General Rugby Discussion 3

absolutely, safety aspects are much more important for one, but i do think using the ball quicker from the ruck would help with the flow of the game - literally in terms of speed of ball leaving the breakdown and it also would make it more difficult to set up box kicks. id love to see 'caterpillar' rucks being outlawed too tbh but i dont really see how that could be possible

or if they called it as soon as the ball is available rather than waiting 5 seconds (exaggeration) and then calling 'use it'

Refs should simple call the ball out, one area where they ought to stop coaching players. SHs knows what they're doing.

Players off their feet at rucks are a blight. Only way that's likely to change to get rid of jackaling completely and make rucking over the only way to secure ball. Everything stems from it.

Personally I don't think Ruck speed is a problem that needs to be addressed. Attacking teams already have all the incentive in the world to make rucks fast 90% of the time. It is only when angling for box kicks and killing the clock that changes. Killing the clock seems to backfire as much as it works (and I like the tension anyway), Box kicks are only a minor problem really. You could save 5 seconds by enforcing the law earlier, but if they have less time to set they're less likely to keep it on the park and you're going to end up waiting 90 seconds for a lineout anyway.

Players are supposed to keep their shoulders above their hips in rucks, that never happens, as players go for the jackal bent over and clearers have to ballistically try to shift them. You can't fix rucks without addressing the fundamental source of the issue.

I wholly disagree that refs need to coach players to use it. SHs know exactly what they're about. A ref calling the ball out once or twice would immediately speed up the messing that goes on and give defenses more opportunities to disrupt.

Wasn't that changed to one person from either side after the Italian tactics in Twickenham one year?

Edit: Law 15 currently states at least one player from each team:

Forming a ruck

1. A ruck can take place only in the field of play.
2. A ruck is formed when at least one player from each team are in contact, on their feet and over the ball which is on the ground.
3. Players involved in all stages of the ruck must have their heads and shoulders no lower than their hips. Sanction: Free-kick.

Salt firmly rubbed into the wounds as well

Dickson seemingly got himself confused with the rules for looking at a try v looking at foul play. He’s really had a shocking few weeks

I have watched it frame by frame and whatever else about it. He definitely doesn’t hit up into the tackle. He sinks and stays down only coming up well after the hit.

It’s dangerous because he made absolutely no attempt to wrap and leads with his shoulder.

He definitely made the attempt to get low and the Gloucester player slightly dips into contact.

Compared to other hits by Farrell, that was only borderline.

Not much in it, in my opinion. Probably yellow under the current guidelines.