The Rugby Thread

[pharvey]

Biggar will be playing tomorrow against Scotland. IMO he won't play all 80 minutes. Pete

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/35549868

Great news, and quite an incredible recovery IMHO. As you say however Pete, I'd be surprised if he plays the full 80.

After missing the first round of matches , and quite a round it was it seems, I'm certainly hopeful of getting to catch the games this weekend!!

Should be another very interesting round.... Whilst the Sweaties have not beaten God's Own in Cardiff for 14 odd years, that'll have zero bearing on Saturday's game - still no decision on the roof, but looking at the weather forecast, I'd be surprised if it's not closed. Looking forward to some good attacking rugby...... and of course a Welsh win!!

The Surrender Monkeys vs The Paddies..... France are always a difficult one to call - especially in Paris. if they get their Gallic Tails up and the crowd behind them, they could run riot..... on the other hand, if their tails are down, the crowd will go against them and the Little People will head home with eyes on a third successive 6N Tournament. Both sides without their inspirational captains of recent years in Paul O'Connell and Thierry Dusautoir.

Ah, then the Pasta Munchers vs Beelzebub and his Minions...... could be an interesting one. Will the Romans be fired up and put in a fighting display, or come back to earth with a bang after their narrow loss to France last weekend. Certainly St. Valentine's Day's a good a time as any to put in a "passionate" display!!

Here's to a great weekend of rugby!!

[PET]

As a "minion" I say ROLL ON 12March and just watch the Red Rose - after your narrow wins'

[PeteC]

What is the meaning, or rule, behind when a player fields a kick and he then does a small tap kick back to himself before he kicks down field? Pete

[dtaai-maai]

When a player takes a free kick his first action must be to kick the ball. He can tap (kick) it to himself and then run with it or pass it. There's not much point in tapping it then kicking it unless he wants to get a bit further upfield before kicking. You can't kick a free kick directly into touch unless you are in your 22.

EDIT: Hold on, I misread your post, but the only reason I can think of for a player tapping the ball like that is from a free kick, or a penalty kick taken very quickly.

[PeteC]

I saw it on a replay of an older Crusaders vs Brumbies match on Setanta this morning. I don't know the reason for the initial kick downfield by the Brumbies, but when a Crusader caught it he was going to kick it back immediately, the ref blew the whistle ever so lightly like reminding him of something, the Crusader glanced at the ref very briefly, tap kicked the ball to himself, took a step forward and then kicked the ball back downfield to the Brumbies.

[pharvey]

^ Sounds to me like he has caught the ball in his own 22 (i.e. behind the 22m line) and called a "mark" - the referee would indicate this with a short blow on the whistle. This stops play and entitles him to a free kick - which as he's in his own 22 can be kicked directly into touch. He wouldn't have to tap the ball unless he was to "tap and go" - run the ball or pass to another player.
Why he has tapped the ball and just taken a short step before kicking is a little strange.

[PeteC]

^ Yes, he was inside his 22 so above seems a reasonable explanation. Pete

[PeteC]

I just watched a replay of Sunday's game with the Wasps dismantling the Saracens 64-23. Really a good game, for the Wasps at least. Totally dominant which I guess is a strange thing to happen to the Saracens.

Really impressive was Nathan Hughes at 20 stone and 6'5"! He's Fijian and I wonder where he plays his international Rugby. Pete

http://www.wasps.co.uk/players-staff/pl ... han-Hughes

EDIT: This is from Wiki:

"Hughes has had strong performances in the 2013–14 premiership season and has considered his international allegiance as he is currently eligible for Fiji, Samoa and also England in 2016.[7]"

[PeteC]

^ Yes, he was inside his 22 so above seems a reasonable explanation. Pete

OK, going back to this, I found it. Look at 50:10 on the You Tube duration clock, and 44.07 on the game clock on the TV and you'll see the kick I'm talking about. Pete

[pharvey]

^ Nothing like being in someone elses living room to watch the game!!

