News: Rugby at new Lowe, Manly claim

[ManlyBacker]

<p class="byline first ">MANLY chief executive Graham Lowe has fired a shot at rival code rugby union, claiming the 15-a-side game is on the nose in New Zealand.</p>
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<a href="http://www.silvertails.net/news/4586-rugby-at-new-lowe-manly-claim.html">Read the full article</a>

 

[eggson]

It's good to see Lowe in the media.  I was scared he'd stay behind his desk and observe the whole time.

Whether or not he is successful remains to be seen but so far i can't be complaining

 

[DSM5]

17000 at a NRL trial speaks volumes for the game over there.  Hopefully that figure can grow as the season progresses.  Lowe is only saying what's obvious.  Rugby Union is a boring, tiresome and unfathomable game.  The rules are impossible to follow and the refereeing is just to subjective.  That's the problem.  The NRL have a window of opportunity to really grow the game over there but hey, they'll probably stuff that up.     

 

[The Wheel]

Actually Lowe 'appears' to be going OK and making all the right noices from what I can see.  Obviously these ideas/statements have to be turned into more sponsorship/members etc etc

 

[Chip and Chase]

17000 at a NRL trial speaks volumes for the game over there.  Hopefully that figure can grow as the season progresses.  Lowe is only saying what's obvious.  Rugby Union is a boring, tiresome and unfathomable game.  The rules are impossible to follow and the refereeing is just to subjective.  That's the problem.  The NRL have a window of opportunity to really grow the game over there but hey, they'll probably stuff that up.     

You don't think that the NRL suffer the same affliction ? Look at the rulings in the ruck / wrestle, look at the stripping the ball rule, look at the decoy runner / obstruction rule, look at the "separation" rule on dodgy putdowns for tries, look at ....... I could go on. The NRL aren't a shining light when it comes to clear and consistent policing of the laws of the game.

 

[DSM5]

C & C, sure there are referring problems in our game but the subjectivity of union referring is bewildering to one who has not an intimate knowledge of the rules.  That's the problem for the average punter who might take an interest.  League rules are not as subjective, although in the scramble for TV audiences, dodgy stuff, as you say, is appearing.  It seems to me that the people in charge want the game to be faster and so jettison the clear policing of the rules.  This includes the ridiculous 'benefit of the doubt' thing.  If there is a doubt, then it shouldn't be awarded imo.  There must be no separation of the hand or part thereof in the grounding, and no other body part can be substituted for the hand imo.  There's lots more that I could comment on but that would just bore others.  What used to really get up my nose is when old Billy Harrigan would play 'advantage', just like union.  If a rule is broken, stop play and give the penalty.  End of story.  But there again, what would I know.           

 

[Jatz Crackers]

  But there again, what would I know.             

Your as good a judge as anyone.

I agree with your sentiment. League is far more accessible to the general public than Union. The rules are much better designed to suit the average punter watching the game than Union.

 

[Duff]

I guess it's more that League from the start needed to be a spectator sport as it was professional & relied on gate takings.

Union never really had to worry about that as it was a sport designed around a certain culture, intended really just for it's players & affiliates.

It's proving to be difficult for them simply because the spectator-freindly version of Rugby already exists & they're trying to compete with it for spectators. They should just be happy to be who they are which is who they always have been.

 

[Matabele]

17000 at a NRL trial speaks volumes for the game over there.  Hopefully that figure can grow as the season progresses.  Lowe is only saying what's obvious.  Rugby Union is a boring, tiresome and unfathomable game.  The rules are impossible to follow and the refereeing is just to subjective.  That's the problem.  The NRL have a window of opportunity to really grow the game over there but hey, they'll probably stuff that up.     

  You Aussies say that because the sport is closely aligned with elitism that cuts against the egalitarian national ethos.  In NZ, SA and part of Europe it is fed to children with mother's milk.  News of NZ rugby's death is greatly exaggerated, particularly as they host the World Cup next year.  Manly is on their version SBS at 10.30pm over there, after all. 

 

[Kiwi Eagle]

Mata is slightly correct, Rugby will never die over here and will always be number 1, but Lowe is also correct in any assertion that the popularity of the game is on a decline

I can't find a mate willing to talk about it at the mo, all the talk at cricket training tonight was how they can't wait for the NRL to start and the fantasy comp we have set up

 

[Matabele]

The other thing in Union's favour will be the Super 15 next year going to 18 rounds.  It will more closely resemble an NRL season and then the big ticket Tests will coincide with the NRL finals. 

