Spare a thought for Japan. Its 2019 and the rugby world cup has come to town. Under their master coach Eddie Jones, Japan secure a quarter final berth for the first time ever. Against all expectations they dominated their pool and knocked off a few big guns along the way. So far so good as they prepare for their quarter final opponents who happen to be two time winners the Springboks from South Africa. The 2019 Springboks are human behemoths as per usual with only a couple of their forwards coming in under 7 feet tall and nearly all weighing in excess of 120 kilograms.
Even their backs are giants and could easily substitute in the forward pack. It’s a daunting task… The Springbok mega pack versus Japan’s mini pack.
Predictably, the Springboks’ key weapon is the dreaded rolling maul and and the Boks steamroll their way to victory, obliterating the Japanese pack.
End of story and for Japan it was good while it lasted.
For a sport that professes to be a game for all sizes the above scenario makes a mockery of this claim. If the trend continues, the second tier teams have no hope in hell of competing with the top guns unless something drastic changes. It is true that teams have developed anti maul strategies but not many outside the top tier teams get the opportunity to test their skills against the big boys.
Why? Because they aren’t even in the same ball park and while rugby may rightly boast a huge and profitable global participation, few teams outside of the big 6 will ever get the chance to hoist the Rugby World Cup. Here is the claim. While the rolling mall is a major attacking tactic in rugby it is becoming a blight on the game when it is overused. The rolling maul and now the rolling scrum are being used to milk penalties, simple as that.
As a spectacle, they are boring and predictable because they invariably result in “full arm” penalties or a penalty try depending on the situation. Both are diabolical time wasters just like the tedious scrum resets that test the patience of officials and spectators. This is not what rugby is supposed to be about and even purists would agree that the game has deteriorated over the years into a pedantic and over complicated mess. Throw in a few TMO replays and things get worse. Here is the hard evidence.
The Melbourne Rebels recently wasted the last 10 minutes of a game mauling from lineout to lineout to no avail and the match fizzed out like a wet squib. Then there is the ridiculous situation when a defending pack simply pulls out of the contest so that the attacking maul is left adrift – a tactic obviously designed to attract a penalty. Then there is the confusing “truck and trailer” scenario which is so subjective and difficult to rule upon that the average spectator is left bewildered.
What will it take to convince the rugby lawmakers that sanctioned obstruction from lineout and scrum which is almost impossible to defend is not a good advertisement for the sport?
How about a rule restricting their use for example; 3 times per half and a reduction of full arm to short arm penalty? Who in their right mind wants to see games won or lost on the vagaries of mauling and scrum penalties. Lets hope that there is enough political will at World Rugby to see that the game will die if it is not improved. I wont hold my breath but I couldn’t help noticing half empty stadiums all over NZ and Australia last weekend. Was it the weather, ticket prices or something else like the state of the game?