Taking a Step Back

While perusing amazon.com the other day and attempting to find some good rugby books, I stumbled across a book called the cult of the amateur; how today’s internet is killing our culture by Andrew Keen. I was intrigued by the title so I decided to read some excerpts from it. While the ideas and opinions presented do not relate specifically to rugby, the text highlights some important questions about the reach, accuracy, and goals of a blog like The Rugby Pitch.

The basic premise of the book is that internet sites with functions such as blogging, video posting, and social networking are creating an atmosphere where authentic, traditional forms of media are being abandoned in favor of “uninformed political commentary...unseemly home videos,” and “unreadable poems, reviews, essays, and novels” (Keen 3). In other words he is saying that most of the things placed on the web are useless, unjustified, and meaningless. He also claims that “Blogs have become so dizzingly infinite that they’ve undermined our sense of what is true and what is false” (3), drawing attention to the numerous blogs posted on sites such as blogspot.com. Lastly, he calls internet users “monkeys” (2), which in my opinion is simply rude.

While it may be true that blogs are often times uninformed and meaningless, Keen does not take into account that many blogs fail for just these reasons. Keen’s assertion that people (or monkeys, rather) read anything placed before them is unfounded. People in general do not read what does not interest them, bar schoolchildren and lawyers. Also, I speak from training and personal experience in this blog. If I were to, say, lie about who won the World Cup, my legitimacy as an author would be crushed. Usually if a site does not have merit, it will fall by the wayside while others take its place in the public realm.

Keen also fails to take blogs such as this one into account when discussing the goals of creating an internet-persona. He says, in relation to social networking sites, that “they claim to be all about ‘social networking’ with others, but in reality they exist so that we can advertise ourselves” (7). The Rugby Pitch does not sell things, and does not make any money, and is not interested in advertising. A part of a network of other blogs, it is on the contrary devoted to the progression of rugby union. It says so in the About box to the right. It’s right there.

Lastly, Keen forgets that free self-help or contemplative literature has little or no place in traditional media. In the United States media for instance, rugby is not a popular sport. In fact, the Rugby World Cup received almost no attention by media sources, who sparingly offered it on pay-per-view. Places like blogspot.com are one of the few places where internet users can come and find legitimate, free information on foreign sports like rugby.

While Keen’s book is an interesting read, I would suggest taking it in with a bit of criticism. I think that on many levels he just needs to read some more blogs of varying types, although his attitude could definitely be fixed with some good rugby.

SOUTH AFRICA ARE THE NEW WORLD CUP CHAMPIONS!

It was a brilliant match.
Breakdown of rankings is as follows:

First Place: South Africa
Second Place: England
Third Place: Argentina
Fourth Place: France

And the polls called it first.

That is all.

A Controversy of Style

Within the last decade there has been an ongoing argument between teams that play "good" rugby and "bad" rugby. This controversy is directly related to teams' usage of their forwards and backs.

"Good" rugby is the classical rugby style that involves more finesse among the backs and a great fitness level for players. The emphasis is on ball control and strategy. Forwards are used to retain the ball while backs complete offensive moves.

"Bad" rugby is a recent development within the sport calling for larger players that do not have as much fitness and do not play smartly, simply running into the opposing team and being as brutal as they can. Forwards are used as the main offense, crashing the ball constantly. This type of rugby, ironically, leads to fewer points as players cannot run and pass well enough to score tries and are forced to kick drop-goals for points.

This is not to say that rugby players may not be large and strong, but rather that they should have a firm commitment to fundamentals such as passing and running.

Going into the finals the South Africa has used the qualities of "good" rugby while England have been guilty of subscribing to "bad" rugby techniques. Springbok Coach Eddie Jones says, "'At the end of the day I love rugby, and I don't particularly like the way it's been played over the last three or four years". Sports writer Wynne Gray of the New Zealand Herald says that Jones' is critical of "Bash, grunt and kick rugby" because it has not enhanced the sports' image.

Others, including the French national team, recently knocked out of the tournament say that they want South Africa to win "because their style of play is more spectacular than England. " As another sports writer for the Herald writes of the French players,

"They believe a South African win is vital for the health of the sport in general, and the World Cup in particular, with the English side having come under fire for their reliance on force rather than flair."

Rugby is a sport of dominance, but it is also a sport of friendship. Teams will generally play hard against each other and then hold social events after the games. If teams continue to use "bad" rugby techniques, however, this amity may disappear. Lets play good rugby and keep it a sport "played by gentlemen".

Which Position Will You Play?

In the game of rugby there are a myriad of different positions any given player may play. The formal names for the two different groups of players, as mentioned below, are forwards and backs. These comprise the dichotomy of player types, yet rugby triumphs in the fact that it requires all to be familiar with every position.

