Much has been written in the first few weeks of Super Rugby about the referee’s and local derbies destroying rugby as we know it. I have to admit I am no Met Uysh, Rugby Guru or Rassie Erasmus when it comes to analysing the finer points of rugby, but what I can tell you is that I have watched 95% of all Super rugby games since 2006 as I have to do it for my job.
Never in the 6 years that I have been doing this, have I been as frustrated as I am in these first few weeks. I have to say at this stage I am not referring to the quality of rugby of the amount of handling mistakes. I am not referring to the way referee’s are blowing the breakdown laws, nor am i blasting the tactics of kick and chase.
I’m talking of the mindset of our players that takes in these local derbies week after week since the expanded Super 15 began.
My comments on it are as follows:
1. As a rugby fan, supporter and follower, I have now reached the point where it does not interest me to see the Bulls take on the Stormers anymore, as in a few weeks I will see it yet again, and in a few weeks after that I will see it yet again. Matching up the RSA teams up with each other week after week after week takes away all the glamour of what a local derby used to have for me.
2. Games are getting slow paced and boring. Since the start of all these local derbies, the pace of the games has changed dramatically. It feels like watching a 5 day cricket game. Nobody cares to watch the first 4 days as the real good stuff only happens in the final day (final 10 minutes in rugby terms). Try to watch all 4 games in a row on Saturday and you will see the same thing repeat itself:
First 20 mins – low or no scores at all…a try in this period is either against the run of play or an intercept/charge down. Average score after this period Team A 6 – 3 Team B
Second 20 mins – the most boring of the lot. This is the part where handling mistakes start to make the rugby a dull affair. Most of the rugby is being played between the 10 yard lines. Average score after this period Team A 10 – 9 Team B
Third 20 mins – Subs will start to come into play and yet again makes for a slow paced game. Teams will ALWAYS opt for kicking to the post when winning a penalty. Average score after this period Team A 15 – 12 Team B
Fourth 20 mins – It is at this point where you get one of two things. You either end up with the most boring rugby game ever (in most cases the Aussie derbies), or you will end up with a very close finish, but yet again the winner is determined by a penalty kick at goal. On two odd occasions this year, we saw on team over powering the other in this final 20 mins which lead to a try scoring exciting final 20 mins. Average score after this period Team A 21 – 20 Team B
3. There are just so much stats that one can look up and dish up at this stage to see if it’s just my imagination and if there is more truth to my frustrating Saturdays in front of the television. You can go and have a look at the amount of penalties, tries, points scored etc and compare the various seasons of Super Rugby from then to now. Here is just one comparison I made which indicates lower match total since the start of the expanded Super 15 compared to the old version of Super 14.
|
2012 – SUPER 15
|
|
2011 – SUPER 15
|
|
2010 – SUPER 14
|
|
P
|
PF
|
BP
|
TOT
|
P
|
PF
|
BP
|
TOT
|
P
|
PF
|
BP
|
TOT
|
|
3
|
89
|
1
|
13
|
3
|
71
|
0
|
12
|
3
|
149
|
3
|
15
|
|
3
|
72
|
1
|
13
|
3
|
68
|
0
|
12
|
3
|
114
|
2
|
14
|
|
2
|
40
|
0
|
8
|
2
|
54
|
0
|
8
|
3
|
128
|
2
|
14
|
|
3
|
91
|
2
|
10
|
2
|
43
|
0
|
8
|
3
|
87
|
2
|
10
|
|
3
|
77
|
1
|
9
|
3
|
92
|
2
|
10
|
3
|
70
|
1
|
9
|
|
3
|
77
|
1
|
9
|
3
|
72
|
2
|
10
|
3
|
66
|
1
|
9
|
|
3
|
58
|
0
|
8
|
3
|
102
|
1
|
9
|
3
|
75
|
0
|
8
|
|
3
|
55
|
1
|
7
|
3
|
73
|
3
|
7
|
3
|
87
|
2
|
6
|
|
3
|
77
|
3
|
7
|
3
|
57
|
3
|
7
|
3
|
63
|
1
|
5
|
|
2
|
9
|
1
|
3
|
3
|
62
|
2
|
6
|
3
|
83
|
1
|
5
|
|
3
|
61
|
1
|
5
|
3
|
61
|
1
|
5
|
3
|
74
|
1
|
5
|
|
2
|
32
|
1
|
1
|
3
|
75
|
1
|
5
|
3
|
96
|
2
|
2
|
|
3
|
35
|
0
|
4
|
2
|
25
|
1
|
1
|
3
|
44
|
2
|
2
|
|
3
|
68
|
3
|
3
|
3
|
67
|
2
|
2
|
3
|
56
|
0
|
0
|
|
3
|
47
|
2
|
2
|
3
|
56
|
1
|
1
|
|
|
|
|
|
Totals after Round 3
|
Totals after Round 3
|
Totals after Round 3
|
|
42
|
888
|
18
|
102
|
42
|
978
|
19
|
103
|
42
|
1192
|
20
|
104
|
|
AVE
|
21.14
|
0.4
|
2.43
|
AVE
|
23.29
|
0.5
|
2.45
|
AVE
|
28.38
|
0.5
|
2.48
|
Points per match per side have dropped by 7 points after Round 3 from 2010 to this season.
My conclusion is this: Local derbies are awesome if you get it in small quantities during the year. Once or twice during Currie Cup seasons is just the correct amount to keep it spicy. The pace of the game gets dramatically reduced to almost the same as a test match, not even talking about the intensity of the game. The endings are almost always nail biting close, BUT my question is this: Is it worth it watching 70 mins of boring, stale rugby just to end up with 10 mins of fun right at the end??
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