McCaw warns Crusaders of ‘Canes threat
in a game like Sevens, it’s rather brutal that one mistake can result in teams having to wait another four years to stake a claim for the title.
World Rugby chief executive Brett Gosper, however, believes that the “brutal” nature of the 2018 tournament added to the excitement.
“It played into the drama of the tournament,” Gosper said.
“We’re getting a lot of positive feedback from fans about the drama of knockout. It makes each game exciting. It can be brutal for teams, but sport’s brutal.”
Yeah, sport’s brutal. But other than a few added thrills due to the knowledge that your team – whether seeded 14th or first – could be competing for the Bowl after one defeat, what did the straight knockout format add? How did it improve the World Cup?
Any change as big as that is supposed to be done with the aim of improving the sporting event, and if it was simply aimed at satisfying American fans, then hopefully we don’t see this format in 2022.
As we’ve often seen in the World Sevens Series, teams sometimes need a game to get going, so there’s not much sense in playing one game a day and then getting axed if that one game doesn’t go your way.
Also, the Blitzboks – who secured the bronze medal – could easily have fallen out on Friday night seeing that their first game of the tournament was against Ireland – who had momentum and some confidence after beating Chile earlier in the day (seeing that the Irish were seeded 16th and the Blitzboks first, it might seem highly unlikely, but as Blitzbok coach Neil Powell said ahead of the tournament – no team can be underestimated).
The traditional format allows some room for a hiccup or two in the first game, and then you have two more outings to make up for that first one and shift into gear. And so far, it’s worked, so why change it now?
Hopefully World Rugby revert to the tried-and-trusted format for the 2022 World Cup. And maybe also consider changing the official name from “Rugby World Cup Sevens” to “Sevens World Cup” or “Rugby Sevens World Cup”.
There’s not much wrong with the official name, other than the fact that it kind of makes Sevens sound like some Fifteens subsidiary. And I think it’s safe to say that the game of Sevens has proven to be more than just a second-class variant of rugby union.
Sticking to World Cup formats that work will, of course, also help a lot. KEEPING THE penalty count down and avoiding basic mistakes will be crucial for the Canterbury Crusaders’ hopes of winning their Super Rugby semi-final against the Wellington Hurricanes, according to former All Blacks captain Richie McCaw.
The champion Crusaders host the Hurricanes in Christchurch on Saturday in an all-New Zealand clash, with the winners to face either South Africa’s Lions or the Sydney-based New South Wales Waratahs in the August 4 final.
McCaw, who retired from all rugby after leading the All Blacks to their third World Cup win in 2015, watched the Crusaders beat the Sharks 40-10 in the quarter-finals and said the match had shown areas his old side must improve upon.
“It’s the little mistakes and the back-toback penalties you know that are allowing momentum to go against you,” the former Crusaders skipper told TVNZ.
“It can just be one or two things like that and you can go from being on the front foot to all of a sudden, with the guys the Hurricanes have got, being under pressure and it can cost you seven points.
“You saw that against the Sharks; the first 20 minutes was all Crusaders and then a couple of mistakes and it was back to an arm wrestle for a while.
“If they can keep those to a minimum, they’ve definitely got the skill, and with how they’re doing things, they’ll be good enough as well.”
The 37-year-old McCaw retired after 148 Test caps and more than 140 appearances for the Crusaders, where he won four Super Rugby titles.
He said he still had a slight urge to get out on the field when watching them play.
“There’s a little bit (of feeling) that sits there, but you get past that and I just enjoy seeing the guys carry on and keeping the Crusaders top of the list,” the three-time World Player of the Year said. — Reuters