AT ITS BEST, rugby union can produce breathtaking moments of athleticism and skill. Watch, for example, a try scored by France against England from behind their own goal-line in 1991 (see YouTube), as the hands and boots of Serge Blanco, Philippe Sella, Didier Camberabero, Philippe Saint-André and more, conjure the ball from one end of the field to the other. Or savour the legendary try by the Barbarians against New Zealand in 1973 (see YouTube). That began with Phil Bennett running back towards his own line to field a kick, while closely pursued by several All Blacks. He turned and sidestepped three pursuers before beginning a sequence of six passes that ended with his fellow Welshman, Gareth Edwards, diving over the line.
But rugby union can also be a deeply frustrating game to watch, full of stops and starts, and seemingly aimless kicking. The Six Nations championship, which comes to an end this weekend, has demonstrated both rugby’s highs and its lows. France have been the best team and will take the title—with a “grand slam” five wins out of five—if, as is very likely, they beat England this weekend. In Antoine Dupont, the captain and scrum-half (pictured, with ball in hand), they have arguably the best player in the world. His speed of thought can turn a small hesitation in the opposition’s defence into a try-scoring opportunity.
Rugby’s flaws stem from its sheer complexity. Football is a simple game with only one convoluted rule—the offside law. Rugby seems to have a thousand, which change from season to season. Referees have a lot of latitude to award penalties and it is often very hard for spectators to understand the nature of an offence.
The greatest problems lie with the scrum, a way of restarting play, usually after a minor infringement. This involves eight players from either side crouching down and binding together. The ball is fed into the scrum, between the two sides, and one player (the hooker) passes it back with his or her feet so that the scrum-half can retrieve it. Meanwhile each side is shoving as hard as it can to push the other team back.
All too often, scrums collapse and have to be reset, or lead to a penalty for one side or the other. Players can be penalised for not binding properly, for not pushing in a straight line or for not maintaining their crouching position. It often appears that both teams are breaking the rules in some respect and a referee’s decisions to award a penalty can thus seem arbitrary. Eddie Jones, England’s coach, has called for there to be fewer scrums and more “free kicks”, as a way of opening up play.
A further problem arises from the greater professionalism of the game, and the rigorous coaching of the defence. Teams are all too aware of the risk of conceding a try if their opposition has the chance to move the ball quickly, so their defences rush up to tackle a player as soon as he receives the ball. If the defending team can turn over the ball close to their opponents’ line, they may be able to score. To counter this tactic the team in possession may hoof the ball downfield and hope to capitalise on an opponent’s mistake. At times, the game can resemble a kind of aerial ping-pong.
Two recent rule changes have encouraged more kicking. Under the 50-22 rule, if a team kicks the ball from its own half and it goes out of touch (after bouncing) within 22 metres of the opponents’ goal-line, the kicking team now gets the subsequent throw-in—an excellent attacking opportunity. In another change, if the ball is kicked into the area behind the goal line (like the end zone in American football) and grounded by the defending team, they must kick the ball from the goal-line and not, as in previous years, from the 22-metre line. This puts the defenders at a disadvantage and thus encourages hopeful kicks.
The final issue with rugby stems from its brutality. In the England-Ireland match on March 12th, an English player was sent off in only the second minute after a dangerous clash of heads, which led to the injured Irishman being substituted. Referees are rightly worried about high tackles these days, in contrast to earlier eras (in the build-up to the Barbarians try, an All Black did his best to wrench the head off J.P.R. Williams, another Welsh great). One study found that a professional rugby player is likely to suffer a concussion every 25 matches. This can have long-term adverse effects on the brain.
The male version of the game involves players who weigh around 100kg colliding with each other at speed. This creates the thrills and spills that draw in television viewers. It is small wonder, though, that retired rugby players suffer at a high rate from neck injuries, knee problems and severe back pain. And with former players now suing the governing authorities over the failure to protect them, you wonder how long the sport, in its current form, can carry on.■