Was Rugby Better 30 years ago?

By Brian Dick on May 13, 08 02:16 PM in

I was at the recent replay of the Sam Doble Memorial Match at Billesley Common and - accuse me of naivety - I was pretty disappointed with what I saw.

I didn't expect the star-studded British Lions XV that turned up for the first game in 1977 and didn't go thinking it'd be anything other than a knockabout in the sun.

In fact I left feeling it hadn't been too bad an afternoon with some entertaining rugby, excellent performances and more old faces than an early edition of a Who's Who.

But having bought a DVD of the original match my sense of loss became acute. Forget the fact Phil Bennett, Gareth Edwards, Gerald Davies and JPR Williams weren't present on the Common, by comparison the modern version was still sterile.

The ability of both that Moseley vintage and the Lions Select to keep the ball alive was remarkable. Helped by an insistence that the ball be released simultaneous with the tackle, there were so many more turnovers and broken fields into which to run.

An acceptance of proper rucking meant phases were strung together much more quickly with the effect that the game swept from side to side and end to end, rather than crept around the pitch as it does nowadays.

Defences weren't as well organised and runners came from greater depth to give more line breaks and scoring opportunities and kicks went into touch rather than down the centre of the field.

All in all it was a much more fluid experience and one that makes one wonder if professional rugby is not just like the Olympic Games - faster, higher and stronger, without the olympian ideal of yesteryear.

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1 Comments

Laurence said:

I was at the original match, yes it was a feast of excellent rugby with plenty of skill and guile.

Today as you say the modern game as lost the characters , skill and style of yesteryear.

Players today play in fear, afraid to express themselves.

Having played with many of the Moesely players who played in 1977. I sure many of them will agree with you regarding the game was a better game 30 years ago in many aspects both off and on the pitch.

October 15, 2008 2:08 PM