Rugby...

[CDK]

Anybody notice if France and Wales win their next game, high probability of us moving to 8th in the world rankings!

[Frosty]

Taken from the IOL website - make of it what you want.

 

CAPE TOWN – Sunday rugby, triple-headers, regional championships and a new competition name on the rugby calendar are all part of a major makeover for the opening provincial competition of the South African season.

 

The SuperSport Rugby Challenge will kick off on the weekend of 22/23 April and will feature the country’s 14 provincial unions together with Namibia’s Welwitschias in a refreshing 13-week tournament that is set to take rugby in a whole new direction.

 

Professional rugby will also make a starring appearance at well-known community rugby centres for televised rugby festivals. Venues such as the Wolfson Stadium in Port Elizabeth, Bill Jardine Stadium in Johannesburg, and the venue of last year’s club rugby Gold Cup Final, Impala Rugby Club in Rustenburg, will host Challenge matches.

 

As part of the new look, the SuperSport Rugby Challenge will SuperStack matches with as many as three games hosted back-to-back at a single venue – one of which will be a local club rugby match.

 

The competition will also be divided into three regions – north, south and central – with local bragging rights up for grabs.

 

“The SuperSport Rugby Challenge will take professional rugby to places it has never been before – both literally and metaphorically,” said Jurie Roux, SA Rugby CEO.

 

“A new playing day, new venues and new match schedules will set the SuperSport Rugby Challenge apart.

 

“We’re very excited to see the response to moving some of the matches away from the professional venues. The passion for the game burns brightly in our rugby heartlands, and together with SuperSport this is precisely where we will be going to share that excitement.”

 

The tournament will comprise six-pool matches every weekend for 10 weeks, followed by seven knockout games. The 15 teams are divided into three geographical pools, with each playing home and away against the other four teams in their pool over the 10-week period.

 

The top two teams from each Pool, together with the two third-placed teams with the most log points, will qualify for the quarter-finals, which take place on Sunday 2 July, followed by the semi-finals a week later and the final on Sunday 16 July.

 

The SuperSport Rugby Challenge will be officially launched at Bill Jardine Stadium on Tuesday, 11 April when the full details and other innovations will be revealed.

 

“The rugby environment is also changing at a rapid pace and if we don’t continue to innovate, we will be left behind,” said Roux.

 

“The advent of Sunday rugby was unthinkable a few years ago but changing leisure patterns and the success of last year’s Gold Cup semi-finals, which drew a combined crowd of 9,000 people, suggest that Sundays have appeal for modern audiences, especially for families.”

 

Gideon Khobane, SuperSport CEO, said: “Our partnership with SA Rugby in particular goes way beyond international and Vodacom Super Rugby. We see a vital role as partners in contributing to the pipeline of players, with the SuperSport Rugby Challenge a powerful vehicle to contribute towards that.

 

“We fervently hope the SuperSport Rugby Challenge captures the imagination and takes high-level rugby into areas where it has not necessarily been seen before.

 

“We at SuperSport are excited to be bringing the best of community rugby to urban and rural areas. We also look forward to unveiling some exciting broadcast initiatives and want to be a part of something special, something that nurtures the massive wealth of talent out there.”

 

The television spotlight is also set to shine on club rugby, with each Sunday Festival featuring an eagerly anticipated local derby as part of the day’s activities.

 

“When you take rugby back to its roots, club rugby is a vital part of the mix,” said Roux.

 

“Historically there was a vital link between club and provincial rugby that has largely been lost in the professional era. The SuperSport Rugby Challenge will hopefully change that by also showcasing some of SA’s biggest provincial club derbies.

 

“Add in the fact that these days they also double as official Gold Cup qualifying matches, and we have all the ingredients necessary for club rugby to thrive: packed grounds, TV exposure and a pathway to the top for our best amateur players.”

 

 

The SuperSport Rugby Challenge Pools:

 

North: Vodacom Blue Bulls, Xerox Golden Lions, Falcons, Steval Pumas, Namibia Welwitschias.

 

Central: Toyota Free State Cheetahs, Down Touch Griffons, Tafel Lager Griquas, Leopards, Cell C Sharks XV.

 

South: Boland Cavaliers, Border Bulldogs, EP Kings, SWD Eagles, DHL Western Province.

 

SA Rugby

[Frosty]

Anybody notice if France and Wales win their next game, high probability of us moving to 8th in the world rankings!

And England are one victory away from the AB's record of consecutive wins (18) for a top tier nation. 

 

Scotland next weekend (at home on the 11th) and then Ireland (away on the 18th). Ironic that Ireland could stop them, like they did to the AB's.

[Mntboy]

Saw this on FB and found it funny and insightful.