He's definatly called a mark and won a Free Kick. Again though, there was no reason to tap the ball if he was simply going to kick down-field. The following explains the options relating to a Free Kick - have to say, I've never seen a player take the "Place Kick" option: -

"A free kick in rugby union is usually awarded to a team for a technical offence committed by the opposing side. Free kicks are awarded for technical offences such as playing too many players in a line-out or time wasting at a scrum. A free kick is also awarded for making a mark.

Once awarded a free kick the team must decide how they wish to play it. There are four options.

1. The team may opt to play a place kick, where the ball is placed on the ground by the kicker at a point designated by the referee then the player may take a run up to the ball and kick it downfield. This is very rarely chosen.

2. They may opt for a drop kick, where the ball starts in the player's hands and is dropped onto the ground whereupon it is kicked downfield on its upward bounce by the player.

3. They may opt for a punt, where the ball starts in the player's hands and is dropped and kicked without bouncing.

4. They may opt to play a tap kick. A tap kick is played when the team feel they would benefit more from keeping possession of the ball rather than kicking it downfield. To play a tap kick, the player either places the ball on the ground and kicks it a small distance, or punts it back into his own hands. The ball must travel a visible distance.
In the modern laws, a team awarded a free kick may opt to take it as a scrum.

The team in possession cannot directly score a goal from the free kick itself, nor score a dropped goal until the ball has become dead or an opponent has touched the ball or tackled a ball carrier. This also applies if the team in possession opts for a scrum. Unlike a penalty kick, if the ball goes into touch from a free kick then the kicking team enjoys no special privileges; the line-out is taken by the opposing team rather than the kicking team, and a direct kick to touch from outside the 22-metre area results in this line-out being formed opposite where the ball was kicked, not where it crossed the touch-line. Furthermore, the defending team can attempt to charge the kick as long as they have first retreated 10m. If they prevent the kick from being taken this way, they win a scrum."

[dtaai-maai]

I just watched a replay of Sunday's game with the Wasps dismantling the Saracens 64-23. Really a good game, for the Wasps at least. Totally dominant which I guess is a strange thing to happen to the Saracens.

Really impressive was Nathan Hughes at 20 stone and 6'5"! He's Fijian and I wonder where he plays his international Rugby.

Yes, this was an amazing game. I saw the result (on here) before I watched it, which is a shame. I wondered if the balance between the sides had been affected by 6 Nations absentees, but having seen the game, I don't think so. I was just a question of Wasps getting their act together in a big way and Sarries not having an answer.

Yes, Hughes was outstanding - a real beast - and will be in the England camp later this year. I'm not sure I agree with what appears to be a very soft residential qualification, but you can't blame England for taking advantage of it. It will be very interesting to see whether Hughes or Vunipola is the first choice at no. 8 in next year's 6 Nations.

[PeteC]

Hughes is only 24 so just beginning. As you saw, he was going through and over Saracens biggest players like a hot knife through butter.

Sorry about posting the score, I'm sure you could see after about 10 minutes how it was going to go on the day. Pete

[dtaai-maai]

Sorry about posting the score, I'm sure you could see after about 10 minutes how it was going to go on the day. Pete

Not a problem, Pete, you posted 2 days after the game. I should have watched it sooner! Too much going on at the moment.

[pharvey]

I'm not sure I agree with what appears to be a very soft residential qualification, but you can't blame England for taking advantage of it. It will be very interesting to see whether Hughes or Vunipola is the first choice at no. 8 in next year's 6 Nations.

The "Residential Qualification" is one of my pet hates be it the 6 Nation teams or the SH giants benefiting. Play rugby in a country for 3 years and then qualify for the national team is not on in my book. The exception to this would be the likes of the Vunipola brothers for England or Faletau for Wales who have been brought up in the UK (God's country to be specific! ) since they were knee high to a grasshopper. As you say though DM - you can't really blame Beelzebub for taking advantage of the rule.

Oh, and another useless piece of information - Faletau is the Vunipola brothers' cousin.

With regards to the Wasps Sarries game, unfortunately I didn't get to see it. But based on the above comments I'll certainly see if I can find it on You Tube or similar.

[PeteC]

Here's the full match on You Tube, Pharvey. Problem is it's either in Portuguese or some Eastern EU language I'm not familiar with? I couldn't find any English version. Pete