Six Nations 2022

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mudshark
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Six Nations 2022

Postby mudshark » 11 Feb 2022, 23:08

Dunno if there are any Rugby-lovers here. I adore the sport. Played it for about 10 years on the lowest possible level, but I have a claim to fame: I played against the great Jonah Lomu in the late 90's in a charity match on the Padang in Singapore. Been following rugby for decades and will watch whenever I can. This year NBC is showing all the Six Nations games live, which is wonderful. Started of great last week with an undeserved win by the Scots over a much-improved England (compared to last year). Not often does a team that has well over 2/3 of possession lose a game. Good for Scotland. Last year's Champion Wales looked a shadow of its former self in a well-deserved loss against Ireland. Hopefully the Welsh can get some of their sick and injured players back soon. Of course Italy lost against France. I'm glad there are six teams so at least there are 3 matches each week, but it would be better if Italy could finally become a bit more competitive. Tomorrow we'll be able to see what the French really are made of in their home game against Ireland. Wales - Scotland should be good to. Will give England - Italy a miss on Sunday.

Is anybody else over here into the game for gentlemen?
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Lord Rother
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Re: Six Nations 2022

Postby Lord Rother » 12 Feb 2022, 11:14

Rugby can be a great sport to watch.

Most of the time it just frustrates the hell out of me.

Something needs to be done - the furore in soccer over heading / dementia is, IMO, nothing compared to what is coming rugby’s way as the long-term effect of the game’s evolution into a brutal match up of muscle-bound giants takes effect.

I admire the referees hugely (and the players) and the respect for the officials is fantastic (my God, when will football catch up on that front?) but a sport where it is virtually impossible for anyone watching at home to have a clue when a foul has been committed is flawed as a spectacle.

There are too many players on the pitch so there is bog all space to do anything with flair. When it happens it’s great to watch but (and this may be because I generally watch England) it hardly ever happens. England almost never break the lines and score a thrilling try.... it’s generally done through concerted pressure from close to the try line culminating with a push-over or a 5 yard run.

A game that almost never penalises the offence that happens most regularly is flawed - I’m talking forward passes. Just get VAR to sort it out.

I know the rules have been tinkered with over many many years for very good reasons but the game should be all about encouraging exciting running rugby resulting in tries - 3 points for kicks is too much. Discouraging giving away tactical penalties is important and 3 points is (in part) supposed to achieve that (I think), but there is no comparison in the enjoyment factor of a seeing 3 point penalty and a 5 point try.

Scrums - where do I start? Set, engage, push... or whatever the hell the routine is, only for the ball to be thrown into the back row (still against the rules but for some reason never ever penalised) is just ridiculous. Then the ball inevitably comes out 99.99% of the time on the feeder’s side, so what’s the point of the scrum? Just give them possession some other way without the boring 2 minute routine of forming the scrum which 50% of the time has to be reset due to some unfathomable offence being committed by somebody’s head being a centimetre out of the desired position which absolutely nobody in the world can spot either from the stands or from their TV screens.

So, I like most sports and although I am not a fan / aficionado of rugby (and of course watching turgid England may not be the best way to judge) but I really WANT to enjoy it. I think the full game could learn much from 7s. Find a way to reduce the number of players on the pitch so that there is more space for runners might be a start.

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mudshark
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Re: Six Nations 2022

Postby mudshark » 12 Feb 2022, 20:07

They should so something about the scrums. It takes too long and takes the flow out of the game. That we can agree on. And I understand the penalty rules can be a bit hard to understand for somebody who's not really into the sport or hasn't played it before. I had to suffer through Southampton v Man Utd before Wales/Scotland. I believe the soccer game ended in 1-1, but the wife woke me up after the whistle for full time so I'm not sure. Ronaldo kept his short on so I guess he didn't score. The rugby game had a 20-17 result in favour of Wales with a breathtaking finish. Not the best of rugby. too many mistakes and a bit too much kicking, but other than that very entertaining and what an amazing physical effort by both. Too many players on the field? Take one away from one team and it's a huge advantage for the other, as was shown at the end of this game.

As for injuries: sure! Big risk of brain damage. Same as with soccer, football, basketball, all (downhill) skiing events, hockey, lacrosse, speedskating, board diving and numerous more. If we're going to worry about that we'll be left with snooker and curling,

Gotta go now: France scored a try against Ireland, 1:09 in the game. Y'all enjoy match of the day later on tonight. The highlights of Brentford vs Palace cannot be missed.
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Diamond Dog
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Re: Six Nations 2022

Postby Diamond Dog » 16 Feb 2022, 19:40

mudshark wrote:As for injuries: sure! Big risk of brain damage. Same as with soccer, football, basketball, all (downhill) skiing events, hockey, lacrosse, speedskating, board diving and numerous more. If we're going to worry about that we'll be left with snooker and curling,



The NFL settled a Class Action Law Suit a couple of years back for $765 million for the players effected by CTE (Chronic traumatic encephalopathy ). There will be more - soon. The only reason the NFL settled that as quickly as it did was because they didn't have to admit they knew the long term effect of head trauma. They absolutely did and, at some point, that will become the agreed settlement for the next case. It wiill make the previous settlement look like loose change. If anyone wants to know what CTE is and what effects it has - read on..... https://heavy.com/sports/2020/01/junior ... cte-brain/

All sports where the incresased likelihood of CTE as a direct result of head trauma playing sports is going to (eventually) end up in court. Especially as the effects are well known and well documented. Football will eventually be a non heading sport. Rugby will remove the scrum. Etc etc etc.

Trust me - CTE and head trauma in sports is a time bomb ticking away. And the relevant authorities know it - and are all hoping that it just 'doesn't happen on their watch'.
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mudshark
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Re: Six Nations 2022

Postby mudshark » 17 Feb 2022, 18:49

What a bunch of wusses. I've never heard Welsh Great JPR complain once. He climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in 2006, age 57.
Money is no object for the NFL. They made a quick settlement so that everybody would keep their mouth shot.
If anybody ever has thought that running head-first into a 350-pound linebacker is without consequence, then he was seriously deranged already.
There's a big difference between kneeling down and bending over

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Diamond Dog
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Re: Six Nations 2022

Postby Diamond Dog » 18 Feb 2022, 16:52

Hey Muddy welcome to the 21st century, mate!
Nicotine, valium, vicadin, marijuana, ecstasy, and alcohol -
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mudshark
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Re: Six Nations 2022

Postby mudshark » 19 Feb 2022, 13:58

Thanks DD. Hadn't realized it was that late already.
There's a big difference between kneeling down and bending over


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