Official Rugby Thread

[honestbharani]

i've changed my mind i'm gonna do the essay on whether or not we should care if Kapil Dev threw it per today's standards ?

REally pushing it if you call what you have in Oz as "standards" tbh.

 

[social]

At least one poster thought that I was exaggerating/making **** up about parents current feelings about rugby

Virtually everyone used to play footy in the winter and cricket or tennis in the summer

That’s how we were brought up and it’s how our parents were brought up

However, little Johnny’s Mum is now being confronted by previously unheard of long term implications such as early onset dementia plus there’s a wider choice of activities and no peer pressure

 

[Uppercut]

Like people are already up in arms about the objectively very "low-hanging fruit" changes to the rules with regards to punishing forceful head contact, and fair enough, they really do have a pretty outsized impact on how enjoyable the sport is to follow. But if that's the case, then I don't see how tackling the harder, sub-concussive stuff which CTE/dementia research is increasingly focussed on will be at all possible without straight up ruining the game.

Have posted on here many times that Test cricket's main job is to hold on with its fingernails for the next twenty years because there is going to be a huge, gaping hole in the competitive teams sports market opening up as the big team contact sports are crushed one by one by a mass of lawsuits, at least in the rich developed countries.

I just assumed that governing bodies will declare bankrtupcy and be replaced by a new body that puts heavy disclaimers in all of its contracts. The sport carries on, albeit with significantly less childhood participation.

But then I've repeatedly underestimated how many Westerners are litigative cop-calling nannies. Maybe it'll be completely banned by 2040.

 

[Spark]

I just assumed that governing bodies will declare bankrtupcy and be replaced by a new body that puts heavy disclaimers in all of its contracts. The sport carries on, albeit with significantly less childhood participation.

But then I've repeatedly underestimated how many Westerners are litigative cop-calling nannies. Maybe it'll be completely banned by 2040.

I don't think it'll be banned but they won't be mass participation sports with national cultural cachet beyond nostalgia.

 

[social]

I just assumed that governing bodies will declare bankrtupcy and be replaced by a new body that puts heavy disclaimers in all of its contracts. The sport carries on, albeit with significantly less childhood participation.

But then I've repeatedly underestimated how many Westerners are litigative cop-calling nannies. Maybe it'll be completely banned by 2040.

Demonizing boxing begat MMA which is even worse IMO

 

[Uppercut]

Demonizing boxing begat MMA which is even worse IMO

Worse for CTE? Boxing has heavier gloves, significantly more blows to the head, longer fights, and a knockdown is much less likely to end the fight. How could MMA possibly be worse?

Not that either sport is designed for people who value their personal safety.

 

[StephenZA]

But then I've repeatedly underestimated how many Westerners are litigative cop-calling nannies. Maybe it'll be completely banned by 2040.

Never gonna be banned... just less participation because who wants to go through their later years in a possible vegetative state... I mean more than normal!

 

[Uppercut]

Never gonna be banned... just less participation because who wants to go through their later years in a possible vegetative state... I mean more than normal!

I'd be really interested in looking into how many former rugby players regret playing it. I would imagine it's a minority? But I could be wrong.

 

[Howe_zat]

I'd be really interested in looking into how many former rugby players regret playing it. I would imagine it's a minority? But I could be wrong.

How many base jumpers regret doing it?

Probably hard to interview the ones that do.

 

[StephenZA]

I'd be really interested in looking into how many former rugby players regret playing it. I would imagine it's a minority? But I could be wrong.

It probably depends on if you ask them when they are trying to get out of bed in the morning or being plied with drinks in the pub...

 

[James]

My opinion is that it probably wasn't a problem for the former generations because the size of the players has dramatically changed in the professional era. The tackles, aggressive runs, etc would certainly take their toll, so I understand the concern.

