I came here today to post about certain parts of the game are killing it off for me as a spectacle, and stumbled on this thread.
My major complaint in the last few years has been this no touching a scrum half who has his hands on the ball at the base of a ruck. What the ****? Sometimes a 9 can be seen surveying the park up in front, hands on the ball, and literally slowing the game down (stopping play) for 10 seconds at a time. Oh, guess what? He's probably gonna box kick it - again, and later - again oh yeah... a box kick. Surprise, surprise! Why slow the game to a halt in order for this obvious re-occurrence. If the 9 has the ball in his hands, then he should be open season. Not protected so he can look like some pansy NFL quarterback, who usually runs like a girl, when asked. The box kick is many international team's go to tactic in the northern hemisphere (where I happen to be from), and it rather just shows the lack of self confidence, ball in hand skill, and or running guile these teams possess.
Scums! What the **** is going on? A mate of mine, who schooled with rugby, but played very little, but knows enough to know the rules, pointed this out to me the other day. In a 6N international match (the highest level), it took 3 mins and 45 seconds for play to be restarted from a scrum. In an international. I am reading on here how scrums are meant to be a quick way to restart the contest. It's a fecking joke. It appears to be the last thing on the agenda in most games. Rather a way for many players to get a bit of puff back in their lungs. Refs too often call a collapse against the wrong player. As it sits today..... It's always fed into the scrum. Players now stand 5 metres deeper in the backs, yet scrums still take an eon, and are constantly being reset. The whole bind, engage, set thing is absolutely ludicrous. Make the mark, and let both teams hit up for FFS. The current engagement method is simply another way of glorifying the officials involvement, and they are best kept out of the process as much as possible imho.
Calling not straight line outs might also settle a few irate followers tensions. Being consistent about how players engage the ruck from the side, from off their feet, and generally stand offside at rucks are among other small nuances refs constantly overlook throughout a match, yet, if a try is scored, a TMO will suddenly point them out, as if it's the first time it was missed in the entire match, and call it back.
My whole point of this is that I presently watch rugby because I can no longer play the sport. I watch to be entertained. See some open play, hard hitting up, good recycle, tactical kicking too. That in many arenas, particularly in the northern hemisphere, the game simply bores me. Recent 6N games I took in where nothing short of dull, and full of basic errors. Too many stoppages in play that do nothing more than highlight how overburden the game is in law, and how well the ref knows them all. If not, then TMO can google it. Very little in terms of teams attempting to open up, and games being bogged down in the manner the laws are now applied.
Everyone on this forum will likely have an idea of what I am talking about, and whether you agree or not, is not my point. For the neutral observer, the game is already difficult to follow. Too many laws that are applied at times, and not at others. Too much inconsistency abounds.
My final beef on union in many matches I watch has been that, too often, a pretty obvious officiating error occurs at a critical juncture in a match, which rather swings fortune to one side, and drastically affects the outcome. Now, not much you can do about officiating error, but considering how much impact TMO has on play today, it shouldn't be a complaint.
In the end, I often find myself preferring to watch a rugby league match at club level. It is simpler to follow, has fewer long stops which are deemed part of the action in union, its generally more exciting, and players look more skilled at times. Give me State of Origin over any recent 6N game I took in any day. People go about the ridiculous league scrums, which they are, but they do what they are intended to do. Restart the game with minimum fuss.
Union is becoming boring in the north. My only reservation is that I still watch super rugby where there is much more expression, and a willingness to keep the ball moving, and the game flying. I am from the north, and really will not be arsed if The All Blacks win the World Cup for the sake of keeping the game positive.
