With the lumbering Springboks now out of the way and surely now out of the Tri-Nations picture, our attention is turned to the two sides in the competition who like to play rugby. Not ‘running rugby’, but rugby. Let’s not get carried away on the premise that these sides are flinging the ball around willy-nilly; this is not the pre-millennium Super 12. Having said that, you could be forgiven for thinking the trans-Tasman rivals will be playing the game in fast-forward at the Etihad on Saturday, such is the widespread belief that these two teams will be playing it fast. The All Blacks and the Wallabies will be using game plans that maximise the talents of the players in each team, and will be doing so after a careful analysis of the rules and correct interpretations of the laws of the game.
For years spectators have marvelled at the prowess of open-side flankers at the break-down. Players like Josh Kronfeld passed the baton onto the likes of Richie McCaw and George Smith, who in turn have passed it onto a new generation of fetchers, of whom David Pocock is a leading light. These players have made careers out of scavenging the ball from the ground and such was the deference and respect afforded to these players, the game may have lost sight of its rules.
Number 7
This season’s new law interpretations – according to the IRB, they are correct, rather than new – say that the player in possession of the ball must be allowed to place the ball on the ground before his pocket is picked, as it were. And he must be given a fair go as well. So if a scavenger comes along and tries to raid the ruck without the ball being placed, the defender will be pinged. The player in possession must also be released before doing placing the pill, instead of being tackled and having it stolen without being released, as is so often the case. It all seems a bit trivial, but these interpretations have been allowed to gather dust for too long. Included in the reappraisal, and quite honestly the first time it’s been seen, period, is the offside line behind the hindmost feet of the ruck. It’s been a disgrace to see this law in use but clearly not adhered to for so long, since it is so blindingly obvious a rule (how many times have I shouted those words at the screen in 15 years?) and so easily policed.
Accordingly, now the team in possession has slightly more time to get support to the ball, in turn giving them a better than even chance of retaining possession. Meanwhile, the opposition defence is not on them the moment the ball appears in the halfback’s hands, allowing them a fraction of a second more time to play. And this is what spectators want to see. They want to see teams use the ball and create opportunities with it, and they want to watch a sport with easily understood laws that allow any team to play to this end. At least that is the case down in the Antipodes. And to be fair, France, Wales and Ireland are lauded as the best Northern Hemisphere teams because they use the ball creatively, so by that inference spectators the world over like this mode of rugby.
So from the ashes of the 2009 season, we now have a couple of teams wanting to play an up-tempo game rather than hoist the ball to the heavens and wait for the other team to flinch. Importantly, too, it is New Zealand and Australia leading the way. These teams thrive on playing creative, clever and opportunistic rugby and in this regard it’s much better if they succeed and offer the world an ultimatum: play your way and die, or try and foot it with us and at least give your players and supporters something to be proud of. Much like the Australian cricket team before they got the wobbles a couple of years back, these teams play it the way it is meant.
As it happens, these two teams will resume their rivalry in Melbourne this weekend, with Australia keen to avoid their 8th straight defeat to New Zealand. Should be a tough task though with the All Blacks well rested (thanks to the best possible Tri-Nations draw; seriously, one game in South Africa, never more than 2 games in 2 weeks – an unbeaten season should be a goal) and the Wallabies needing a new five-eights combo thanks to the suspension of Quade Cooper. Yet there’s never been a better time for Robbie Deans to revitalise Australian rugby than right now. Beating a rampant and confident All Blacks side with his new-look tribe of young Aussie blood will surely be up there with any of his accolades at provincial level. His last victory over NZ came in 2008, when McCaw was injured. This is a completely different animal from two years ago, however. One that has remembered not the taste of victory, but the methods by which it has been so successful.