 

[Flem274*]

contact sports are not going to die. the public don't listen to medical advice when their lives depend on it, they're not going to listen when their brains do.

there will be big money lawsuits for sure, but people will still play. MMA is on the up and up and that sport is directly about knocking ***** out. union and league are like MMA with a sheepskin on top.

though i do look forward to the inevitable mass roid busts in both codes which are pumping guys up beyond what a normal supreme athlete could hope to achieve. it starts in club rugby here where guys go to bali for a holiday and come back resembling small tanks but if you drug test in club rugby half the players in prems will get caught because they're getting ripped for festival season and/or enjoy a celebratory joint (or line if they're professionals). do this in super rugby at the right moment and the nz teams will get hit like its covid.

then there is south african and english rugby, but we shouldn't talk about that.

At least one poster thought that I was exaggerating/making **** up about parents current feelings about rugby

Virtually everyone used to play footy in the winter and cricket or tennis in the summer

That’s how we were brought up and it’s how our parents were brought up

However, little Johnny’s Mum is now being confronted by previously unheard of long term implications such as early onset dementia plus there’s a wider choice of activities and no peer pressure

no i said you were off on a tangent because everything you can level at union regarding contact is a thousand times worse than league.

there's a (partial) reason they all piss in their own mouths beyond young male dick waving. high tackle law enforcement and HIA in league is a joke and the current gen of professional players are going to be vegetative at 50.

 

[GotSpin]

NFL has hardly collapsed with all their issues

Punters like physical contact games. And if there’s punters, there’s money and the game will continue. We’re not all going to suddenly line up and watch ****ing oztag

Few less kids might play but the idea of these sports just shrivelling up and dieing is a bit over the top

 

[BoyBrumby]

My opinion is that it probably wasn't a problem for the former generations because the size of the players has dramatically changed in the professional era. The tackles, aggressive runs, etc would certainly take their toll, so I understand the concern.

Yeah, it has made a massive difference.

Back in the amateur days players were often big guys, but still within the realms of normal human proportions. Nowadays though players are just slabs of muscle.

Colin Meads, a lock (NZders would probably argue the lock) who in his era was nicknamed "Pinetree" because of his size, was 6' 4" and 16 stone.

George North, a wing, is the same height and over a stone heavier.

 

[Spark]

NFL has hardly collapsed with all their issues

Punters like physical contact games. And if there’s punters, there’s money and the game will continue. We’re not all going to suddenly line up and watch ****ing oztag

Few less kids might play but the idea of these sports just shrivelling up and dieing is a bit over the top

We haven't even seen the beginning of it wrt the lawsuits though

 

[GotSpin]

Yeah I think one of the ways to tackle the growing mass of modern day players is to reduce the size of the bench. It'd bring back more focus on fitness and agility rather than bulk mass. More fatigue too and less physically demanding tackling

 

[social]

We haven’t even begun to see the impact upon modern players

This lawsuit (& those in other sports) generally relate to long retired players

 

[Flem274*]

Yeah I think one of the ways to tackle the growing mass of modern day players is to reduce the size of the bench. It'd bring back more focus on fitness and agility rather than bulk mass. More fatigue too and less physically demanding tackling

I initially thought this, but the fitness of modern players makes me suspect sides with great forward depth would just trust their backs to go 80. Also props might go from 40 minutes of scrumming to 60-80.

We could change it so instead of endless scrum resets (where a huge amount of built up brain injuries are happening) you get one reset max then the ref has to make a call. That way we still get the contest, the Crusader scum can still whistle hop down the field and we save some impacts and patience. Win win.

 

[Uppercut]

My sacrilegious rugby opinion is that scrums should be scrapped. They’ve been a complete shambles for decades, if they were fixable they’d have been fixed by now. They’re not even exciting or interesting when they work properly. The game would lose nothing of any value.

Restart with a free kick. Or a line out. Or literally anything else.

 

[Howe_zat]

My sacrilegious rugby opinion is that scrums should be scrapped. They’ve been a complete shambles for decades, if they were fixable they’d have been fixed by now. They’re not even exciting or interesting when they work properly. The game would lose nothing of any value.

Restart with a free kick. Or a line out. Or literally anything else.