Yep, it is utter nonsense. My seats were Row E 5 rows from the pitch, so you could hear the Saffer hits in 3D which were phenomenal.. but there was nothing in that match that doesn’t exist in every rugby match because no matter how much they talk about it and try to change the direction of the game it is still all about running into contact instead of into space. The Saffers might hit a little harder but there was no great animosity on the pitch you wouldn’t see in every professional match, and afterwards it was all hugs and smiles because they all know each other anyway.
Not far off...
"Once upon a time, rugby was a game of contact and evasion; on Saturday, it was attritional brutality, poisonous stuff, with not a single ounce of love lost."
When exactly??
Sentimental horseshit. Even international matches used to frequently descend into horrendous mudbath-based slugfests.
Here's a clip from the 1963 Ireland v England match:
Rugby Ireland 0 England 0
Stalemate as Ireland and England play out a scoreless draw at Lansdowne Road.www.rte.ie
Love how close the crowd are to the pitch.
It finished nil all....
It is precisely why my youngfella no longer plays it, I had him playing for a few years when he was younger, at a really decent club with all of the provincial supports etc., and still the training was all about contact, contact, bosh bosh bash, and no coaching whatsoever about mobility or space. As much as he liked it, and despite the ability he was showing early, feck that
