Varsity Cup 2016: 5, 7, and 9 point tries

[TRF_heineken]

As usual I will start a thread about the annual Varsity Cup that is being played in South Africa.

This tournament has been one of the areas where World Rugby likes to experiment with new innovative ideas and see whether it can be implemented into test matches and premier tournaments such as Super Rugby and the European Championships.

This year the focus will be on try scoring and this is how it is being broken down:

5-point try: If you win possession inside your opponent's 22 area and score a try.

7-point try: If you win possession between the Halfway line and your opponent's 22 area and score a try.

9-point try: If you win possession inside your own half and score a try.

Conversions will remain 3 points.

So basically the maximum you could score for a converted try is 12 points.

A new spell of possession will start after every break in play - which includes scrums and lineouts.

If a side wins a penalty and then sets up a lineout, the points allocation for a try will be determined from where the lineout took place and not where the original penalty was awarded.

But if the attacking side opts to 'tap and go' from their penalty, then they will be allowed to carry on their movement without having their point of possession changed.

The changes have been implemented in the aim of promoting attacking and running rugby, but the possibility for some bizarre scenarios does exist.

For example, if a side is 11 points down with 30 seconds left on the clock and they win a penalty in the opposition half, will they kick the ball backwards and set up a lineout inside their own half? That would be their only hope of winning as a 9-point try and 3-point conversion would put them ahead.

http://www.sport24.co.za/Rugby/VarsityCup/world-rugby-excited-by-varsity-cup-changes-20160125

 

[saulan]

I'm not a fan of this one, I really think they have taken it a step to far. I also don't feel like the point of origin is a fair reflection of the skill required in a try. You could steal a line out in the opponents 22 and have a great backline move break the defense, or maybe get your forwards over the line for 8 points, but then an intercept try occurs against the run of play and you are behind by 4? (12-8) It doesn't seem fair to me.

 

[TRF_heineken]

I'm not a fan of this one, I really think they have taken it a step to far. I also don't feel like the point of origin is a fair reflection of the skill required in a try. You could steal a line out in the opponents 22 and have a great backline move break the defense, or maybe get your forwards over the line for 8 points, but then an intercept try occurs against the run of play and you are behind by 4? (12-8) It doesn't seem fair to me.

Yeah I agree with you.

It also seems to me that teams with the better backlines will benefit more than the forwards.

 

[nickdnz]

Pretty crap set of rules IMO.

 

[ncurd]

I'm not a fan of this one, I really think they have taken it a step to far. I also don't feel like the point of origin is a fair reflection of the skill required in a try. You could steal a line out in the opponents 22 and have a great backline move break the defense, or maybe get your forwards over the line for 8 points, but then an intercept try occurs against the run of play and you are behind by 4? (12-8) It doesn't seem fair to me.

^this

Well worked try's will be worth less than opportunistic ones. I also fail to see how one try is worth more than another try in any context.

Is anything it will stop teams battling for possession in their opponents 22 as they'd rather they kicked them the ball.

 

[TRF_heineken]

^this

Well worked try's will be worth less than opportunistic ones. I also fail to see how one try is worth more than another try in any context.

Is anything it will stop teams battling for possession in their opponents 22 as they'd rather they kicked them the ball.

Exactly! Teams will actually allow the opponents to run out of their own 22 with the chance of gaining posession in a better area on the field to score turnover tries. We could even have a situation where a backline could stand 30m behind the scrum just to ensure that the opposition gets out of the 22.

 

[Tony Manx]

Rugby, as we knew it, is dead....lets call it something else now!

 

[TRF_heineken]

Rugby, as we knew it, is dead....lets call it something else now!

Lol!

It's just experimentation. A lot of things that has been tried at this tournament hasn't seen the light of day after the end of the tournament, so don't be too discouraged.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Sounds like someone has been watching too much Basketball.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Is this an attempt to attract more casual fans? Complicated and seemingly arbitrary scoring systems are the way to do that I suppose...

 

[TRF_heineken]

Is this an attempt to attract more casual fans? Complicated and seemingly arbitrary scoring systems are the way to do that I suppose...

