Newsgroups: rec.sport.rugby
Subject: lineout lifting
From: awil2@cs.aukuni.ac.nz (Andrew James        Willmott       )
Date: Sat, 25 Jul 1992 09:42:51 GMT
Organization: Computer Science Dept. University of Auckland

Now the series is over, and the All Blacks have shown that the Australians
are not quite the supreme world champions they would have us believe, I can
express some opinions that won't sound so much like sour grapes. :-)

First of all I would like to make it clear that in my opinion Richard Loe
should have been suspended for a match. I've been unhappy since the World XV
games about the increasing level of violence in the AB's play. I think that
perhaps the coaches are confusing personal aggression with team aggression.
Many incidents have been blown up out of all proportion by the Australian
media, however, and I wonder if the NZRU's refusal to discipline Loe isn't
due to their crying wolf once too often.

Now for the controversial bit. I would have to say that the last test series
has contained the most consistent cheating by a side in a sport that I've ever
seen. Almost every Australian lineout off their own throw has been won by
having two forwards lift Rod McCall metres into the air to take the ball. The
huge lineout advantage this gave the Australians in the first couple of tests
lead to their winning tactics. These involved punting the ball down into the
NZ 22 whenever in their own half, knowing that when the AB's put it out, they
would be certain to get possession back. The resulting territorial advantage
was huge.

Some of this lifting took place right in front of the referee, with no
complaint whatsoever. In fact, I can't recall the last time I saw a penalty
given for lineout lifting over the last year. You can only assume that
referees have given up the lineout area as being unpoliceable. They still
seem to be able to hand out dozens of mystifying (and some not so mystifying:-)
penalties for pushing in the lineout, however.

There have been calls from this side of the Tasman that if the referees are
going to turn such a blind eye to this activity, then NZ should follow
the Australians' example. Unfortunately, this has indeed happened. The game
against Sydney, and to a lesser extent the third test match, saw the All Blacks
trying their own form of blatant lifting, and not being penalised for it once.
Indeed, the failure of Australian lineout in competing for the ball in the
second half today was partly due to these tactics. (To be fair, they were due
a whole lot more to the presence of Jamie Joseph in the ABs, and on the 
Australian side to the absence of John Eales, who left the field injured.)

I can't agree with these tactics at all. I can understand that in the current
Australian media climate suggestions to the IRB that they tighten up on lifting
could be inflammatory, but for the ABs to sink to the same level is not the
answer. The other approach, of course, would be to legalise lifting, seeing how
widespread it seems to be. This leads to visions of lineout times resembling
a circus with human pyramids and so on :-). I suppose at least it would be
entertaining - perhaps we could have some clowns run on as well? (No cracks
about the All Black's management, please!)


About the game today; I would have been stoked if Australia had been able to
draw the game. A clear AB try in the corner was ruled out by the touch judge,
and a couple of minutes later the Australians scored after two passes that
were forward by three or four feet! We're not talking line balls here!
Undoubtably this was incompetence rather than bias - previously the Aussies had
a promising attacking move snuffed out when they were called for a forward pass.
Replays showed it travelled about a metre backwards!

Sheesh! The standard of refereeing in this series has been abysmal. I would
have preferred Sandy MacNeil for the last two matches, any day!

To the idiot who claimed that NZ has to import all its players from the islandss;
we'll take more notice of you when Australia rules that its immigrant
minorities (such as the Greeks and Asians) are ineligable to play for national
sporting teams. But then, you probably do that already.

Ah, I feel better now I've got that lot off my chest!

Andrew the uplifted.


-- 
+--- Andrew Willmott ------------- awil2@cs7.cs.aukuni.ac.nz ---+
|                                                               |
|   And all around the night sang out                           |
|   Like cockatoos                                  (R. Smith)  |