... tho would add, come to think of it, that the rule as at present constituted redounds against the swift short-passing game which the Soviet Russians, who used no offside rule at that time so the matches were played without it, intro'd us to, much to our wonderment, on their tours at end of WWii ~~~ so it is at least as arguable that its abolition would revive that skill as that it would lead to the unfortunate outcomes you suggest above, Den.