rugby world cup

Martin1956 said:Mallone, you seem to have misunderstood my point. I'm not particularly wanting more tries, and I far prefer 15 a side to 7 a side. My point is that tries should count for more and kicks count for less. Rick, I bow to your historical knowledge, but in the modern game the try has become widely accepted as the principal method of scoring. I just find it incongruous that a team that scores 3 unconverted tries (maybe all great flowing moves that culminate in a try in the corner) can be beaten by a team that scores no tries but knocks over 6 penalties from around the 10 metre line for offences as trivial as accidental offside. I expect all the 'purists' to pile in on me, but thinking outside the box is an interesting hobby

IainT said:Not piling in Martin, but the penalty exists to penalise foul play. A team with a reliable try-stopping defence could foul in defence all day if there was no kicking penalty to stop them doing it.

Mallone said:
Perhaps you haven't heard of the "Rugby union bonus points system" then? Penalties are not always given for "trivial" reasons BTW. In Martin Johnson's first few games in charge, indisciplined England gave away lots of penalties and suffered the consequences. I don't remember any Yahoos at the time complaining that they were only "trivial" penalties.
HINT Is there a link between a penalty and indiscipline/making mistakes under pressure.

Martin1956 said:
Yes I have, but the bonus system doesn't affect the result of a match, it's to do with the points awarded for a win, which is a completely different thing to what I was discussing...

Mallone said:
You seem to think that all penalties are trivial because a soft one was given today and should therefore be done away with.

Mallone said:[/b
What you should be asking of Martin, is the difference between Northern hemisphere and Southern hemisphere rugby.

Shaun said:
Northern Hemisphere rugby is played during the winter, primarily in cold, dark and muddy conditions, and doesn't feature the sort of running you more often see in Southern Hemisphere rugby.
I've long believed that we should change Union here to be a summer sport. It'd do wonders for the sport. League did it and haven't looked back.

Shaun said:
Northern Hemisphere rugby is played during the winter, primarily in cold, dark and muddy conditions, and doesn't feature the sort of running you more often see in Southern Hemisphere rugby.
I've long believed that we should change Union here to be a summer sport. It'd do wonders for the sport. League did it and haven't looked back.

Martin1956 said:
No I don't! By all means disagree, but all means debate, but that's three times in a row that you've either answered a question I haven't asked or misrepresented what I've written.

Martin1956 said:I just find it incongruous that a team that scores 3 unconverted tries (maybe all great flowing moves that culminate in a try in the corner) can be beaten by a team that scores no tries but knocks over 6 penalties from around the 10 metre line for offences as trivial as accidental offside.

Cuddles said:
It's also worth noting that there isnt a lack of tries in the Premiership, Super rugby, Heineken Cup etc. I think the World Cup pressure bowl and the knowledge that one defeat and you're out changes the game somewhat. Similarly you dont see a huge number of goals in a typical world cup in football but you see plenty in the premiership/champions league etc.

Any lack of tries across rugby stems from the fact that professionalism improved defenses significantly more than it has improved attacks. I don't have a problem with the goal kicking/penalty situation but I do appreciate that as someone who has spent all my life in and around rugby i have a much better understanding of the game (and so can enjoy it more) than perhaps the potential or average fan.

outgoing IRB president Syd Millar explained that in his opinion amendments were needed because delays in the release of the ball from the contest for possession were having adverse effects. In his view, the domination of defence over attack was slowing the continuity of play, exemplified by what some viewers considered a dour final match in which no tries were scored.

Cuddles said:I'm not sure if you are arguing in agreement of my point or against in Mallone but as usual, you are arguing.

I think Martin was trying to start a discussion, I'm not sure you need to respond quite so aggressively.

Cuddles said:I'm not sure if you are arguing in agreement of my point or against in Mallone but as usual, you are arguing.

I think Martin was trying to start a discussion, I'm not sure you need to respond quite so aggressively.

Mallone said:
I was pointing to the fact that the IRB are making changes aimed at improving attacking rugby/more tries etc which may not obvious to everyone. I may have come out a bit aggressively but all these changes including the penalty he mentioned are aimed at improving attacking play.

Carl said:Ed you can join me in s**t rwc prediction corner lol