More Rugby for Ken

[SteveDak]

Its actually a look of disbelief common amongst forwards who have just spent a minute in a bruising maul to get possesion of the ball, to see one of their backs then go and drop it the minute he gets his hands on it

Nice to know we have so many rugger-buggers here - never understood that other game they play withthe round blow-up ball. :G

[LT7]

KENNETHD wrote:

I'm still trying to figure it out. I don't know too many players personally, but the ones I do know have had injuries. A couple were serious. Is it just bad luck on their part or do many players get hurt? There's absolutely no pads, or protective equipment, but (compared to North American football) the games I've seen on TV are every bit as physical. They thump each other, and hurl the ball carrier to the ground with tackles. I haven't s e e n anyone get injured but I've only seen a bit of it. The fans are nuts about it from what I can tell, so it must be good. Also seems to carry a badge of honor to be a player. What say ye?

Kd

KD,

I'll try my best to help you here. I've only played Rugby for about 15 - 20 years (so take it for what it's worth), and now live in the states and have become close friends with some guys that play American Football, so can describe to you what I've learned from them about "Football". I've been blessed that apart from an ankle sparin or two and a deep bruise here and there, the only serious injury I've had is a concussion.

In rugby, though we play hard and it looks like chaos, everything is still very tactical and controlled. It's often been called a thinking man's game. There's strategy and tactics, that are used during the course of the game to gain an advantage over the opposing team. Every player needs to understand if something happens during a play, how to adjust to get the most or gain an advantage again. There is this in Football too, but the difference is that the plays in Football are short and specific, andonce a ball is dropped or incomplete or the ballcarrier is tackled/downed, the play is over. In rugby, the play continues, which causes the need to constantly adjust and improvise.

As for the difference in injuries, I think this is because part of the rules of the game of rugby, is that when you tackle, you have to actually wrap your arms around the person with the Ball to bring him down. UnlikeFootball, the tackle means to do whatever it takes to stop the ball carrier. Players are not taught how to tackle to get the ball back, they are mostly taught to tackle to stop the ballcarrier from gaining more yards.Also when there are "Pads" involved, the player feels invincible. They literally think they can run through a wall with the pads and helmet on. There is no need to wrap to make sure you tackle properly there is just a sense of "just stop the ballcarrier any which way you can. Since there are no pads (at least pads that have plastic shields on them) in Rugby, there is measured aggression not blatant/wanton aggression, that can happen because of the pads and helmets that make the player feel invincible.

There is a badge of honor I think for most participants in competitive sports, and especially for me in rugby because I'm all of 5' 5" 195lbs on a good day, but when I take a guy that is 6' 4" 250lbs down, it gives me something to brag about after the game. Everyone that plays the game understands the work that goes into preparation for the games, and so there is also a sense of mutual respect among players, which adds to the camraderie between the players.

Hope that answerssome of your questions posed above and help you understand it a little better.

LT

[SteveDak]

Nicely put LT - although I noticed you didn't mention the 'tactical neutralising' of the opposition's key player :G

or the one or two 'off the ball' incidents that occur through a game ....... sometimes right in front of the linesman to boot! ...................... our hooker had, a few seconds earlier, let fly with a 'right' here (which I questioned the wisdom of at the time given the comparitive sizes of the two antagonists:G)

PS - Saints, they are not if you happened to notice the score board (we won 15-3)

[LT7]

SHHH! , I was trying to keep the game pure. :G Steve's correct in that sense, sometimes there is some of " that", that goes on, but usually not premeditated.

LT

[frenchy]

Well put LT, and well put Steve! There is always an element of off-the-ball violence but one of the great things about rugby is the respect for each other (in the bar afterwards everything is forgotten) and the respect for the referees. Unlike in soccer, where any refereeing decision is greeted with shouts of abuse, etc., in rugby the ref is called 'Sir' and is generally not backchatted.

I've had a few injuries over the years but only one was particularly serious. Generally it's a few knocks here or there that you only feel when you get into the bath afterwards! There are occasionally serious injuries (for example hookers / props have been known to break their necks when the scrum collapses) but there are rules built in to the game to try to avoid these - if you are a 'front row' player (the big guys in the thick of it) you are not allowed to play unless you have front row experience (the ref checks this before the game. He also checks boot studs to make sure they aren't sharp). If you lose a front row player and have no experienced replacement then the ref calls 'uncontested scrums', which means that the teams aren't allowed to push when contesting a restart. This helps a lot, because the inexperienced players won't have the strength and skill to avoid injury.

One of the other great things about the game is that it has positions available to everyone of all sizes. Take myself andLTfor example - 5'5" each. I'm a scrum half. One of my buddies is a second row, and he's 6'5. There's also a prop at the club who's 120kg (about 260lbs). Take football (soccer) or hockey now- all positions, though slightly different on paper, require the participant to be of a fairly standard build. There's no way you'd get a 260lb player on a foorball pitch who would excel at what he's doing. It's a very inclusive sport.

[SteveDak]

Well put too Frenchy - I was going to mention the fact that 'what happens on the field, stays on the field' and of course 'what goes on tour, stays on tour' :GRugby and cricket have got to be the only games where opponents wish the worst on each other with a passion on the field andcan then be the best of mates in the pub off the field. Also agree about the Refs - I have never known them as anything other than 'Sir' on and off the field! Can't believe the abuse some of the soccer refs take in their stride. Mind you I've also often wondered why soccer players go down so easily and yet seem topossess super human recovery mechanisms.Would love to seeone or two of these writhing winnies caught up in arolling maul :G

[In search of Syd]

I can't help thinking that it might make things a little easier if that ball was rounded out and a bit more aerodynamic. :?

[SteveDak]

Philistine!

[In search of Syd]

And all this time and effort put into the game and someone always forgets the nets . .

[LT7]

Well put Frenchy and Steve! Hey Frenchy, I'm a scrum-half too as if you couldn't guess by my size(one of my favs at the position is Joost Van der westhuizen and Justin Marshall) although I could be a winger too. I'd come to realise later in Life that my true calling was in Sevens, but love the 15s game too.

Syd, are you still thinking about being a rugby ball?

LT