Alex Massie Alex Massie

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot* (I think)

Rugby World Cup blogging: well, that was a disappointing weekend wasn’t it? For the second tournament in a row both semi-finals went the way I didn’t want them so. Such is life. So England vs South Africa it is.

Both semi-finals demonstrated that it is easier to win games form a defensive posture than was the case even four years ago. The balance between defence and attack, out of kilter for much of the last decade, has been restored. One could add France’s victory over New Zealand and Scotland’s at home to England in 2006 as other examples of this trend. On the whole this is healthy for the game. But in each of these four games, the side that enjoyed the majority of possession and territory failed to take advantage of their chances and, in this respect at least, forfeited their right to victory.

The reason for this change, I think, is that referees have at long last been told to allow a contest for possession at the tackle. For a spell it seemed to be assumed that the side taking the ball into contact had an automatic right to retain possession and the if the defending side filched the ball the presumption was that they had done so illegally. Happily that has changed. Rugby is supposed to be a physical battle for possession and the new attitude at the breakdown has been a great step forward.

It’s still not perfect of course.While permitting defending sides to slow the ball down is one thing, it’s quite another to have entirely removed classical rucking from the game. Ruck ball should be quick ball and it can be thrilling to watch. If that means players slumped on the wrong side receive a shoeing then so be it.

Already a subscriber? Log in

Keep reading with a free trial

Subscribe and get your first month of online and app access for free. After that it’s just £1 a week.

There’s no commitment, you can cancel any time.

Or

Unlock more articles

REGISTER

Comments

Don't miss out

Join the conversation with other Spectator readers. Subscribe to leave a comment.

Already a subscriber? Log in