The game on the field...

[Peter]

For me the sikly skills of Lockyer and Slater and others are too good to miss.  We don't have that slickness atm.  Too many centres that aren't centres and so on.  the power game still rules, and while referees allow slowing down tactics they will always rule.

SL with rules properly applied could be so much faster with the emphasis on fast backs and quick moves. Or am I dwelling in the past?

I still believe that Alex Murphy would have played ducks and drakes with the rush defence, and given ten meters to play with - well !

And a few others  -- David Topliss, Roger Millward, Andy Gregory to name but three.

[ozviking]

And a few others  -- David Topliss, Roger Millward, Andy Gregory to name but three.

And that, gentlemen, has hit the nail on the head for me.

There's too much emphasis on game plans and not enough on using your nowse.

The old style players would kill it these days by breaking the game up and making the defences move about.

Yeah Lockyear and Slater are great but still they're explosive players who inject themselves into a game when needed. . . usually just at the right time. Slater always gives 100% in everything. Terrific sportsman.
I also hanker after a bit of biff now and again.... )

[Sandgroper]

I get enough 'biff' at home if I don't do a good job on the washing up!!!!!!!!!

As you say the game os rather too organised now for flair to raise its head.  But you do see it now and again, mostly from Aussies IMO.

I'm thinking of the tries scored in the Test at Wigan for instance.  Loose ball but Inglis & Thurston worked together to work an opening.  Inglis left the loose ball for Thurston to flick it up for Inglis on the run.

In general they seem to have the instinct to go for a score rather than play safe, which seems to be the trend here, 'take the tackle and be patient etc'

[John]

Watching the 1978 Cup final last night on BBC4 it was noticable how many passes there were and how relatively few one man drives.  It was a much more attractive game then.  The backs stood very deep and passed across the line and backs side stepped their way through.  The centres Dyl, Hague, Noonan and Glynn all stood out as an attacking threat - and we had better centres than that in those days.  John Holmes at stand-off orchestrated it very effectively and should have won the Lance Todd (sorry George).  It's not that defences weren't good as well because only 5 tries were scored but it really was end to end stuff.  I think the game has lost its way by copying the Aussie style too much. Coaches (particularly ours) should be forced to watch games from that era and see how to organise the backs and how good and effective real centre play can be!

[Sandgroper]

Got it recorded!  The deeper line was because IIRC the opposition were only 5 Metres away!

[King Viking]

Got it recorded!  The deeper line was because IIRC the opposition were only 5 Metres away!

I was going to ask on here actually when the 5metre rule was abolished - i'm sure they were 10m away in the game I watched last night

[Brynhild]

I thought the same thing KV as far as I could see they were 10m away, not 5

[Peter]

I thought the same thing KV as far as I could see they were 10m away, not 5

We didn't have metres then [pedantic!] but the 5 yard rule was that you could be no nearer than 5 yards. Some teams did hang back a bit.