago
The professional game has been moving away from the rest of us for years. Because money.
That has been going on for - literally - decades, and has always been inferior based on your reasoning when compared to league.
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@NTA said in The Current State of Rugby:
@mariner4life Rugby has problems, and of that there can be no doubt. The old boys mentality flourishes all the fucking way down from WR right to your local union. It could be better without doubt, but it doesn't want to be while the 6N are making money. And while they're scared of law suits.
IMHO of the 200-odd games in an NRL season, today's effort in Newcastle is an outlier, not the norm. Not even close to the average.
But it isn't popular for its complexity; is popular because of simplicity and accessibility. And that isn't bad.
Most of the time you could play any NRL game in black and white, and you wouldn't know who the teams were because it is so very narrow in its approach.
Rugby is like gourmet food - it can be fucking amazing but it can also be pretentious twaddle a lot of the time.
Rugby league is like pub food - it does the job, is usually of good quality, and some of the time you get a really good steak that helps you interested in going back.
You're bang on the money with the pretentious twaddle. It's too technical now.
Even the language of the game is inaccessible to youngsters and new comers. Talk of "mitigation", exits, pod systems etc. In the NH the players, pundits and coaches use rhetoric akin to middle management of the financial services sector.
The first ten minutes of the loss to the Springboks in Twickenham was technical pedantry. I can't even see those infringements as they happen. I couldn't explain them to a new comer. They were like neutral zone infractions in the NFL.
Cut out the nit picky refereeing. Card them if they clothesline each other or bin them for killing the ball 5m from their own line. We are sending players off for unsuccessful attempted interceptions for god sake.
Just let the players play.
@Steve said in The Current State of Rugby:
Cut out the nit picky refereeing.
"Review the Law book" is what you're saying.
That definitely needs to happen. There is a bunch of technical stuff we could throw away and improve the game.
It isn't going to stop cheating though, or even mitigate it, until you get down to having about a dozen Laws and a restriction on how many players can enter a ruck.
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That's no a source
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@mariner4life said in The Current State of Rugby:
And even if I am wrong, it 8s most certainly not the sport I played a little over a decade ago
The professional game has been moving away from the rest of us for years. Because money.
That has been going on for - literally - decades, and has always been inferior based on your reasoning when compared to league.
@NTA said in The Current State of Rugby:
That has been going on for - literally - decades, and has always been inferior based on your reasoning when compared to league.
Example: I was at a game of Test Rugby one time, and a couple of locals - league fans - had come along for a look.
I spent the game talking to them and explaining decisions. Some of them I couldn't because I missed the referee's signal.
That was RWC 2003. WIN Stadium in Wollongong for Canda v Tonga. Twenty years ago.
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Rugby league is a niche sport. It’s not that great and will never grow. Rugby will continue to grow.
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Right behind the Women's football WC final. It's a better source, and basically makes mariners point.
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@gt12 I wasnt trying to prove/disprove anything, just providing a slightly more independent link
Apologies, wasn't trying to suggest you supported one position or another.
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was away for the weekend so only managed to watch the AB's, snuck out of the room and watched my phone....when i got home last night the only game i watched was Otago v Northland....and i enjoyed it more, seeing teams actually building +15 phases is good rugby for me...doesnt need to be the absolute highest actual skill, plenty of fun to be had playing the basics of rugby...ive said before i think my actual enjoyment is inversely proportional to the level
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was away for the weekend so only managed to watch the AB's, snuck out of the room and watched my phone....when i got home last night the only game i watched was Otago v Northland....and i enjoyed it more, seeing teams actually building +15 phases is good rugby for me...doesnt need to be the absolute highest actual skill, plenty of fun to be had playing the basics of rugby...ive said before i think my actual enjoyment is inversely proportional to the level
@Kiwiwomble said in The Current State of Rugby:
.ive said before i think my actual enjoyment is inversely proportional to the level
Often true - I love watching suburban footy because I can relate to it more. Same as I love seeing reserve props come on from Chile or Namibia because they're big fat bastards with a day job. Relateable
Doesn't always have to be that way. The Australia A v Japan series last year was a bloody good set of games, with nothing on the line but trying to prove a point: that you're worth of higher honours.
@mariner4life is right in some aspects about rugby being more like NFL than NRL: there are a lot of people more afraid of making mistakes than willing to take a chance.
