The act abolished in the seventies that could prevent another semi-final snore-fest
‘One for the purists’, a ‘test of attrition’, a ‘classic slog’.
There are many charitable ways to describe Sunday’s semi-final match between Wales and South Africa. Unless you’re looking at just the final 10 minutes, however, you certainly wouldn’t have labelled the game exciting.
There were 73 kicks in the World Cup fixture, split almost evenly down the middle.
According to World Rugby’s 2018 Year in Review, the ball was in play for just under 38 minutes per tier one match last year, on average.
Assuming that number holds true for Sunday’s game, we were treated to a kick approximately every 31 seconds of the ball being in play – thrilling stuff.
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The issue isn’t necessarily the sheer number of kicks but the nature of them.
Defences have become harder and harder to penetrate in the international game. Wales and South Africa seemingly tried to get around this by simply hoisting high ball after high ball.
There are two major concerns with this approach.
The first, as noted, is that it doesn’t make for a very entertaining match. South African fans will dispute this, but you’ll find very few neutrals around the world that would have enjoyed Sunday’s game.
Frankly, the only thing that made the match semi-interesting was that fact that it was a World Cup knockout game.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B4Kqk53gOkp/
Had the match been a regular-season international fixture between tier two or three teams then viewers would have turned off their tellies well before halftime.
The game can’t survive on the importance of fixtures alone, however, if the product itself is poor.
The second major issue with the up-and-under approach is that it creates a genuine concern for player safety – which has a flow-on effect on the integrity of a match.
Fans and pundits alike have been worried that the finals of the World Cup could be decided based on red cards – and there’s no better way to get yourself sent off than to make a dangerous challenge in the air.
Whilst there’s a fairly robust framework around dangerous tackles on the ground, the system is much less precise for in-air challenges.
Let’s just be thankful that no such framework was required on Sunday.
Wales have shown bravery and an iron-will but they ran out of bodies and luck against a muscular, calculated Springbok side leaving them with regrets as to what might have been
– writes @OwainJTJones #NZLvWAL #RWCFinal #welshrugby https://t.co/FBA9VaJBMK
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 28, 2019
What, then, is the best solution to preventing kick-fests like what we saw in the second semi-final of 2019’s Rugby World Cup?
Perhaps rugby needs to turn to a long abolished law to disincentivise using the ‘Garyowen’ as a core-attacking play.
Prior to 1977, it was possible to claim a mark from a kick anywhere on the field – not just in one’s own 22.
Marks were a bit more complex back then.
The kicking team could advance up to where the mark was claimed, which forced the marker to drop back a few metres before taking an action.
It was also possible to kick a goal from a mark. This naturally minimised the number of kicks to hand that teams made from within their own half.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B4K9xvBg2tp/
A modern approach to the rule could see the goal attempts eliminated, but quicks-taps awarded to a defending player who makes a mark anywhere in open play. Like any tap penalty, the defending side would need to retreat 10-metres away from the player who made the mark.
The marking player would then have a free run of at least a few metres before being tackled.
It’s an approach that would encourage greater ingenuity from quick-taps whilst also discouraging the uncreative bomb.
A more radical approach would also involve banning jumping in open-play. The benefit of allowing jumping is that it rewards athleticism, but the costs are far greater.
In all likelihood, we’ll see no response to the snore-fest that Wales and South Africa conjured up on Sunday evening. It was a one-off game, the likes of which we’ll hopefully never have to bear witness to again.
Let’s just hope that Saturday’s final doesn’t head in the same direction.
Eddie Jones wasn’t too happy with Warren Gatland suggesting that England might not be up for the final:
Comments on RugbyPass
The best outside centre in the world at one point. He will be greatly missed.
2 Go to commentsYip his great for the big moments when needed as a safa really enjoy watching him
4 Go to commentsOne that will start to come up from now on is penalties for back pushes during kick chase scrambles. Very difficult to detect. In Croke Park if you replay the Hendy NH try, you will see Furbank push Porter in the back, who collides with Larmour knocking the ball across into Hendy’s path to dot down. A more significant example was in the RWC QTR final where Arendse pushes Fickou into two other French players for the ball to spill into Arendse’s path for him to gather and run in to score SAs first try. Not cheating if you are not caught and very difficult to spot but with kicking becoming so critical I feel its an area that will referreeed/TMO-ed more.
3 Go to commentsWhat a pathetic little twit Andy Goode is, as if we care what he thinks…..😂
114 Go to commentsFoxy has been a wonderful player for the Scarlets and Wales.
2 Go to commentsNika the Georgian is the best referee in the world at the moment. Luckily we will be spared the shite SH refs and Barnes will hopefully remain retired given how shite and embarrassing he was at the RWC.
3 Go to commentsThis is the most exciting game of the summer imo, as we really won’t know in advance how both teams are going to play. - Will Robertson just reproduce his Crusaders tactics from last year, or will there be a conscious effort to borrow from the Hurricanes and Blues, and from the aspects of the ABs world cup strategy that worked well? - England under Borthwick have put in some good performances playing attacking rugby, and some good performances playing kick-oriented defensive rugby. Will Borthwick try to merge them together into a single all-court game, or will he continue switching between different approaches depending on the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition?
1 Go to commentsI’m predicting an aggregate points difference of no more than +/-10pts across both matches this series.
1 Go to commentsI’m predicting an aggregate points difference of no more than +/-10pts across both matches this series.
9 Go to commentsFinals are always tense affairs for the players so I do not expect this to be a spectacle of running rugby unfortunately.
3 Go to commentsBulls***': Ex-England international calls out Eben Etzebeth… Not to his face but from very far away… after he’d left. Checked to make sure he wasn’t in the building.
114 Go to commentsHopefully this will mean a new Auckland league team to support in the west. Big Warriors fan but it’s very, very stale on that front and I’d like the option of another team if it was to watch league again. League needs to step up BIG time if its to get anywhere, another AK team and something from the capitol or south is a must for the game.
3 Go to commentsGood, deep interview, nice job Frankie!
1 Go to commentsNRL players don’t have anywhere near the number of Tests. Some people would be happy having Rest Homes full if 40 yo ex-players walking, or hobbling more like it, into walls. It’s just a game!
4 Go to commentsNOW Razor is worried about ABs getting injured or overplayed! Didn’t bother him last year. He happily played his AB Crusaders.
4 Go to commentsWhat is the World Rugby U20 players born year.
2 Go to commentsMuch like the Chiefs finally gave up waiting for Atu Moli to ever not be injured, you have to wonder if the Chiefs and Crusaders will let Josh Lord and Ethan Blackadder go next season. They’re being well paid to sit in the injury ward every year. Better off putting those funds towards someone who might actually play.
7 Go to commentsShowed better basic skills than some nz Super sides, who probably would have botched some of those backline moves. This tournament really is too short though. Needs more teams, or have them play two rounds to properly prepare them for the near full-time NH U20 sides.
4 Go to commentsGood grief it’s only six months. Probably just upset it’s not an established kiwi entering their prime they can “project” into green to join the rest.
3 Go to commentsGood player but far from being best in the world. That's an exaggeration. Perhaps Best in world by Northern Hemisphere standards and biasis but certainly not Southern Hemi standards
4 Go to comments