Is Rugby Union in terminal decline?

[Spoonz Red E]

Can we stop with bloody be careful what you wish for. It's such a smug phrase.

Before you know it, other common phrases will also be under threat.

Be careful wha .......

Oh. I see what you mean.

 

[tonykellowfan]

My younger son is 8 and he plays football. There is quite a good youth set up at Buckingham Rugby Club and some of his friends play there. He asked to go and we have said no, purely on health grounds. There is no way I would let either of my sons play rugby.

 

[Jason H]

Rugby appears to be a complete mess financially with most of the top clubs in pretty dire straits (having already lost two top flight clubs this season). Then there's the situation with the Wales national team.

The concussion issue is being talked about quite seriously, as well it might - I know someone who is a couple of years younger than me and has been diagnosed with CTE, a symptom of having played a lot of Rugby and Football in his youth and the repeated blows he suffered to the head as a result. However, some of the "solutions" being touted are somewhat counter-productive, as they may contribute to a generation unable to tackle properly once they reach adulthood. When I did Rugby at school we had it drilled into us how to tackle before we were let anywhere near a competitive match situation (my solution was simple - flail my arms a bit and let the opponent past) Similarly with heading in Football - if you're taught how to head the ball correctly from a relatively young age, you ought to save yourself the aggro later on.

 

[tonykellowfan]

The problem that rugby has (along with other contact sports) is that the latest scientific evidence is that blows to the upper body are just as bad as direct blows to the head. They all cause the brain to move unnaturally in the skull. This is part of the reason that they are introducing the "navel" rule in rugby. They have to get the contact to below the waist. When you watch the contact that lead to the red card for Scotland in the France game, the players, the officials and the administrators of the game are singularly failing to protect the players from clearly extremely dangerous contact.

 

[Radio Free Skaro]

The problem that rugby has (along with other contact sports) is that the latest scientific evidence is that blows to the upper body are just as bad as direct blows to the head. They all cause the brain to move unnaturally in the skull. This is part of the reason that they are introducing the "navel" rule in rugby. They have to get the contact to below the waist. When you watch the contact that lead to the red card for Scotland in the France game, the players, the officials and the administrators of the game are singularly failing to protect the players from clearly extremely dangerous contact.

Maybe they should play tag rugby, it was invented in Exeter by my old PE Teacher Mr Leonard of St Thomas High & Heles School- (Westexe & St Peters for those of a younger generation) .

Tag rugby - Wikipedia

 

[Number13]

Utterly pointless game. No skill involved (Rugby League is even worse - you actually have to cede possession in that). Huge chance of getting seriously injured

Take scrums. No point. The same geezer gets it out the back who put it in the side two seconds earlier and yet in that time you can break your neck / spine coz some fat oaf who couldnt play football collpases on top of you

 

[Colesman Ballz]

Utterly pointless game. No skill involved (Rugby League is even worse - you actually have to cede possession in that). Huge chance of getting seriously injured

Take scrums. No point. The same geezer gets it out the back who put it in the side two seconds earlier and yet in that time you can break your neck / spine coz some fat oaf who couldnt play football collpases on top of you

When I was forced into playing rugby at school the hookers had to contest for the ball at scrums, there was an art to it. As you say now the scrum half simply feeds the ball straight back, into his pack rendering the whole thing pointless. On the basis that referees punish line out balls that are not straight, why on earth is "feeding" at scrums not equally taboo ??

 

[Jason H]

When I was forced into playing rugby at school the hookers had to contest for the ball at scrums, there was an art to it. As you say now the scrum half simply feeds the ball straight back, into his pack rendering the whole thing pointless. On the basis that referees punish line out balls that are not straight, why on earth is "feeding" at scrums not equally taboo ??

Yeah, it's one of those things like foul throws in Football (Josh Key, ahem!) and travelling in Basketball, something that we can see happening but the officials don't bother with it.

 

[Greyhound]

When I was forced into playing rugby at school the hookers had to contest for the ball at scrums, there was an art to it. As you say now the scrum half simply feeds the ball straight back, into his pack rendering the whole thing pointless. On the basis that referees punish line out balls that are not straight, why on earth is "feeding" at scrums not equally taboo ??

England hooker Brian Moore has complained loudly about this for years.

 

[Antony Moxey]

England hooker Brian Moore has complained loudly about this for years.

England hooker Brian Moore has complained loudly about everything for years.