[6N] 6 Nations launch event - questions for coaches/captains

[KML1]

Hi everyone - am going to the media launch of the 6 Nations tomorrow and will have a chance to ask qs of the captains and coaches of the mens and womens teams in the two competitions.

What would you like me to ask them (from a refereeing perspective!)?

:france::wales::eng::scot::ireland::italy:

 

[crossref]

How can we get rid of the Ruck Conga / Human Centipede

 

[Marc Wakeham]

Why do you all cheat so much?

&

Why all the pathetic "mind games"?

 

[Pinky]

Perpendicular feed to scrum?

Jumping for high ball?

 

[OB..]

Perpendicular feed to scrum?

My understanding is that it doesn't get penalised because "nobody else penalises it".

Jumping for high ball?

Certainly worth asking if they expect the would be catcher to be allowed to just stand his ground and make the chaser avoid him.

 

[L'irlandais]

Not sure how to word this diplomatically, but Brian Moore put quite a bit of thought into those pages on «*scrum management for referees*» on Robbie’s wiki pages. In a nutshell, are they even aware of this resource?

Rugby’s laws define the scrum’s purpose thus: “To restart play quickly, safely and fairly, after a minor infringement or stoppage.”

Little things like Pinky’s suggestion to not allow the scrumhalf to feed into the second row. By not enforcing basic Laws, our Elite referees are creating unforeseen problems for themselves. Forget about champagne rugby, ensure you (elite lot) get the basics right first.

 

[KML1]

Why do you all cheat so much?

&

Why all the pathetic "mind games"?

Erm.. let me wonder how I can ask that without being lynched... ;-)

 

[KML1]

Jumping for high ball?

What's the question?

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@L'irlandais - The referees wont be there. It's just the coaches and captains of the 6Ns competitions

 

[KML1]

@Crossref - re: Centipede. I guess theyd lob that back at us referees! If it's not illegal, there's no way to get rid of it. If they want to get rid of it, the law needs changing!

 

[L'irlandais]

My misunderstanding.

What's the question?

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Given that Law 15.7 says that players joining a ruck MUST
[LAWS]A player must bind onto a team-mate or an opposition player. The bind must precede or be simultaneous with contact with any other part of the body.[/LAWS]Surely that means that a no arms hit to clean the opposition out of the ruck is illegal. Why do Elite players and coaches continue to undermine the Laws of the game? (Not sure how to put that across with some diplomacy.)


Could still use a part of my initial post: Forget about champagne rugby, ensure you (elite lot) get the basics right first. The amount of basic handling errors/inabilty to stay on their feet is atrocious, from folks who only do rugby from one end of the year to t’other. Get it right, or consider changing professions. In the building industry the standards and regulations are a hundred fold more than those «*enforced*» in your Rugby profession. Yet 30 years down the road I still manage to keep abreast of the changes and meet those standards in my chosen Drawing office profession. Indeed if I was less than professional I’d be shown the door. Sad to see how (blatantly?) unprofessional some players and coaches are strategically.

 

[KML1]

They would - quite rightly to me - ask why if it's in the laws [and its been there for years], the referees dont referee it. If referees blew to the letter of that law, then it wouldnt be an issue. I dont remember a time when this was ever refereed though - do you?

 

[L'irlandais]

Fair point, except referee (in french) is arbitrator. Both captains should ensure the Laws of the game are adhered to. The referee is only there to arbitrate when the captains can’t agree.

[LAWS]There is an over-riding obligation on the players to observe the laws and to respect the principles of fair play. The laws must be applied in such a way as to ensure that the game is played according to the principles of play. The match officials can achieve this through fairness, consistency, sensitivity and, when appropriate, management. In return, it is the responsibility of coaches, captains and players to respect the authority of the match officials.[/LAWS]The player charter should be recited morning and afternoon before each and every training session. Until such time as they know it by heart. The referee’s job has been made impossible, because professional/ elite players are there on a pay to win basis. This undermines the Laws of the game completely. Instead of having countless infringements at every break down in play, these professionals sure aim for zero infringements. So just because the referee is not enforcing this or that particular point of law, is no bloody reason for them not to respect all the Laws. Clubs and National sides depend financially on winning. Fairness, and indeed player safety have taken a back seat to financial considerations.

 

[Ciaran Trainor]

Should we stop the clock the first time a scrum is reset and not restart until the ball emerges or a penalty is called?
Nobody wants to watch that Crap!

 

[L'irlandais]

Failing that; how about a couple of trick questions?

How many laws are there? 21 Wonder how many might say 22 still?
How many points (eg 13.4) of law are there? 370
How many explainatory images in there in the Law book? 43 (or is that 44?):shrug: A picture tells a thousand words.
How many tables in the law book? 10 (67 cells in all, God knows how many sub-section points there actually are)
How many sub-thingies(eg 10.1a 10.1b or 10.1c) are there? 310
How many sub-thingie options (eg 6.26 c iii) are there? A mere 21 of thes wotsits.

For a grand total of exactly how many thingies ( for want of a better word) to bear in mind? 833, 843?!?

I suspect Eddie Jones might say, «*Don’t know, don’t care, mate*». (Paid an awful lot of money not to know the basics of his profession.)

 

[Dickie E]

do they like having referees put their arms around them or being forced to apologise/shake hands for onfield antics

 

[dickell]

They would - quite rightly to me - ask why if it's in the laws [and its been there for years], the referees dont referee it. If referees blew to the letter of that law, then it wouldnt be an issue. I dont remember a time when this was ever refereed though - do you?

That also applies to the maul, specially one approaching the tryline, when players, esp backs, join from the side and in front of the ball-carrier. When did anyone last see that pinged?

 

[L'irlandais]

do they like having referees put their arms around them or being forced to apologise/shake hands for onfield antics :sarc:

Fixed that for you, Dickie E

 

[Dickie E]

Fixed that for you, Dickie E

no fix needed. Serious question. How do the players feel about these kind of referee behaviours. I'd certainly be more interested in their answers to that than if they know how many laws there are.

 

[tewdric]

If you could change one law to improve the game, what would it be?

 

[SimonSmith]

Some of these questions just won't get asked, or get a non-answer.

I do wonder if there is room, per above, for asking if they think that the powers-that-be have got the balance right between protecting the player jumping in the air and the player on the ground who may get hit by the jumper in the air?

I personally wonder how much input the players have into the areas of emphasis that get handed down? We've complained here sporadically about the fact that Elite referees right now don't seem overly stressed about the creeping of the backline beyond the back foot at breakdowns. Is that something that players are concerned about - do they want more space? - and are they involved in the decision making process sufficiently?