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Andy Goode calls attention to annoying rugby 'bugbear'
By Josh Raisey
There are certain laws in rugby, and indeed all sports, where players will continuously try to push their luck.
Feeding at scrums was always one that enraged pundits and fans, as for years scrumhalves were able to flout the law that said the ball needed to be fed straight into the scrum.
This became so commonplace and so rarely punished that the laws were tweaked to favour the feeding side, whilst also trying to avoid scrums becoming similar to rugby league’s.
There are plenty of other gripes that many across the rugby world have, and one of them being offside at kick-offs. More and more often, the players chasing a kick-off are seen in front of the kicker, and it is no stretch to say that it is sometimes over ten players offside.
Former England flyhalf Andy Goode raised this on Twitter recently as one of his bugbears in the game, citing Northampton Saints’ kick-off against Wasps, but it could in truth be the majority of games where this is seen.
The thing that annoys so many is that the referee is mere feet away from the kicker, which is similar to feeding at scrums. However, there is no need to change the laws in this department, it just requires sterner officiating and could be remedied instantly.
Players do this to limit the amount of time the receiver has after catching the ball, or even to allow a greater contest for the ball, but it is also an easy one for players to change. They simply need to ensure they time their run better. The Wallabies have adopted a tactic in the past of all players starting ten metres behind the kicker to build speed, although this did sometimes result in players being offside still.
Goode’s comments did ignite a discussion on Twitter regarding the other complaints within the modern game, such as stealing a few feet when kicking for goal, as well as offsides at box-kicks and behind the scrum.
While there are those that feel a few feet is fairly inconsequential, they are the laws nevertheless, and it is understandable why there are demands for stricter officiating in some departments.
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Latest Comments
The boy needs to bulk up if wants to play 10 or 11 to handle those hits, otherwise he could always make a brilliant reserve for the wings if he stays away from the stretcher.
Go to commentsIn another recent article I tried to argue for a few key concept changes for EPCR which I think could light the game up in the North.
First, I can't remember who pointed out the obvious elephant in the room (a SA'n poster?), it's a terrible time to play rugby in the NH, and especially your pinnacle tournament. It's been terrible watching with seemingly all the games I wanted to watch being in the dark, hardly able to see what was going on. The Aviva was the only stadium I saw that had lights that could handle the miserable rain. If the global appeal is there, they could do a lot better having day games.
They other primary idea I thuoght would benefit EPCR most, was more content. The Prem could do with it and the Top14 could do with something more important than their own league, so they aren't under so much pressure to sell games. The quality over quantity approach.
Trim it down to two 16 team EPCR competitions, and introduce a third for playing amongst the T2 sides, or the bottom clubs in each league should simply be working on being better during the EPCR.
Champions Cup is made up of league best 15 teams, + 1, the Challenge Cup winner. Without a reason not to, I'd distribute it evenly based on each leauge, dividing into thirds and rounded up, 6 URC 5 Top14 4 English. Each winner (all four) is #1 rank and I'd have a seeding round or two for the other 12 to determine their own brackets for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. I'd then hold a 6 game pool, home and away, with consecutive of each for those games that involve SA'n teams. Preferrably I'd have a regional thing were all SA'n teams were in the same pool but that's a bit complex for this simple idea.
That pool round further finalises the seeding for knockout round of 16. So #1 pool has essentially duked it out for finals seeding already (better venue planning), and to see who they go up against 16, 15,etc etc. Actually I think I might prefer a single pool round for seeding, and introduce the home and away for Ro16, quarters, and semis (stuffs up venue hire). General idea to produce the most competitive matches possible until the random knockout phase, and fix the random lottery of which two teams get ranked higher after pool play, and also keep the system identical for the Challenge Cup so everthing is succinct. Top T2 side promoted from last year to make 16 in Challenge Cup
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