The Tri-Nations of 2010 is halfway though and the biggest talking point, apart from the All Blacks dominating all comers, has been that of the refereeing. More specifically – the amount of yellow cards being issued.

Now this has no reflection on rugby becoming a dirtier, harder game. Quite the contrary, the issuing of yellow cards is becoming a feature of every match as professional fouls are not being tolerated and the slightest thing resembling a ‘tip tackle’ will see you spending ten minutes on the sideline.

New rugby commandment - Thou shalt not lift a player off the ground - ever!

With players like Richie McCaw and David Pocock who often take the ‘fetcher’ role too far, I’m all behind players getting sin binned for cynical acts which are executed purely to hinder the opposition illegally. The problem arises however over all this ‘tip’ or ‘spear’ tackle bollocks.

Now I just want to say that back in the late 90’s when I was in high school, the ‘dump tackle’ as we knew it, was not just encouraged, but we practiced it. Every now and again you would get the timing spot on when an over confident opposition player (usually from Bishops) ran full tilt at you, and with a steady base and strong technique you would get him airborne and drive him to the turf. No words needed –  if you were flat on your back (probably winded) consider yourself owned.

That-a-boy.

Rugby is a contact sport and being physically stronger than your opposition and showing him this is an important part of the game. But then like everything in life that is fun and/or interesting, someone said you couldn’t do it anymore. Okay maybe someone broke a neck here or there, but the same has happened in scrums and they still happen…

Suddenly ‘spear tackling’ became very taboo and it was banned and deemed a very serious offence. This was on the grounds that it was seen too dangerous for a player to lift another player into the air and drive them into the ground head first. Okay fair enough, when put that way, it may seem a bit hard.

Going too far - usually par for the course in rugby league.

What grates my arse now though is that any tackle where a guy is lifted off the floor is deemed ‘dangerous’. Bullshit that is. Sometimes when you make a big strong hit on a guy who runs in with a body position asking for trouble, the result will be him going a bit skyward. Jean de Villiers was banned for two weeks for a ‘tip tackle’ on Rene Ranger which was nothing other than the result of good technique and strong leg work putting a stop to his oppositions advances.

Jacque Fourie got a 4 week ban for a tackle even more innocent than that and Quade Cooper got a two week ban in the same game for the same reason. Cooper’s was probably the only one worth a yellow card though as he did try drive Morne Steyn to the ground head first, but I’m just nit picking now.

So where is this all going? Well if you know your opposition will get yellow carded the moment your legs go up in the air in a tackle, it is only a matter of time that players will start working the system and taking a leaf out of the footballers book of play acting. That has no place in rugby and the powers that be must be conscious of this. Sure nobody wants to see serious injury, but becoming anal about players getting hurt is messing up rugby.

Make a good hit and the other guy may go into the air - deal with it.

Rucking or ‘mountaineering’ was taken out of the game. This gave cheats full licence to lie all over the ball on the wrong side and thus hindering the attacking team. Take all the venom out of tackling and then suddenly rugby loses its teeth. While we are at we might as well ban the Haka as that is a war dance where the All Blacks gesticulate to their opponents that they are going to slits their throats! if guys get four week bans for tackling a guy backwards then surely taunting your opponents with mass violence should carry a much tougher sentence…

Stop that - that looks far too dangerous for rugby.

I would just love to see a yellow card being given for a proper offense for a change. Like an Uli Schmidt type punch in the ruck, a late Butch James-ish shoulder charge or a flying Auckland arm as carried out by the invincible Auckland Blues players of the mid 90’s. I’m not encouraging dirty play, but the last thing you want to see is rugby becoming like football.

Proper rough stuff - not what it used to be.

Tags: , , ,