If you want to find where you are best you should first try to work at one position, then quickly move on and sample as many others as you can so you are knowledgeable and proficient in them all. For a full listing of rugby positions go to Rugby Union Positions on Wikipedia.

The forwards in a game of rugby are the big men of the game, albeit they do not all have to be the same size. Really, and size of person can be a forward (or a back), as long as they are fit. The props are short, extremely stocky players. The hooker is a player that must have very quick legs and good motor skills so they can kick the ball backwards with their feet during scrums. Tall players can be involved as well. When the ball is thrown back into bounds forwards lift a line-out jumper (usually a lock). The strongest forwards are usually the locks, while the fastest forwards can be flankers or 8-men.

Backs also have room for different types of players. The scrum-half and fly-half must think on their feet and be able to pass the ball long distances quickly, while the wings and full-back need to run quickly and kick well. Lastly, the centers should have the ability to run straight into tackles and knock players over with their speed and power.

If you are willing to work hard, Rugby has a place for you. It is a particular joy to be enveloped in the sport of rugby because every team has such a sense of camaraderie. Everyone must help out to secure a win--and you never know when you will have to play someone else's position.

The Final is Nigh

This weekend could prove to be one of the finest of the decade for rugby players and fans alike. On Friday, October 19th France and Argentina compete in the consolation match for third place. Then, on Saturday England and South Africa showdown in a monumental battle for the World Cup championship.

Tensions are high. Not many people in the rugby community would have predicted that England, ranked only 6th coming into the world cup, would have made the championship. English player Jonny Wilkinson has, for his second world cup shown himself to be the world's best goal kicker, scoring point after triumphant point against the opposition (on a side note, Jonny will also become the highest world cup point scorer if he makes just five points in the next game). South Africa, ranked 3rd in the preliminaries have played consistently and deserve to be where they are at. The crucial points in the game will be whether South Africa's strong forward pack will be able to oust the heavy English defense, and whether Jonny will be able to overcome the immense pressures the Springboks (South Africa) will present to him.

More than the pressures of the game and the what the teams stand to gain from their performances though, the World Cup final should help bring rugby players and fans together like never before--in front of their televisions. As Stuart Kemp and Georg Szalai of The Hollywood Reporter write,

"In a statistic that might surprise people outside traditional rugby hotbeds, the Cup's worldwide TV audience exceeded 3 billion four years ago. Although shy of the most recent soccer World Cup (30 billion for all matches) and Summer Olympics (4 billion), it's still No. 3 on the list, For perspective, the Super Bowl in February drew about 100 million global viewers (with 93 million in the U.S.)."

With this kind of viewer-ship one may ask why this tournament is largely unheard of in America? If the above excerpt is valid, then this may not be the case for long. Other sports and busy commitments are not a valid excuse for not watching this once-every-four years tournament.

Rugby is a social game, and as such we should try to spread not only the sport, but also the camaraderie associated with it. I encourage you all to watch the game this weekend. If you look at my post entitled Rugby World Cup you can learn how to watch games online for free. What I am suggesting then, is completely free. Invite some friends over, watch the game. Have a good time. Learn Rugby.

The game will be held on Saturday, at 8:00pm English time and 3:00pm US Eastern time. If you don't know how to convert just go to the Time Zone Converter. Also, to buy a jersey or other paraphernalia simply follow the link to the right for World Rugby Shop. Get fired up.

Will South Africa be the second team in history to hold two World Cup titles, or will England do the same and better to become back-to-back two time champions? Also, voice your opinion by voting to the right. I offer you the tools to watch the game: take advantage of them.

Go England. Go South Africa. Go Rugby.

Match Lengths and Game flow

I just found a really good compilation of all the Rugby Union rules. It's called the BBC Sport Academy and not only has a full collection of Rugby laws, but also showcases places to buy equipment and how to effectively train for the sport.

In continuing my discussion of rugby game-play, this week I will write about match lengths and game flow.

A typical match in rugby lasts 90 minutes and is divided into two 40 minute halves, with a maximum of 10 minutes for halftime. Teams are not given time-outs, so the only times players can stop and rest during the game are when the referee calls penalties or trys, players are injured, or at the half. Sometimes at the amateur level referees may observe "water-breaks" during the game or simply shorten the half-lengths depending on weather conditions and the teams fitness levels. Also, because the clock is constantly running games may be given injury time if a given injury causes a lengthy delay.

The aspect of time is one that makes rugby unique in that the game changes based on who is playing. A middle school team, for instance may only play 20 minute halves with frequent water breaks if it is a hot day, while a college level team may only take the half-time break, and even be given more time based on injury time. The malleability of the game to suit the players is consistent with the rugby ethos and places emphasis on those playing and not on the rules itself. Sports such as American Football rely heavily upon rules to dictate the length of the game while rugby actually incorporates the intent and ability of the players into refereed games.

