Rugby boring? It’s all in the eye of the beholder
WHY has rugby become boring? How can we make i t more exciting? What laws do we need to change? These are j ust three of the questions that have been asked during the Autumn Nations Cup and, if we were allowed inside rugby clubs at the moment, this is what everyone would be talking about.
Here’s my take on it. Rugby has changed during Covid but I think our perception of rugby has changed, rather than the game itself changing.
We’re looking at it differently mainly because, in general terms, we are looking at it individually. When we’re watching the games on TV during lockdown, we are on our own or, at best, we have family members with us.
We don’t have the buzz of going to a game with friends; meeting for a bite to eat beforehand, maybe a couple of pints and then into the ground to enjoy the match. Or staying in the pub and watching with mates in a warm, welcoming atmosphere.
Whichever way you view the game, there are so many different components that contribute to how enjoyable an experience it’s been. Right now, we have none of those other components that accompany the rugby and create the whole watching experience; none of the stuff that makes the poor games enjoyable because you have other things to savour about being with friends or family.
Take all that out of the equation, strip everything back, and what you have left is the actual 80 minutes of rugby. Rugby in its purest form. It is this, and this alone, that will decide if you have a good or bad experience of watching the game.
Rugby has always had the propensity to be boring. Even the best games have passages of play that aren’t very exciting. The one-yard pick-and-go, the endless re- setting of scrums and, recently, the game of kick-tennis that breaks out. All of these things are quite boring.
But, when you’re at the ground or in the pub with mates, these are the bits you fill in with chat, with banter, with debate, with anything that fills the time before something exciting happens on the field. That’s always been the case and always will.
Go back and watch the Calcutta Cup match at Twickenham in 2019. Remember that one? It finished 38-38, with some incredible tries from both teams and a comeback for the ages from Scotland inspired by Finn Russell.
I guarantee even that game had moments when things were pretty dull, but you would still have been talking about the amazing try that was scored earlier. Which meant the boring bits didn’t even register. It’s back to perception.
The absence of crowds has also contributed to the perception that rugby has become boring. I shared my experience of being at the WalesScotland game in October and it was surreal. It didn’t feel like a Six Nations match. It felt like a training match. I’ve seen comments that players should be able to perform without fans but that’s too simplistic.
Players are human beings and we respond to stimulus in different ways. The stimulus that sportsmen and women get from a crowd is huge. Sometimes it can have a positive effect, other times it can suffocate them and put them off their game.
Believe me, playing in front of 80,000 fans makes you do things you just wouldn’t do if you were playing in front of 80. It’s a natural reaction when your body is driven by adrenaline and messages from your brain, which is your on-board computer trying to process what is happening around you and give you the right direction and ability to make the right decisions.
In the Autumn Nations Cup, none of the games have been hugely exciting and there does seem to be a change in tactics to safety-first rugby by all teams, but probably driven most by England.
They’ve adopted a limited game plan but one that has seen them have comfortable wins against Georgia, Ireland, Wales and, probably, against France in the final tomorrow. They have won with a large amount of kicking, being really physical in the contact and with very powerful and intense defence.
Again, go back and watch how they played against Ireland at Twickenham in the Six Nations and it was exactly like they’re playing now. They kicked a huge amount and were happy for Ireland to have the majority of the ball.
The only difference was that there were 82,000 people at Twickenham creating a wonderful atmosphere cheering the exciting moments and chatting through the boring bits. During Covid, rugby has been a victim of perception over reality.