If it's an attempt to attract more fans, then they are experimenting at the wrong tournament. Our Varsity Cup matches are usually sold out and filled with students at the grounds.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

If it's an attempt to attract more fans, then they are experimenting at the wrong tournament. Our Varsity Cup matches are usually sold out and filled with students at the grounds.

I didn't know that but understand it. The long term goal of this, not that it is at all likely to be implemented, would be to make rugby a more appealing sport to casual and new fans. Testing this with a low profile tournament, but assumably one with a high standard of play, that won't be affected financially is a perfect starting point! Probably the reason that the varsity tournament is the go to place for these 'experiments', would that be a fair assessment? It's a tournament I know nothing about!

 

[saulan]

I didn't know that but understand it. The long term goal of this, not that it is at all likely to be implemented, would be to make rugby a more appealing sport to casual and new fans. Testing this with a low profile tournament, but assumably one with a high standard of play, that won't be affected financially is a perfect starting point! Probably the reason that the varsity tournament is the go to place for these 'experiments', would that be a fair assessment? It's a tournament I know nothing about!

Honestly, I think the goal of this is an attempt to make South African rugby players play a running rugby type of game like New Zealand so that it is established by the time they get into Currie Cup or Super Rugby. The thing is, these attempts at Varsity Cup level have largely been successful, with Varsity Cup really turning into a running rugby tournament. The problem is that the targeting is wrong. A lot of rugby players in schools and in the varsities love watching running rugby and want to play that type of rugby, it's just that it gets coached out of them as soon as they make it into the more professional teams. Coaching clinics and SARU sharing an overall plan with the provincial coaches and getting buy-in from them is where a large impact would be made on our game style.

 

[Kiwiwomble]

RSA trialing new scoring system

"nine points awarded for moves that started inside a side's own half, seven points awarded for a try that started between the opposition 22m line and the halfway line, and five points awarded for a move that started inside the opponent's 22"


http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/international/76287849/francois-pienaar-claims-new-zealand-rugby-envious-of-south-african-innovations

is this true?

 

[smartcooky]

"nine points awarded for moves that started inside a side's own half, seven points awarded for a try that started between the opposition 22m line and the halfway line, and five points awarded for a move that started inside the opponent's 22"


http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/international/76287849/francois-pienaar-claims-new-zealand-rugby-envious-of-south-african-innovations

is this true?

Sounds to me like sigesige has infiltrated the RSA rugby


Point 1 - how do you determine where a a move "starts"?

 

[saulan]

See this thread:
http://www.therugbyforum.com/threads/37130-Varsity-Cup-2016-5-7-and-9-point-tries

 

[Kiwiwomble]

sorry, had a look and didnt see anything...dont know how i missed it, can someone merge?

 

[smartcooky]

I can just see it now... Maties v Shimlas in the final of the Varsity Cup. Time is almost up on the clock and Maties lead by 75 points to 64, when a Shimlas player intercepts the ball right on the halfway line and runs the length of the half to and score a try under the posts...

.....endless replays ensue as the TMO tries to determine if the intercepting player...

a. caught the ball in his own half (12 points with the conversion to win the game 76-75)
b. caught the ball in his opponent's half (10 points with the conversion to lose the game 74-75)

Whoever came up with this idea needs shooting!

 

[TRF_heineken]

I can just see it now... Maties v Shimlas in the final of the Varsity Cup. Time is almost up on the clock and Maties lead by 75 points to 64, when a Shimlas player intercepts the ball right on the halfway line and runs the length of the half to and score a try under the posts...

.....endless replays ensue as the TMO tries to determine if the intercepting player...

a. caught the ball in his own half (12 points with the conversion to win the game 76-75)
b. caught the ball in his opponent's half (10 points with the conversion to lose the game 74-75)

Whoever came up with this idea needs shooting!

Haha, have to say it's a bit of a travesty IMHO.

What's next? If you convert a drop goal from your own half it will be worth 6 points?

 

[Kiwiwomble]

thanks for merging