BS: Rugby question, etc

Subject: BS: Rugby question, etc
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 27 Feb 14 - 01:27 PM

It's a bleak time of year. Too cold for gardening, no holidays soon. I could work on my tax return, I suppose. Instead I've been watching Rugby on YouTube.

Here's a good one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1dYjFPR7vM

The question is, why do the runners sometimes dive to the ground and slide for no apparent reason? At least, there's no apparent reason for me.
============
If you read books about sex, they'll tell you that women are not turned on by visual things. Men yes, women, no. And I agree. For example, the rugby pages often have a still picture of a beefy man with six-packs abs, and to me that picture is a total turnoff. He looks like a freak or a robot.

But when I watch the rugby players running, throwing, and celebrating I find them beautiful to watch. Maybe not actually sexual, but certainly better than that still picture - and a real winner over doing the taxes.

I suggest it for anybody with the gray-sky blahs.

PS I'm not interested in 'rugby hits,' which seems to consist of thugs socking each other. And when I watch, I turn the sound down to almost nothing, so I can hear the crowd but can't understand the announcers.

Subject: RE: BS: Rugby question, etc
From: Manitas_at_home
Date: 27 Feb 14 - 03:57 PM

The ball must be in the players possession as it touches the ground after passing over the line. Diving with it under the body is the surest way of stopping another player gaining possession. If you stop and attempt to place it on the ground you risk it being torn away by someone else.

Subject: RE: BS: Rugby question, etc
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 27 Feb 14 - 04:54 PM

Manitas has it.
Also, when tackling a player, one of the most effective ways to stop him is to hit him 'low and hard'. Or, as my coaches used to say "They can't run without their legs!".
A good tackle then means you need to get your centre of gravity lower than that of the player you're tackling. If he's diving towards the ground it makes the job of the tackler very difficult.

Subject: RE: BS: Rugby question, etc
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 27 Feb 14 - 08:30 PM

Well, yes, but then he can't run any more.

but i guess from what Manitas said that when I saw a runner diving to the ground when no one seemed to be around, that he had crossed the goal line and was going to the ground to make sure he had possession.

Subject: RE: BS: Rugby question, etc
From: IanC
Date: 28 Feb 14 - 04:23 AM

That's how you score in Rugby!

:-)

Subject: RE: BS: Rugby question, etc
From: Leadfingers
Date: 28 Feb 14 - 05:19 AM

A 'try' is scored by pacing the ball on the ground the other side of the end line , and a dive is often the safest way to do this without losing posession .

Subject: RE: BS: Rugby question, etc
From: GUEST,Patsy
Date: 28 Feb 14 - 08:03 AM

I don't know what it is about rugby that keeps me watching rather than football. Probably because there seems to be more passion for the game and good atmosphere when it's being played that alone keeps my attention. I don't know too much about the rules but I know which I would rather pay to see.

Subject: RE: BS: Rugby question, etc
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 28 Feb 14 - 10:22 AM

HI, Patsy. Did you watch the video I linked?

Last night I made the mistake of asking my husband if he wanted to watch. Immediately he had to go to Wikipedia and read all the rules, including the names of all the positions and how many guys are in each row of the scrum. I grew restive. (He would say testy.)

Meanwhile, I just wanted to watch humans in motion. Did you see that man kicking in slow motion at the beginning of the video I linked? It's absolutely beautiful.

Subject: RE: BS: Rugby question, etc
From: GUEST,Patsy
Date: 28 Feb 14 - 05:04 PM

Hi Leeneia.

Sorry I took so long to get back to you, yes I see what you mean it is beautiful almost graceful. It seems to be the best way to appreciate the skill and agileness of the players really wonderful to watch.

Subject: RE: BS: Rugby question, etc
From: Long Firm Freddie
Date: 01 Mar 14 - 03:46 AM

From just over 40 years ago, here is The Greatest Try Ever Scored

LFF

Subject: RE: BS: Rugby question, etc
From: Leadfingers
Date: 01 Mar 14 - 04:43 AM

One of my favourite sayings - Soccer is a game for gentlemen played by hooligans , while Rugby is a game for hooligans played by gentlemen .

Subject: RE: BS: Rugby question, etc
From: Doug Chadwick
Date: 01 Mar 14 - 05:37 AM

LFF, what makes that try greater than many of those shown in Leeneia's clip? I'm not saying that it wasn't the greatest try ever scored - I'm just asking, that's all.


DC

Subject: RE: BS: Rugby question, etc
From: GUEST,Howard Jones
Date: 01 Mar 14 - 07:43 AM

You have to ask?

It starts when Phil Bennett gets the ball immediately in front of his own posts and almost on his own goal line, under extreme pressure from not just one but several All Blacks. Rather than play it safe, he runs it from that position, an amazing jinking run that carries him round several players before he offloads. There is then a series of beautifully-timed passes culminating in Gareth Edward's sprint to the finish. All this from a scratch team (admittedly made up of world-class players) against one of the best teams in the world.

There are plenty of great tries in the first clip, but mostly from a two or three linked moves and often from an attacking position. There have been very few tries scored from such a deep defensive position requiring so much flair and skill from so many players.

Subject: RE: BS: Rugby question, etc
From: Long Firm Freddie
Date: 01 Mar 14 - 11:06 AM

Yep, what Howard said! (Thanks, Howard, couldn't have put it better).

The Barbarians' ethos is to "play attacking, adventurous rugby without being under pressure to win". Most other teams would probably have played the percentage game and booted the ball into touch from where Phil Bennett started his run.

Baa-Baas

LFF

Subject: RE: BS: Rugby question, etc
From: Doug Chadwick
Date: 01 Mar 14 - 12:19 PM

Thanks. Always happy to benefit from expert knowledge and opinion.

DC

Subject: RE: BS: Rugby question, etc
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 01 Mar 14 - 04:46 PM

Perhaps that try alone (Without all the other great moves by Gareth) explains the Bronze Statue in one of Cardiff's shopping centres.

The BBC seems to have a better quality video of 'that try', including replay, with a more considered (less immediate) description.

Cheers