Along with game length, other areas of play change based on player conditions. The scrum may be "uncontested", meaning players do not push very hard when over the ball, or the size of the scrum may be reduced if players have only been recently introduced to the game. These facets markets the game to a much wider audience than other contact sports and a typical person may play the game in some respect from ages 6 to 60. Everyone can be involved.

These aspects of play, however inviting to the masses, may also be a reason rugby has not been widely accepted in the United States; no commercial time because there are no breaks and a lack of stringency with respect to time do not make for an easily marketable television show.

Kick-off, Kicking, and Ball Movement

For the next couple of weeks I will be writing about different aspects of rugby game-play. Some topics I will cover include kicking and ball movement, game lengths and overtime rules, penalties and red and yellow cards, and forward and back positions. But first, some terms you should know:
Forwards: Large, bulky players that make most of the tackles and follow the ball. The two opposing forward "packs" center on the ball for most of the game.
Backs: Fast players that run the ball into open space. They form a tail behind the forwards during play so that the ball may be passed out quickly.
Scrum: Used to describe the sequence of play where opposing forwards push over the ball to gain possession.
Ruck: After a tackle players do this by forming a temporary "scrum" over the ball.
Line-out: Used to describe throwing the ball back into bounds.
Maul: When players stay on their feet and fight over the ball by trying to "rip" it out of opposing players hands.

Every rugby game must start with a kick-off. The team kicking off will "drop-kick" the ball by letting the ball fall to the ground, then kicking it when it bounces. This is one of the hardest skills for rugby players to develop, but it is very useful because drop-kicks are required for many situations. Teams vary in how they line up for a kick-off, with some teams choosing to place their largest players in the back so they may run onto the ball, and some placing them in the front so they can take short kick-offs. Most teams opt to place their forwards in position to catch the ball and line them up in the positions they would normally be in during a scrum.

Kicking the ball is a very strategic move in rugby. Players may kick at any time of the game, and kicks do not have to be drop-kicks. Teams typically kick when they are looking to gain field position. It is not uncommon to see teams that begin the game with a series of back-and-forth kicks, ending when one team kicks the ball out of bounds.

Passing the ball is another difficult concept for new players. The ball may only travel backwards, contrary to football, where the ball may travel forward or backward.

Players score by either drop-kicking a ball into the opposing team's goal posts or touching the ball down in the opposing team's goal zone.

Notable Rugby Blogs

Recently I've been looking at other rugby blogs for inspiration and have found a few notable writers and web-sites. The set of links titled "Other Rugby Blogs" in the right-hand column showcases a few of these sites. I encourage you to look at them if you are interested in learning more about the game. About: Rugby, The Rugby Blog, and both the World Cup blogs are particularly good for World Cup commentary while USA Rugby Blog offers some an analysis on the future of rugby in the United States. One of the most interesting blog I have come across so far has been the Rugby Tips blog, written by Scott Donaldson.

Rugby Tips blends several aspects of rugby and blogging that highlight some powerful elements of both activities. Although some things about the site are not user-friendly, overall the blog is informative and provocative for the reader.

Donaldson does a very good job of making his posts meaningful in that they ask questions to the reader and the greater rugby world while simultaneously offering forth suggestions about the game and its implementation. For instance, the recent post titled Lets Raise the Stakes Between Tournaments asks why teams like England and France don't "play the way they did last night, all the time?" Donaldson then suggests that international matches during the regular year should be deciding factors in determining which pools teams are divided into for the World Cup. This, he reasons, would increase competitiveness and interest in the game through rivalry because the matches would actually have an effect on World Cup pool placement.

Rugby Tips is also humorous in a non-biting way, which truly reflects the rugby ethos. When describing New Zealand's recent loss to the French national team, Donaldson imagines the Kiwis (Residents of New Zealand) "searching for both answers and new hobbies with cross stitch, poetry and playing bridge as the safest options" since they no longer have a team in the World Cup for which they may cheer. At first this may seem scathing, but for Donaldson, who currently resides in Wellington NZ, it can be seen as nothing more than a chide to his neighbors (I too am guilty of chiding a few of my Kiwi friends).

The blog also exhibits some largely unexplored uses of blogs in its use of audio commentary on rugby. Readers can learn about the New Zealand national team, the All Blacks, while perusing the articles.

Some flaws in the blog do exist in the poor formatting of the page. The initial view of the blog is somewhat uninviting to readers, probably turning at least a few prospectives away.

Once again, I encourage you all to explore the vast world of rugby by using the links to the right. If you would like to share your favorite rugby web-site or blog, post a comment.