My love for rugby continues to intensify as the rugby season hits the mark.
This year after rugby fans witnessed Super Rugby Aotearoa and Super Rugby Australia they were thrilled and entertained by the Trans-Tasman Super Rugby battles between the New Zealand and Australian sides.
After failing to win Super Rugby Aotearoa, the Auckland Blues, much to their passionate and ardent fans joy and delight, added a trophy to their cabinet after the epic win in 2003.
The success of the Trans-Tasman battle paved the way for the July international Tests. The world witnessed the back-to-back matches between Samoa and the NZ Maori and the All Blacks demolishing Tonga 102-0.
The match between Tonga and Samoa lived up to expectations although Samoa had the upper hand.
Last week at Forsyth Barr in Dunedin, Fiji challenged the All Blacks, only to lose out 57-23 in the second spell.
Australia and France played each other twice, as both teams have won one and lost one battle.
England walloped Canada, while Ireland survived the gallant fight-back from the Cherry Blossoms. Tonight in Hamilton, Fiji will meet the All Blacks for the first time back-to-back, while Samoa will come head-to-head against Tonga.
After these international Tests, fans will switch their attention to the Rugby Championship which is going to welcome Rugby World Cup champions, the Springboks, back to the competition.
The interesting part is that World Rugby is going to trial new laws in all international competitions in an attempt to reduce injuries.
While World Rugby is going to trial these laws, one wonders the impact it would have on Pacific Island rugby nations and Pacific Islanders who are playing overseas. Fans, who watched Super Rugby this season, would have noted that two of these laws have already been trialed.
While the goal-line drop out rule was seen in Super Rugby Aotearoa and Trans-Tasman Super Rugby, the 50m line to 22m line kick was used in Super Rugby AU. The argument by World Rugby is that both these laws have the potential to increase space and decrease defensive line speed.
The 50:22 laws, for instance, is intended to create space via a tactical choice for players to drop out of the defensive line in order to prevent their opponents from kicking for touch, thus reducing the impact of defensive line speed.
The kicking law changes are also designed to change the fundamental shape of rugby matches, repeating the theme of multiple defensive lines or more defenders drifting around backfield.
The so-called 50:22 law is modeled on rugby league’s 40:20 rules and would give the lineout feed to a team who can find touch directly inside their opponents 22 from inside their own half.
While some fans have supported this measure, feeling that it would lead to smarter kicking, others are concerned that it would turn the game into a series of long kicks followed by rolling mauls.
The rule change will sap rugby of much of its physicality. World Rugby has attempted to paint this measure in attempts to open up the game and make it more exciting, but both are intended to reduce collisions between players, thereby limiting injuries to the head, neck and spinal column.
If this measure is introduced into top level rugby the game will be safer, but it will also be completely unrecognisable from the sport fans have grown to love.
The goal-line drop-out, on the other hand, is intended to reduce the number of scrums, reward good defence, encourage counter-attacking and increase the rate of ball in play. This is operational in Trans-Tasman Super Rugby in which the Drua will be taking part in next year.
Hence, that this law is in operational, it is imperative that our local boys, who have an opportunity to don the Fijian Drua jumper, be drilled about the new law so that it takes them minimal time to grasp the new law when they feature in the prolific competition next year.
However, what draws my attention is the set of three laws that have been proposed in a bid to reduce injury risk at the breakdown. These welfare-focused breakdown law amendments are approved for global trial. The first one is pre-bound pods of players.
Outlawing the practice of pods of three or more players being pre-bound prior to receiving the ball will result in a penalty kick.
Furthermore, there is a bid to sanction the lower limb clear-out. This means that players who target/drop their weight onto the limbs of the tackler will be penalised.
The final one is tightening law relating to latching. This means that one-player latch could be permitted, but the same player has the same responsibilities as a first arriving player, that is, he must stay on feet, enter through the gate and not fall to floor, as the sanction will be a penalty kick.
Therefore, after a global trial period of at least one year, laws that are deemed successful in meeting the objective of increasing safety, while enhancing the spectacle, is set to be tabled for World Rugby, mostly ruled by Tier One nations, to determine whether they are adopted into law at its May 2022 meeting, a full year ahead of the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.
There will be a lot of debate on these new laws. Rugby has evolved from an admittedly violent past and in its current form is almost unrecognisable from the game played just a few decades ago.
If anything like the infamous battle of Nantes, where famous player Buck Shelford lost four teeth and was forced off the field with a concussion in the second half, happened today there would be an inquest.
Rugby has removed rucking, dump tackles, neck roll clean outs, regulated the scrum to some degree and made numerous law changes to make the game safer, and it is, but not safe enough for some.
I’m pretty sure the amendments will affect our Pacific Islanders, who are more into the physical aspect of the game.
Nonetheless, time will tell the real intentions of the amendments.
But for now, it’s time to enjoy the cracker between the All Blacks and the Flying Fijians. On a lighter note, it’s going to be hard for me, as my team faces my country.
I have been an ardent fan of the All Blacks since the ‘90s, and I have witnessed the team lose the 1995, 1999, 2003 and 2007 RWCs, but I did not give up and yes, I have been rewarded with two RWC 15s titles.
Finally, apart from the historic Test, my team – Balgovind Rd Humanitarian and Charity – was involved in the distribution of 25 more food packs yesterday, taking our tally to 416 food packs worth $50, amounting to $20,800 thanks to our generous donors.
While distributing the food packs, I made sure I asked the recipients about their feelings for tonight’s cracker, and although they signaled out any chance of an upset, they did say that Fiji would give the All Blacks a tough time.
Phase nine of the distribution was made possible thanks to the generosity of the following donors- Mr Narain and Pranita Sharma (retired teachers), Abikash Anul Prasad (Dilkusha Methodist), Ravikash Chandra (Auckland), Chandra Pal Gupta (Canada), Rikashni Prasad (former student- Savusavu Secondary School), Mrs Ashvi and Sudesh Wilson (Australia), Mohammed Shazil (former school teacher, now residing in NZ), Ashmin Nisha (former student- Nadogo Secondary School, now residing in NZ), Reshme Lata Arya (Wellington, NZ) and Mr Sanjalesh and Ranjana Prasad (US).
These donors are whole-heartedly acknowledged for their tremendous support. Tonight, thanks to Sky Pacific and FBC, fans will witness the mouth-watering clash between the Flying Fijians and the super powers of rugby – the All Blacks.
Wishing Fiji all the best!
- RAJNESH LINGAM is the head of department of language at Nabua Secondary School. He is also a contributor to this newspaper. The views expressed are his and not of this newspaper or his employer
