Six Nations 2025

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asl
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Joined: 20 Nov 2009, 09:37
Stone me, that French team are going to take some stopping... Their game against Ireland should be a cracker.

Hey, Robin! The Six Nations is on!
Red Duke
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Location: North West
Rugby is not a game for me these days. I went to a Rugby playing school in 1960's and I understood the rules of the game. I used to enjoy watching the internationals on the TV.

These days, If on the odd occasion I watch a game, I don't really understand the rules and I get the impression that the players don't know them either.
asl
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Was discussing much the same with my wife during the England game, this afternoon. Ireland had an early try disallowed for an infringement on a player trying to leave the ruck. One of a few new rules, it seems.
Red Duke
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asl wrote: 01 Feb 2025, 21:24 Was discussing much the same with my wife during the England game, this afternoon. Ireland had an early try disallowed for an infringement on a player trying to leave the ruck. One of a few new rules, it seems.
The rule makers in an effort to make Rugby "more entertaining" have made it far too complex. I am sure your average fan of the game doesn't understand what is going on either.

Similarly, I don't understand the qualifications rules to play an international game. You can play for one country at the highest level, go and live in another and you can qualify through residency? I believe you can't play for England if you play, say, France unless you have a certain number of caps.

What utter nonsense!

As for the top man at Twickers paying himself a huge bonus when they have lost loads of money. Surely that can't be right? He should be sacked for incompetence.
asl
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That thing about not selecting overseas players is, I thought, an RFU policy and not a 'rule of the game' as such. I suspect the FA couldn't impose similar because both UEFA and FIFA would have a hissy fit.

To be honest, there have always been some extremely technical rules regarding rucks and mauls that the average fan - like me - only has a slim grasp of.
Red Duke
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I am surprised that the RFU has not been taken to court for "restriction of trade" as they in essence controlling how much an English international can earn.

Having extremely technical rules stops fans complaining about decisions the ref has made as they haven't a clue what's going on. So different to football where the rules are relatively simple, most fans understand them but cause such wide differences of opinion.
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Ihearye
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Red Duke wrote: 01 Feb 2025, 22:50 I am surprised that the RFU has not been taken to court for "restriction of trade" as they in essence controlling how much an English international can earn.

Having extremely technical rules stops fans complaining about decisions the ref has made as they haven't a clue what's going on. So different to football where the rules are relatively simple, most fans understand them but cause such wide differences of opinion.
I may be wrong, as I pay little attention to English premiership rugby. But I presume (?) as per Ireland, international players are under international contracts. As such, it is entirely up to the respective unions, who they offer those contracts to. Ireland only offer contracts to players playing in Ireland. Sounds that RFU have the same approach? Wales have a slightly different selection criteria, which all ows for teh selection of players not playing in Wales, as long as they meet certain conditions (caps earned etc).
Like most technical games, the assumption is that the viewer is sufficiently interested to be aware of the rules. I do find it irksome when, particularly ITV, the commentator gives a rugby for dummies commentary for the entire match
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Shade
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I barely watch any rugby, but it seems every bit of a game I see there is, what I would call, a blatant forward pass. You can see by the lines on the pitch that between where the ball has left the passers hands and where the receiver has caught it, it's gone a long way forward, yet the commentators don't mention it and the officials don't seem to care.

I realise that it's probably not that strict due to forward momentum and wanting a fast flowing game, but some of them are absolutely taking the p!##. When I was younger and had to watch it a lot more, anything that looked remotely forward was penalised.

On Friday, I'm sure one of the Frenchmen was almost at a standstill, tackled, lobbed the ball in the air, it went about 20 yards in the air and 5 yards forward, where it was caught by another Frenchman and put down for a try. I had to check the laws of the game and there I read that it's basically the same still, no forward passes. I laughed, grabbed the remote, and put something more sensical on.
Red Duke
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Maybe they should get a VAR and draw some lines on the screen like they do for offside decisions in footie.
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Shade
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Oddly(!), after typing that yesterday, YouTube randomly(!) recommended me a video of some guy talking about the very forwards pass that I mentioned from the France v Wales game. He reckoned it was inside because the guy who passed it was still in front of the ball when it was received. He also showed an online poll where about 87% of rugbyists thought it was forward. Good to know it's not just football that has rules that aren't very clear.
Red Duke
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Rugby at international level always seems tto be he best team at bending the rules wins the game.

Commentators often talk about Southern Hemisphere rules, referees interpretation of the rules, playing the referee....

I can't say I have heard some things watching footie.
asl
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Red Duke wrote: 04 Feb 2025, 19:49 Commentators often talk about Southern Hemisphere rules, referees interpretation of the rules, playing the referee....

I can't say I have heard some things watching footie.
Apart from every time we watch a Spanish or Italian team playing the referee and the commentators mentioning how "they wouldn't get away with that in the Premiership"?
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Ihearye
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Shade wrote: 04 Feb 2025, 13:21 Oddly(!), after typing that yesterday, YouTube randomly(!) recommended me a video of some guy talking about the very forwards pass that I mentioned from the France v Wales game. He reckoned it was inside because the guy who passed it was still in front of the ball when it was received. He also showed an online poll where about 87% of rugbyists thought it was forward. Good to know it's not just football that has rules that aren't very clear.
I believe the salient point is whether the person passing the ball makes sure his hands are in that instance passing the ball in a backward motion. Where it ultimately ends up is not part of the consideration
paperboy
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Joined: 05 Jul 2011, 22:56
Six Nations Final Table.

1. It's
2. Too early
3. To
4. Make
5. Predictions
6. Wales
asl
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Joined: 20 Nov 2009, 09:37
😀

I've Welsh friends who haven't mentioned the rugby for nearly two years, now.
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Ihearye
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asl wrote: 15 Feb 2025, 08:45 😀

I've Welsh friends who haven't mentioned the rugby for nearly two years, now.
Heading there on saturday and have this fear they may try and break their 2 year silence!
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