 

[Canteen Worker]

I don't think the big issue with Rugby in Australia is related to elitism and private schools. It is more that it is a rather niche market - small numbers playing (though at a high level) but it doesn't get the broad publicity. As a spectacle, for those that are not learned, die hard fans it is not as excting or explosive as entertainment. Lineouts, scrums against the heads and 40 metre kicks into touch are not exciting for the average punters. Tries and clean breaks, big hits and cover tackles are much more exciting that a pile of 10 guys wrestling for the ball or driving over it.
Super 14/15 or whatever still only delivers 7 or so home games, involves teams who I have no idea about - (who are the Cheetahs, the Stormers, Sharks etc??? Natal, Transvaal etc Outside their own country, as yet there is no tribalism) and it is only on FOX. Free to air is still the lifeblood of Rugby League and is what gets the average man in the street interested in the game. It also takes up most of the newsprint. If Rugby was so good, it would get more publicity but not as many care!!!

 

[Matabele]

not as many care!!!

 In Australia.  The Springboks vs Lions games last year were absolutely brilliant rugby and highlighted that the slow, excruciating cranking of tension that the game is capable of has its place.  Watching the Beast demolish the Lions front row and win the MOTM in Game One also highlighted that there's a bit more depth to the game. 

League and AFL cannot crank up the tension like soccer and rugby can.  

And when it comes to cranking up tension, basketball is the worst of all.  I score, you score, I score, you score, set up a two minute false excitement at end.  

 

[Canteen Worker]

Whilst I agree with your highlighting of those who care, League is a simpler complex game than Rugby which is the point I am trying to make.

Rugby is part of the fabric of SA and of course there is no other major winter code there but Soccer. In Europe, League is a small game in the north and historically Rugby has been more establishment, though their stratified society is also connected to that.

Having coached Rugby for many years, I understand some of the games complexities but you can hardly expect someone who is not a Rugby tragic to get excited about one scrum demolishing another to get a pushover, a new scrum feed or a penalty and another 3 points ahead of a Brett Stewart burst, a Hayne chip and chase or a Beaver cover tackle at the cornerpost.

I also dislike basketball to watch, I have seen great tense and exciting AFL games.

I use my wife to gauge interest in sport. She came from a family of all girls - knows little of sports but prefers league as the crowd lets you know what is happening, it is more explosive and simpler to understand. You don't miss the one score by turning around at the wong time and the focus is on the player running with the ball, with most of the game time involving that action. Soccer bores her to tears and she would rather root canal therapy to watching Rugby.

My daughter's boyfriend plays Rugby at a national level but would prefer to watch Manly play than virtually all the Rugby on telly as it is a better spectacle.

 

[Matabele]

My daughter's boyfriend plays Rugby at a national level but would prefer to watch Manly play than virtually all the Rugby on telly as it is a better spectacle.

  That's probably why the Boks and Blecks have the Wobblies on toast when they play.

 

[Canteen Worker]

We have a much smaller pool of Rugby players than either of the other two Southern Rugby powers. If we had just soccer and Rugby, with no AFL or League, can you imagine the pool of talent to put on the Rugby field?

 

[Matabele]

Erm, NZ has what, 4 million people.  They are current League World Champions, their soccer side are in the World Cup and they have won something like 7 consecutive Rugby Tests against Australia.

While inroads are being made, rugby is still largely a white game in RSA, and there's not many white males left since "affirmative action" was bought in. 

Argaubly Australia has a larger pool than both, especially now that you're predicting the Storm are going to fall under a Rebellion in Melbourne. 

 

[DSM5]

NZ Soccer side is in the World Cup.  Please.  Get a grip.  Oceania champs or chumps, out the first round.  And a couple of Manly players gifted the League World Cup to them last year.  Sure they play better Union, but who really cares outside the Upper North Shore of Sydney.  The game is largely white in SA as Matas states.  Look at the crowd when next viewing a Super 14 game in SA.  Who predicts the Storm's demise.  I don't.  Union will struggle down there.  Australia just doesn't have the rugby talent to support five sides.  Look at the Force's talent pool.  A stupid decision to place one in Victoria imo.  Lowe is correct to put the shivers through NZ union.  Maybe a publicity stunt, but there's plenty of Manly fans over there and they should be thrilled that they will get every game fta, even on their 'SBS'.  Which incidently, leaves the other fta stations for dead.   

 

[Kiwi Eagle]

And a couple of Manly players gifted the League World Cup to them last year. 

Slater isn't a Manly player !

 

[Canteen Worker]

Look at the programme of players in each of the countries and you will find there is many more in both NZ and SA than here in Rugby. BTW we have won more World Cups than NZ, the same as SA and we didn't need to poison the opposition to do so!!!! :0