ONE HOPES The EH12 Junta is paying attention this week; following the news that Marcus Smith, perhaps the hottest property in English Rugby, is looking to cut down on club games, to keep himself fresh for the rigours of international rugby.
Now, I suspect this will be (to use Billy Connolly's great phrase) - “As welcome as a fart in a space suit” to the bead counters at his club, Harlequins. They will surely want their main play-maker and biggest draw in the XV as often as possible. It might make the cash-rich French clubs who would probably like to have Smith strutting his stuff for them think twice about trying to sign him.
Former England Captain Owen Farrell has already opted out of international rugby, citing mental health issues. Now, I don't know which way he might jump. Will his retirement from the international game be permanent, or might he fancy another British and Irish Lions Tour, to Australia in 2025, more-so, if his Father, Andy gets the call to coach that tour.
As things stand, I suspect Finn Russell will be in pole position for the number 10 Test shirt on that tour, with Smith perhaps the favourite to go as back-up. Assuming this happens, Farrell doesn't get picked, I suspect that tour might be the last hurrah internationally for Russell, but, it might be a good showcase for Smith to clinch a big money move to France - or screw a bigger pay packet out of the RFU.
Jings, all this hypothesis and speculation – you'd think I was working for either The Hun or The Daily Rhebel.
Any way, to get back to the thrust of this post. In your thirties, like Farrell or Russell, you might prefer to opt out of the international game to be able to wheedle the most-advantageous contract out of your club.
Younger guys such as Smith, might want exposure at the highest level, to secure a good enough contract with a willing club to secure their post-game future.
So, what can the likes of the Scottish Rugby Union do to protect their interests as the needs/demands of the top players increase? From the SRU perspective, there is something to be said for being able to offer their top Scottish talent a contract which limits their club commitments, in return for a greater commitment to the national side.
Ideally, in an independent Scotland, perhaps having learned from their friends in Dublin how to write contracts with tax breaks and other incentives, the Murrayfield Junta could put together a package which our top talent would grab with both hands. As long as The Treasury in Whitehall are writing the rule book, putting together such packages will be very-difficult – and our top talent will remain vulnerable to better salary offers from outwith Scotland – even though these come with greater demands on their playing time.
I CAME across some interesting figures on how the game has changed since the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987, on the 'Happiness Is Egg Shaped' page on Facebook:
First up was Ball-in-play time, which, while not covering every tournament showed:
1987 – 28 minutes 11 seconds
2003 – 31 minutes 58 seconds
2011 – 32 minutes 12 seconds
2019 – 34 minutes 21 seconds
2023 – 34 minutes 18 seconds
Next-up, Scrums and Lines-Out, where the figures quoted were:
1987 – 32 scrums – 45 lines-out – 77 set pieces
1991 – 31 scrums – 39 lines-out – 70 set pieces
1995 – 23 scrums – 39 lines-out – 62 set pieces
2003 – 23 scrums – 34 lines-out – 57 set pieces
2007 – 19 scrums – 31 lines-out – 50 set pieces
2015 – 13 scrums – 26 lines-out – 39 set pieces
2019 – 14 scrums – 25 lines-out – 39 set pieces
2023 – 15 scrums – 27 lines-out – 42 set pieces
I should say here, I inserted the total set pieces per game to the figures.
The final figures quoted dealt with the dynamics of the game, what happened after the set pieces, when the ball was actually in-play, and counted what I presume to be an average of the Carries, Tackles and Rucks per team, per game, where the figures were:
1987 - 86 Carries – 48 Tackles – 25 Rucks
1991 – 77 Carries – 52 Tackles – 29 Rucks
1995 – 78 Carries – 58 Tackles – 38 Rucks
1999 – 93 Carries – 82 Tackles – 57 Rucks
2003 – 107 Carries – 96 Tackles – 68 Rucks
2015 – 113 Carries – 129 Tackles – 83 Rucks
2019 – 115 Carries – 129 Tackles - 82 Rucks
2023 – 114 Carries – 169 Tackles – 69 Rucks
My ultra-smart Grand-daughter has the MSc Honours degree and earns mega-bucks as a data analyst, so I should maybe ask her to work-out what these figures mean, except, I cannot afford her outrageous demands for appropriate compensation for the time involved, so, here's my take on these:
There has been a 21.7% increase in Ball-in-Play time across the ten tournaments
There has been a 54.5% decrease in Set pieces per game across the ten tournaments
Given the sharp decrease in stoppages while Set Pieces are formed, should we not perhaps be looking for a greater increase in ball-in-pay time?
Over the ten tournaments there has been:
A 276% increase in the number of rucks per game
A 57.3% decrease in the number of scrums per game
A 60% decrease in the number of lines-out per game
A 32.6% increase in the number of carries per game
A 352% increase in the number of tackles per game
So, comparing 2023 with 1987 we find we have:
The players are getting better at keeping the ball on the park
They are prepared to carry more
Set pieces are becoming less-important in the overall picture of the game
This gives, to me, a picture of a game in reasonably good health. We don't, I believe, need to do too much to make a good game even better. We need to sort-out the scrums at the top end – get this set piece back to being a means of re-starting play following a breakdown, and not a means of generating penalties.
Similarly, we need to sort-out the rucks, now a more-important part of the game than they have ever been. I still say, going back to real rucking, with a requirement to play the ball with the foot, is a must.
Finally, we need to find a means of keeping the game flowing, by cutting-out the delays in forming scrums or lines-out.
Make these minor adjustments, we will have a game fit for purpose in the 21st century.
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