Interestingly this tactic confused the hell out of the Poms during the 1st half in their match against Italy. They had a marked improvement during the 2nd half to win the match. However is this a ruck or a tackle situation? And is the meme correct?

 

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[Frosty]

Saw this on FB and found it funny and insightful.

Interestingly this tactic confused the hell out of the Poms during the 1st half in their match against Italy. They had a marked improvement during the 2nd half to win the match. However is this a ruck or a tackle situation? And is the meme correct?

 

Sent from my SM-J200H using Tapatalk

According to the rules, it's open play.

 

The Italians never tackled the English so there is no ruck (ball on the gound) or maul (ball and players are not on the ground), which means no offside line. As soon as the ruck/maul is formed, the offside line is the back of the last player's feet. The rules state that two opposing players need to be in physical contact before a ruck/maul can be called.

 

It's a loop hole in the laws, which according to the Poms needs to change, whereas a few others outside of Europe are calling it brilliant tactics by the Italians. Not the first time that this has happened.

Edited February 28, 2017 by geraldm24

[flymango]

According to the rules, it's open play.

 

The Italians never tackled the English so there is no ruck (ball on the gound) or maul (ball and players are not on the ground), which means no offside line. As soon as the ruck/maul is formed, the offside line is the back of the last player's feet. The rules state that two opposing players need to be in physical contact before a ruck/maul can be called.

 

It's a loop hole in the laws, which according to the Poms needs to change, whereas a few others outside of Europe are calling it brilliant tactics by the Italians. Not the first time that this has happened.

 That's the genius of Brendan Venter - able to translate a law change into on-field advantage.

 

Not that I like the new law at all.

[Frosty]

 That's the genius of Brendan Venter - able to translate a law change into on-field advantage.

 

Not that I like the new law at all.

I never watched the game, but I did read a number of reports about it after seeing the usual whining from the Poms and their coach & former players.

 

Not sure it's a new law, but rather exploiting the existing laws.

 

Apparently the Italians (players and coaching staff) spoke to Alain Roland Romain Poite before the game to get clarity - Roland said, "I'm a referee, not a coach" implying that they should know better.

 

Eish! got the ref's name wrong.

Edited March 1, 2017 by geraldm24

[flymango]

I never watched the game, but I did read a number of reports about it after seeing the usual whining from the Poms and their coach & former players.

 

Not sure it's a new law, but rather exploiting the existing laws.

 

Apparently the Italians (players and coaching staff) spoke to Alain Roland before the game to get clarity - Roland said, "I'm a referee, not a coach" implying that they should know better.

 

Messy ...

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZjVPIefZs4

[Mntboy]

 

 

According to the rules, it's open play.

 

The Italians never tackled the English so there is no ruck (ball on the gound) or maul (ball and players are not on the ground), which means no offside line. As soon as the ruck/maul is formed, the offside line is the back of the last player's feet. The rules state that two opposing players need to be in physical contact before a ruck/maul can be called.

 

It's a loop hole in the laws, which according to the Poms needs to change, whereas a few others outside of Europe are calling it brilliant tactics by the Italians. Not the first time that this has happened.

Actually it would be fine if a tackle was made and the tackler rolled away before a ruck could be formed as there is no offside in a tackle situation. Offside only comes into play once a ruck has formed. So technically the meme is both correct and incorrect as it is actually refering to a situation in between a tackle and a ruck. I quite like this article that explains what happened and how both the Chiefs and AB'S have used the loophole to their advantage.

 

http://i.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/international/89831868/how-italys-offside-tackle-tactics-caught-england-off-guard-and-how-to-counter-it

 

 

 

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[Mntboy]

That's the genius of Brendan Venter - able to translate a law change into on-field advantage.

 

Not that I like the new law at all.

It was a good use of a loophole in the laws regarding the transition from tackle to ruck situations during play. A clever tactic but one the Italians maybe overused a tad.

 

I for one genuinely hope that the rumours concerning Venter are true as he would be a great asset to the Boks.

 

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[scotty]

Taken from the IOL website - make of it what you want.

The competition will also be divided into three regions – north, south and central – with local bragging rights up for grabs.

 

 

The SuperSport Rugby Challenge Pools:

 

North: Vodacom Blue Bulls, Xerox Golden Lions, Falcons, Steval Pumas, Namibia Welwitschias.

 

Central: Toyota Free State Cheetahs, Down Touch Griffons, Tafel Lager Griquas, Leopards, Cell C Sharks XV.

 

South: Boland Cavaliers, Border Bulldogs, EP Kings, SWD Eagles, DHL Western Province.

 

SA Rugby

Not sure how much WP in the South would want to brag, literately zero competition.   

