09 Oct 2023 08:20:22
Anybody been watching the rugby world cup will see how the game should be run and how it should be witnessed by the paying audience football is a con a rip off and people are being swindled. rugby is super efficient at doing the things var does wrong quite easily correct, it's not rocket science but the people who decide to make the game we love unbearable think they know it all and they are so completely wrong it makes me wonder if I should start following another sport.

1.) 09 Oct 2023
09 Oct 2023 09:41:28
Transparency is the thing rugby gets right. But if the question is their decision making around foul play and how much the damn TMO intervenes, then that’s a whole other argument lol.

2.) 09 Oct 2023
09 Oct 2023 10:37:04
I can't speak for everyone, but personally I don't understand the nuances of rugby enough to know how many good or bad calls are being made so it's difficult to compare.

3.) 09 Oct 2023
09 Oct 2023 16:23:33
Very few “bad” calls are made in rugby because the rule set is so structured and there is much less room for subjectivity. When subjectivity does come in to play such as with dangerous play or endangering an opponent or even control of the ball when scoring a try, for example, there are at least two people we can hear discussing it and how they come to the conclusion.

Take a potential red card challenge in rugby, often the more contentious issue with decisions. The ref and TMO will be looking at various factors, not just the challenge itself. So they will look at the context, whether the fouled player had a sudden change of shape of the body which caused the collision or made it more possible, whether the offender maintained a good form when attempting the tackle such as wrapping the arms for the tackle or dipping to make it sufficiently safe.

These are all factors which would instantly improve decision making in football IMO. Like with curtis’s red. We could hear nothing from anyone talking, the replays showed no context, only one angle and less than half a second preceding the challenge. Once the VAR refers the ref to the screen, the decision has been made unless he has some other significant information that the VAR initially didn’t see. In rugby, unless it is clear cut, it prompts a fresh discussion. The other thing is, to enable the game to move more smoothly a yellow is often issued with a 8 or 10 minute time limit for the TMO to upgrade to red. A yellow means sin bin for 10 minutes so they’re off the field anyway, it’s just whether they stay there.

Rugby and football are worlds apart in respect of respecting the referee and their decisions anyway, so the ref doesn't have to have the same ego in order to have their decisions respected. In football someone always complains so the ref has to start with this armour on the back foot and a chip on their shoulder.

Football could change all that but it would be a lot of work and it seems no one has the appetite.

4.) 10 Oct 2023
10 Oct 2023 00:04:44
Quo - yup the culture difference between Rugby and Football is poles apart. Football is ages away from being able to have refs mic'd up like they are in Rugby. There is no respect on the pitch and unfortunately that kind of behaviour isn't made for TV lol

I sold Rugby a bit short with my earlier reply too. The thing Rugby, Rugby League, NFL and NBA do very well is have clear process for the officials to step through. So whilst I hate how they rule on red cards for high tackles as foul play, it is understandable because there is transparency in the process. And obviously we can hear what they say so you can see them work through the logic to make a decision.

Football is lights years away from that.

5.) 10 Oct 2023
10 Oct 2023 10:45:14
The other thing that rugby does well is warn players not to infringe - so comments like ‘used the ball’ rather than giving yellows straight away for timewasting, or ‘back away’ before giving yellows for complaining to the ref would eliminate stupid unnecessary yellows.

Definitely an improved culture of respect from players would be helpful to getting better outcomes in the game, but that also needs to be balanced with more respectful referees too, rather than refs who seem to be on a hair trigger to give yellows and reds for superficial fouls.