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- Saturday January 15, 2011
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- Norfolk, England
UKRob said:chrisbell said:Let's see if I can correctly predict the outcome of at least one match this time...:icon_rolleyes::blush:
I expect Wales to beat Italy, but not by much. It all depends on whether Italy's last game was an aberration. or whether they've reverted to type.
I'd like to think that we can edge-out the French, but it wouldn't surprise me if they get us - surely France must put in a better performance this time?:huh::s
As for the third match - it could be closer than you might assume. I'm going for a narrow Irish win, but Scotland could edge it. Depends on how many Irish players are injured.
Well chris, as far as predictions go you seem to have chosen Wales as winners but are on the fence regarding the rest.
antdad said:It's very difficult for the ref ascertain when a ball is getting "fed" or a pack has the advantage because the hooker doesn't really hook the ball anymore, to do so would be to sacrifice his scrummaging where the initial gain/shove is paramount.
Dr Rick said:The trouble is, the initial "hit" and instant drive (which is against the rules, as I understand them; you're still not supposed to drive until the ball's in) has become endemic to the extent that you will see teams penalised internationally fit "not taking the hit", an offence not in any rule book, and has driven all other considerations out of this phase of the game.
Rugby has rarely been a game in which rules were enforced as written; games under two different refs can be wildly different, and he is supposed to make clear to the teams what he wants. It's mental, but it's the tradition of the game.
Dr Rick said:And he's right. The trouble is that the reffing culture at the moment is that those rules aren't enforced. Some of the rules NEED to not be enforced strictly; if, for example, the rules about releasing the ball when tackled were enforced strictly tackles would be turnovers probably every third time. As it is, the tackled player is normally given rather more time to play the ball on the ground than I would like; but some middle ground is needed, and that can only be left to referees (with guidance from the boards).
In the end, it's always going to be a compromise, and old farts like Brian and I are always going to instinctively yearn for rules more like those we played under ourselves (with exceptions, of course: I love the modern lineout). But I think the northern-hemisphere consensus is that the scrum is currently badly, absurdly broken, and there must surely be changes coming.
chrisbell said:Let's see if I can correctly predict the outcome of at least one match this time...:icon_rolleyes::blush:
I expect Wales to beat Italy, but not by much. It all depends on whether Italy's last game was an aberration. or whether they've reverted to type.
I'd like to think that we can edge-out the French, but it wouldn't surprise me if they get us - surely France must put in a better performance this time?:huh::s
As for the third match - it could be closer than you might assume. I'm going for a narrow Irish win, but Scotland could edge it. Depends on how many Irish players are injured.
chrisbell said:antdad said:It's very difficult for the ref ascertain when a ball is getting "fed" or a pack has the advantage because the hooker doesn't really hook the ball anymore, to do so would be to sacrifice his scrummaging where the initial gain/shove is paramount.
I think, based on Brian Moore's comments over the course of the past couple of years, that the reason that the hooker doesn't hook the ball nowadays is because it's fed in at such an angle. Anyway, don't the laws of the game also state that the ball may not be fed into the scrum until the scrum is steady?
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