Six Nations 2023 - Ireland v France Match Thread, Sat 11th Feb, KO 2:15PM - TV: RTÉ2, ITV, France2

Rugby is played on your feet.

Keeping the ball moving is central to how Ireland play.

Taking contact & going to ground seems an odd way to keep the ball moving. It's called the breakdown because that's exactly what it is, a breakdown.

Ball carriers is tackled & brought to ground. First team mate arrives & crouches over his prostrate colleague, legally obstructing the opposition. Next team mate arrives to 'clear out' any opposition player daring to 'jackal' the ball. After a while SH takes ball & passes it, usually after the opposition are ready, and off we go again to the next 'breakdown'.

Is this rugby ?

Welsh? Humble? Hmmm. Scottish its hard to say, they don't win enough.

Forward based play often involves pods and recycling through the breakdown. Munster used it to great effect for many years and it's still a big part of the game whether we enjoy to or not, everyone does not to one degree or another. When a front rower takes the ball off 9 and tries to break the line through sheer force and momentum they are going to drop their head to make a strip more difficult and so that when they do go to ground they have a better chance of getting the ball back cleanly and quickly, that's the case even if foot work get's them past the first tackler. You don't get running rugby against a well organised defense so this kind of play is designed to stress defenses and force them out of shape, the faster the recycle the quicker defenses lose their shape and the faster we get back play and line breaks. That part of the game is not going away.

It ties in defenders. Also it doesn’t always lead to breakdowns with slow recycles. Watch any of Leinsters tap and goes this season.

And?

It doesn't warrant arrogance. We were on our day just as good as them and are now levels ahead. And that is nt anything to be arrogant about either.

Funny you should ask that because rugby is 200 years old this year.

However now my pedant role is done I share some of your concerns. None of us have any idea what rugby (or anything!) will be like in 2123, but in the slightly more foreseeable future...let's say 2050... then I think there is a chance that rugby will look very different to how it does today. That's not necessarily because of the entertainment factor (the competition structure of the sport may change due to that), but because of injuries and especially brain injuries.

Cheers.

My chronologist is on two week's holidays or maybe a fortnight, I'm not sure.

The inevitable financial cost of even successfully defending PI claims will promote change. Any successful claims could financially crush defendant bodies.

By banning it? I certainly don’t have the answers but rugby is going to have to think outside the box to sort out its problems in this area.

I'm not sure I understand the point you're trying to make. Are you saying that negative play and tactics is something that has only come into the game recently?

Of course not. Rugby as played now is faster and generally more skilful than it's ever been.

But players seeking contact create breakdowns which have to be defended and managed which allows defences to reset & it's then rinse and repeat until the ball ends up.in the hands of a player who has the skill to avoid his immediate opponent (the 'mis match'), creates a line break and a scoring opportunity.

Naturally, if a tackle is successful, the ball carrier must release and a turnover opportunity occurs. Opensides patrol behind the defensive line, tackling only where absolutely necessary in order to jackal.

Ball carriers run at opensides in order to minimise the jackal threat.

It has become systematic for it's own sake, a game fit for statisticians.

Yeah it's often referred to as "earning the right to go wide". You want to tie in as many defenders as possible to then be able to exploit the space created. It's not new.

And it's not just opensides that ar ed looking to pinch the ball these days. I haven't seen the stats but I'd be surprised if VDF was in the top 5 in the Irish team for turnovers won.