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The official not really bothered about the Rugby World Cup Thread



nwgull

Well-known member
Jul 25, 2003
14,533
Manchester
Cheers Pogue,

The main difference is that whilst there are a set of core skills which apply across a rugby team there are a number of specialist roles/positions which are generally very difficult for another player to backfill.

A particular player might be the lead in calling and receiving the lineout throws, or the main kicker. There's also the difference in size, so if you lose a forward then it'll be harder to cover that particular area as someone else will have to move up.

Then there's the way the game is played. In football you defend a goal, in rugby it's an entire end. Losing one player means that there will either be (i) wider spaces between the team down to 14 men if they spread out or (b) an overlap if they try and defend narrow.

Though no football team would like to play with 10 men for 10 mins they are far more able, by the nature of the game itself, to not concede or make it harder for the opposition to score. In rugby the chances are you will concede points.

I think your 3rd point is the most pertinent. In football, a much weaker team can be battered for 90 mins and still come away with a draw or a sometimes even a win from a single flukey goal. In rugby the dominant team will inevitably accumulate points, which is why Japan beating SA over 80 minutes on Saturday was incredible.

During commentary of England v Wales a couple of years ago, Brian Moore quoted that the average number of points conceded in the 10 mins that a team is down to 14 men: I think that it was as many as 8!
 






scamander

Well-known member
Aug 9, 2011
598
I think your 3rd point is the most pertinent. In football, a much weaker team can be battered for 90 mins and still come away with a draw or a sometimes even a win from a single flukey goal. In rugby the dominant team will inevitably accumulate points, which is why Japan beating SA over 80 minutes on Saturday was incredible.

During commentary of England v Wales a couple of years ago, Brian Moore quoted that the average number of points conceded in the 10 mins that a team is down to 14 men: I think that it was as many as 8!

I think the average is 7, but it can really differ depending on what level the game is at (check this article).

In football you rarely see a stat for 'territory', rugby is about exploiting space by committing an opposition player or finding a gap. Much easier to do when you have one more player.
 




Guinness Boy

Tofu eating wokerati
Helpful Moderator
NSC Patron
Jul 23, 2003
37,341
Up and Coming Sunny Portslade
You can always learn from all sorts of things. As a person I'm constantly trying to improve my knowledge, my education and find better ways of doing things. I would expect most people are.

Does that mean that we should change football to be more like rugby (and I say this as someone who likes Union, loathes League and has been watching the World Cup)? Hell no.
 




mr sheen

Well-known member
Jan 17, 2008
1,566
Have a look at my post replying to him. There is plenty that rugby can learn from football, particularly the bits about taking the game to the less privileged and to countries outside it's traditional heartlands.
I think rugby is learning from football, around professionalism - remember, it's not been fully and officially professional that long, and everything that goes with that - commercialism , giving the top clubs fan bases equivalent to those in football etc will take years to happen.
 


















Lyndhurst 14

Well-known member
Jan 16, 2008
5,242
I imagine a lot of Tarquins, Jeremys, Jemimas and Arabellas are a tad miffed at the current score
 








Bry Nylon

Test your smoke alarm
Helpful Moderator
Jul 21, 2003
20,573
Playing snooker
I've been watching Casualty on BBC1 but I assume that England lost?

Well, thank fvck for that. Hopefully everybody will stop banging on about 'wugger' now :yawn:
 












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