Good Sense From A Good Rugby Man

WHAT follows was written and posted on Facebook by David “Dappy” Gray, a man who is well-known and respected in the world of rugby on both sides of the Border. David, (pictured below) has been there, done that and got a considerable collection of impressive rugby club ties – so, I felt his words deserved a wider audience.

 

I WROTE THIS 3 DAYS AGO AND CIRCULATED AMONG MY EX NEWCASTLE UNI RUGBY MATES …TODAY THE RFU TOOK ACTION….

I have been confined indoors with a hacking cough so have been bored, if you too are bored this may be of interest,or not ….

This last weekend we saw five red cards given in Heineken Cup games for dangerous high tackles, one was – in my view - clearly a ref error, but possibly more could have been given. The post match analysis is always about the rights and wrongs of the tackler very rarely the effect upon the victim. Yet when a player gets hurt making a tackle it is always down to poor technique. How did we get here? I fear it may not be addressed until a player dies live on TV.

In 1996 after the game went 'Open,' someone had the bright idea to stage a Union v League Challenge with Bath and Wigan respectively representing their codes. There were no surprises but it taught us a lot, Jerry Guscott thought it pointless so declined to play.

In the League match Wigan notched up 82 points and ran away with it. The Union return match was much more interesting. In the beginning Bath stifled Wigan by controlling possession and the set pieces, however in the second half the RL players’ superior fitness and conditioning began to tell as they adapted to the different code, the match was a lot closer.

In the aftermath there was a general trend to employ RL coaches especially for offensive tackling, handling skills , fitness and conditioning ,and above all, structured defences . Very soon tackle height increased to smother and prevent off-loads and out went the age old technique of drawing the man and passing simultaneously.

No longer was the ball carrier brought to ground, he was to be smashed into next week. Those who like to see the big hits on the TV have, I would suggest, not stood pitch side at a live match and heard the impact of such tackles, comparable to a car crash.

Soon players fanned out across the pitch and only a required few would join rucks and mauls, thus denying backs the space to run into. Gone was the day when forwards who didn’t join rucks and mauls were condemned as “loose or fringers”!

And so the pro RU game evolved into one of close quarter attrition, endless “pick and go” and most recently long phases of box kicking or kick tennis , symptomatic of a no risk/adventure culture forcing the opposition to make a mistake.

And scrums, least said the better. Instead of being a genuine restart procedure by gathering the forwards in one place and setting a new phase in motion they have become a penalty source. Even more incredible a penalty is awarded against a losing front row for incompetence rather than foul play which is what a penalty is designed to punish.

The dominant scrum no can longer assert their dominance by wheeling, or pushing their opposition back many metres, the Ref blows for a penalty!

So, we now have a strange hybrid game that has the worst of both codes, British Bulldog type RL collisions with frequent stoppages for RU line-outs, scrums, re-sets..... Whereas in RL the quick “play the ball” action gives little time for teams to rest or reset and align defence, thus creating a quicker game. Whereas RU comprises a series of set plays like US Football with minor conferences in between.

No wonder attendances are falling at club level and that International matches are treated as a day out on the beer, rather than the sporting contest they should be, as spectators troop back and fro to the bars.

Similarly ,parents taking youngsters to see matches where players are knocked out cold, stretchered off on body boards in neck braces, are going to be less likely to encourage their offspring to take up the game . (I well remember my own Mum’s alarm many years ago as I aged16 had a gashed eyebrow stitched up pitchside !)

One simple answer, and it really is simple, is for players to re-learn the discipline of tackling below the waist .That way we will get fewer head impacts and a more fluid,open game that is attractive to watch and safe to play.”

No doubt lots of “the game’s gone soft” warriors will respond.

Well said that man – there is a lot of good, common sense in what David has written above. His entire argument had me nodding in agreement as I read it.

It may be coincidence, but, in an ironic clash of timings, David's words of caution came the same day as:

1. It was announced that a number, 55, former amateur players were to sue World Rugby for damages, claiming their brain damage was caused by playing rugby. Lawyers for the group have written to the governing body, prior to potential court action.

2. The RFU announced that they were to introduce, on 1 July, a new directive lowering the tackle height in the amateur club game to the waist and lower; thereby lowering the current 'nipple line' high point for a legal tackle to 'the belly button height.'

At least two of the more-active members of this blog's think tank: Club Fan and Left Field have been in-touch, wondering if this is coincidence, or a cynical, and perhaps typically clumsy attempt by the game's high heid yins to stave off further bother.

I cannot help thinking, however, it may be very-difficult to prove the amateur players' cases, and getting a resolution will not be a quick or an easy job, but, it might be a lot easier to get resolution in the cases of those former professional players, such as England World Cup Winner Steve Thompson, who appear to be suffering serious medical issues connected to their rugby careers.

One therefore wonders, how long will it take World Rugby and the major Unions to get around to lowering the tackle height in the elite level of the game too. And, might we ever get back to rugby as a game of skill and evasion, rather than unarmoured tank warfare?