[Frosty]

Anybody notice if France and Wales win their next game, high probability of us moving to 8th in the world rankings!

After your comment, I did a bit of digging to find this link - explaining how the rankings are calculated. Makes sense that we would remain where we are and the 6-Nations teams have a chance to move up, with the see-saw of points changes during the Rugby Championship.

 

http://www.alloutrugby.co.za/world-rugby-rankings-explanation/

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Can you tell in advance of matches what effect results will have on the rankings?

Yes we can, and this means that those involved with matches can know what is at stake, going into the match.

For each match, there are only five possible outcomes that can affect points exchanges: either side winning by more than 15 points, either side winning by up to 15 points, or a draw.

In each case, we can advise how many rating points each side will gain or lose. This type of preview information may be posted on the site.

Q. Does the system produce accurate and reliable rankings?

Several years’ research went into developing the system, using an extensive database of international matches going back to 1871. All the weightings and values in the system were derived from detailed analysis of the results.

The system’s reliability is assessed in a number of objective ways, including measuring its ‘Predictive Accuracy’. If, over a period of time, the system tends to be good at predicting which side will win each match, then we can be confident that it is presenting an accurate and reliable picture of current strength, and responding appropriately to changes in form.

Q. How do you allow for home advantage?

When calculating points exchanges, the home side is treated as though they are three rating points better than their current rating. This has the effect of ‘handicapping’ the home side as they will tend to pick up fewer points for winning and give away more points for losing. In this way, the advantage of playing at home is cancelled out.

Q. How important is ‘margin of victory’ under the system?

The research suggested that match results are more important than margins of victory in producing accurate rankings. For instance, whether a side wins by 60 points or 100 points against much lower-rated opposition is not a good indicator of future performance.

However, the analysis also indicated that it is significant whether sides win relatively comfortably – with ‘something to spare’ – so a weighting is applied where a side wins a match by more than 15 points.

Q. Do sides earn credit for losing narrowly to higher rated opponents?

No they don’t. In this system, you can’t win points for losing, or lose points for winning. While it may be attractive to award points for heroic defeats, it is less appealing to deduct points from a team that has won. If the close match was an indication of a genuine shift in relative strength, this would be reflected in other results.

Q. Are all matches treated as equally important?

We have added a weighting for matches in the World Cup Finals, to recognise the unique importance and prestige of this event. All other full international matches between member unions, where players earn caps for playing for their country, currently count the same.

Q. Where do new countries start?

As of 1 December 2012, as soon as a country becomes a World Rugby Full Member Union, they are added to World Rugby World Rankings with a rating of 30. The rankings are responsive to results and it is possible to get from the bottom to the top (and vice-versa) in less than 20 matches. Countries will normally have a rating between 0 and 100.

(Prior to December 2012 the following applied for new countries – new full World Rugby Member Unions  start with a rating of 40, and their rating is treated as provisional until they have played 10 matches.)

Q. Will some countries tend to be higher rated at certain times of the year, such as following the Six Nations Championship?

No. As all matches are worth a total of 0 points (as whatever one side gains, the other loses) there is no particular advantage to playing more matches. Under the system, a country has a certain rating, which stays the same until they play again. Although matches often result in points exchanges, relatively ‘predictable’ results lead to very minor changes, and may result in no change to either side’s rating at all.

Q. How important are past achievements in calculating the rankings?

The system is designed to produce an accurate picture of current strength, based on results. The importance of past successes will fade and be superseded by more recent results.

Q. How does the system deal with freak results?

There is a maximum that any side’s rating can move, either up or down, based on one match result, to make sure that the system does not over-react.

Q. What happens if a country does not play for a number of years?

Their rating may be deemed to be ‘dormant’, in which case they will be removed from current ranking lists. However, when they are active again they will pick up their rating from where they left off.

Q. What happens if countries split, or merge?

When countries merge, the new country inherits the highest rating of any of the constituent countries.

When countries split, the new countries will inherit a rating at a fixed level below the rating of the original country.

[Benjamin]

And that's how you score a try to win the game. Cracker Sharks. So good to see enterprising rugby. Not many sides won from 15- 3 in Canberra before. #patricklambiemachine

['Dale]

And that's how you score a try to win the game. Cracker Sharks. So good to see enterprising rugby. Not many sides won from 15- 3 in Canberra before. #patricklambiemachine

Great to hear

Looking forward to the highlights reel ????????

[scotty]

Lions take it 55-36 and bonus point. 

[Benjamin]

OK, so we actually can play rugby properly in this great land. Hope you were watching Alistair. Lions picking up where they left off last year. When Elton playing in these patterns he's got some quite sublime skills