Davis on sport
Sports commentator Miles Davis reflects on how rugby is played now compared to days past.
The tournament bearing his name is well under way but I’m sure William Webb Ellis is turning in his grave as he witnesses many parts of the modern game. (Coincidentally he is buried in the south of France, so is close to the action.)
For starters, he will feel betrayed that a game he helped inspire by picking up the ball rather than kicking it now contains almost as much kicking as football.
In the good old days the only kicking was for touch to gain some territory or the odd wipers kick to pierce or stretch a solid defence. Today’s constant box kicks hoping for the opposition to make a mistake, often turn the contest into a game of force-back rather than rugby. Ok for a couple of kids at the local park but not on the international stage. And that’s just the start of it.
Lineouts. There may be those who argue the old lineouts were a mess, but they relied on the individual athleticism of the jumper to secure the ball. All the lifting today is more reminiscent of ballet. Imagine the reaction of the great Pinetree should a couple of his team-mates grab hold of him and hoist him aloft.
Rucks. The amount of penalties ruled at the breakdown slows the game down and confuses most of the audience. What was wrong with letting both sets of forwards sort out who was going to win the ball and leaving the referee to keep his eyes on the backs in case they should pass it forward.
The cards. Surely I’m not the only one exasperated by the number of cards being dished out? Fine for deliberate foul play but too often accidental collisions end up in sendings off and suspensions. It’s a contact game, for heaven’s sake.
Finally, the biggest blight on the game, the TMO. Letting the referee make decisions and having to abide by them was character building. Now it’s like one parent making a decision and the kid going to the other one to get a different verdict. “Please Mummy look at the replay, that mean man tackled me high.’’ The rugby unions and referees no longer control the game, television does and the life lessons that sport used to teach us are going out the window.
And therein lies the root of the problem. All these changes are down to broadcasters and the money they inject into the game. It has given them too much influence, with administrators bending over backwards to please them and changing rules to meet the demands of their paymasters. But their subservience hasn’t made it a better game.
Now I may well be a dinosaur but, for me, rugby was a contest for possession. A battle of attrition. A real test of your mettle. Kindly stick your 96-17 where the sun doesn’t shine and give me a good old 6-3 and players leaving the park with the scars of battle all down their backs.■ Contact Miles Davis on Facebook and X at Milesdavislive.
Letting the referee make decisions and having to abide by them was character building. Now it’s like one parent making a decision and the kid going to the other one to get a different verdict.