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I'm liking the pace of the games but I think some of the players are struggling with the tempo.
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Ja, specially the s'african teams struggling to come to terms with the pace, the bulls will not make the play-offs this year due to this very factor, infact I think the only south african team that might just make it could be the sharks as they are the only of the safrican franchises who's better adapted at a 'looser' game than the rest of our franchises.
I have to admit the first game I watched really went against my grain, but I now have a better idea of where this is going. The kiwi's as always are so fast to adapt and play the game to the letter of the law.
Exited at watchin the performances of the crusaders and the blues, these squads are like pioneers when it comes to finding how to make laws work for a team, as for killing the ball and not conceding points, well maybe not initially but being on the defence after succesive free kicks will quickly thin out the best organised defence in the world and the propability of conceding a try rather than a kick at goal will deter even the best flanker in the world from killing the ball.......too obviously anyway. [/b][/quote]
I too, was very skeptical about the new laws, but five minutes into my first game (Crusaders/Bulls) I was almost completely sold. The Bulls were attacking inside Canterbury's 22m, and there was a free kick awarded instead of a penalty for hands in the ruck. What would normally have happened was a quick 3pter would be taken and the attacking situation would have ended. Instead, the quick tap was taken and the pressure was applied to the Canty line for an additional few minutes. A try should have been scored if it weren't for a handling error. This little exchange at the start of the game extended the excitement of the first attacking opportunity instead of that deflating feeling after just a 3pter. Getting that 3pter to me instead of a try is like if you're with a girl and you think you're going to get laid, but you only end up with a handjob. Certainly, you enjoy yourself but you'd rather be pounding hole.
The law that I think no one at all can argue with is offside line being 5m behind the scrum. It opens up the game so much for teams to run their offensive sets. Even if the ELV's aren't adapted this law needs to be introduced into every level immediately.
Prestwick, about the numbers in the lineouts, I haven't really seen it take effect quite yet. In fact I haven't really even seen the quick throw in law be used effectively yet. It's only two and a half weeks in and I think we still have to wait another three rounds before we see every team utilizing the new laws effectively.
What I found to be quite intrigueing from the Crusaders/Stormers game was that a team can play defence under the new laws. It's not just frivolous out of control rugby. Canterbury and the Stormers proved today that even though a team is applying constant pressure you can defend. All it takes is the added concentration, determination and a your own share of possession. Both sides really showcased an open and exciting game of rugby but one team got shutout because Canterbury made that extra concerted effort on defence. BTW what was the name of that No. 8 for the Stormers, he was fantastic.
After watching the Bulls/Crusaders game I watched the Wales/Italy 6N game. And comparing the ELV's blow out to the traditional laws blow out, I was much more entertained by the super 14 game. These laws are just in their infancy but if you watch Canterbury or you watch Auckland play you can see the vast potential of the new game and I love where it's going.
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Blah. Don't f___ with the sport. It was fine before the Elves came in.[/b]
Every sport changes itself periodically to make it a more entertaining and appealing. Many people weren't happy when basketball adopted the 3pt line, but look what it has done for the game. Or even the shot the clock in basketball. In American football with not only the invention of the forward pass but the extensive use of it during the 60's and 70's by AFL teams changed the game for the better. Finally, the most comparable example to rugby would be the NHL. They had the same laws inplace for many years until teams invented ways around the laws to bog the game down(see New Jersey Devils and the Neutral Zone Trap). Now that they took out the two line passing rule, tighten up on penalties, the size of goalie equipment, where the goalie can play the puck and where he can't ect. They have opened up the game, made it more exciting and as a result there is on average 1 more goal per game being scored. Just because it was good before doesn't mean you don't look to improve it. If there is a more perfect game of rugby to played than I want to watch it and play it.
