This is why eveyone kicked last season.

get it?

So the IRB had to either :

a) make it a more guaranteed result in getting your own ball back from the ruck/tackle, or
b) make the consequences of kicking more perilous.

Obviously they went for a), and now we see if that makes any difference.

Too many foreigners too, Aussies, Safas, Kiwis, Argies. Its like watching England…….at any sport !

Truly, that Ire vs Italy match on the w/e was turgid. The Azzurri need to win the hearst and minds before they can learn to win and I truly thought Mallet was the man for the job. Italy need to target Scotland & Wales fr wins and build from there. But o score 1,2,3 tries vs the heavyweight Fr/Ire/Eng must be the stepping stone. We need MORE big teams in World rugby, not less.

just a joke fella. Carlos Sainz was a rally-driving great, multiple World Champ. I grew up in rural NZ, near where Possum Bourne (NZ Champ rally driver) came from. Sainz was da Man !

Carlos?

Interesting stats from planet-rugby;

“Italy lost seven line-outs and made not one single offload in a tackle as they laboured to get their game going under heavy Irish pressure. More encouraging will be that they only missed five tackles in 98″

Obviously they have the heart – but not the skills it would seem.

Agree about Mallets plan though, I can’t imagine you would psyche up many players by saying “We aren’t going to win, but we will not lose by more than 20″.

and youre saying NZ has the footballers ? even the Phoenix only have 2….

yep, more to select from than in ’82, but still hardly loads of competition.

Im a huge fan of Mallet but I think he should be committing the Italians to more than just spoilers. He needs to encourage some flair, he needs to stop relying on foreigners so that Italians identify with their team and therefore create an identity. I work for an Italian company and thats what theyre saying; believe me, rugby is still a niche sport but one theyre more and more excited by. But wheeling scrums and offside play and kicking everything will lose them quickly. They would rather score 1-2 tries and lose by 30 than not try anything and lose by 20.

BTW- are you related to Carlos ?

It’s one thing qualifying for a World Cup but if the All Whites continuously played Brazil, France, Spain, Germany, Italy etc, it would be hard to mark their progress really.

At the end of it, you need the players and Italy simply don’t have them.

nah, if NZ can qualify for their 2nd World Cup from a rugby obsessed country then Mallet should have no excuses

Teich was a great player but had to bow out gracefully when Mallet dropped him unfortunately.

Mallet has done pretty much all he can with Italy now I think – must be so frustrating trying to create a team in a nation who eat, sleep and breath football. They just don’t have any real depth.

Yeah if anything it will swing more penalties to the attacking side simply because refs will be even stricter on blowing up tacklers not rolling away.

What I would like to see is refs allowed to use some of their own common sense in this area so that when some poor bugger has 5 guys on top of him and he’s half breaking a leg trying to roll away he doesn’t instantly get blown up for not rolling.

I almost remember Teich doing that, you scary mo fo.

I liked Teich, honourable gentleman. And under a Great coach, really like Mallett. What on EARTH he’s doing with that Italian team I dont know, their development seems to be in reverse, spoil spoil spoil.

Yep, they must roll away. How on Earth these guys can roll away with 10 x Bakkies lying all over them I dont know.

If they enforce that rule, the Bismarck better sharpen up that Fitzy-face of his. He’s the worst roll-away’er Ive seen since then.

Yeah you’re right, it’s more of a reminder and “firming up” on the laws, than any changes.

I remember watching Gary Teichman make a tackle for the Boks and get back to his feet whilst holding his arms up to clearly show he had released the tackled player before contesting for the ball, and that was in ’98!!! So there is definitely nothing new here.

Other thing I noticed was a “firming up” on the issue of the tackler lying on the ground. Apparently simply throwing up your arms is not good enough anymore and you have to show a concerted effort to move away.

Another thing to be mindful of is that this could close the gap between the quality of “fetchers” in the NH and SH as in theory the art of fetching could become less prominent and everyone knows which hemisphere is master of the art!

Then Michael Lynagh said that this is the best team he has ever seen, and he thinks without doubt they will beat any international side.

No ‘law change’, Yeti, its exactly the same. In fact, its reverted to being ‘interpreted’ the same as when it was introduced. The refs have been weak-kneed since then and fudged what before had been clear.

My only concerns are:-

1. attacking team being g’teed ball (the mutant child of R.League & late-90′s Brumbies ?)

2. defending teams not committing to rucks – props&locks in the backline ?

Lets wait and see.

(bring back rucking !)

Tackler has to completely release the tackled player and get to his feet before contesting for the ball….thats it! That’s all there is to it from my knowledge!?

has Heyneke been kissing his cousin ?

OK. But if it doesn’t work out quite the way you hope, you can always just get Paddie o Brien to change the laws again, to a version that’s more suitable to you…

This year will be a new kettle of fish , i expect us to run you off the park – see you at Loftus

So how did that tactic go for you in the semifinal last year?

I love watching my Saders play against the Bulls because the game plan of the Bulls is very predictable and has been for years – match the Bulls upfront , dont kick the ball out , and spread it against them and the Bulls will have a bad day at the office – the Saders have proved this at Loftus more than once

Yes the final was great running rugby for the Bulls ( the Chiefs were pathetic , you must agree) but i dont expect them to be able to do this , this year against a full strength saders side or brumbies side , they will revert to ten man rugby

Really? 92-3 must have required a heck of a lot of penalty kicks, then.

75-14 equally so.

And seeing as finals are the most tightly contested of affairs, a scoreline of 61-17 must surely be undreamed of for any but the most expansive of teams.

Don’t embarrass yourself, my friend. The Bulls merely make use of different tactics to break down opposing defenses. Instead of running through endless phases, we attack from turnovers, first phase and opponents mistakes. But the scorlines speak for themselves…