Author: Benson Hendrix

An awesome “What is Rugby” video from EA Sports’ Rugby 2005, for my rugby-challenged peeps out there!

http://www.youtube.com/v/IEQyCcageGg?fs=1&hl=en_US

Some of my peeps ask me what the biggest difference is between rugby and american football.  It’s not the difference in the players, or the ball, or how many players are on the field, or how many pads the players are wearing.

In my mind, it’s about where the ball is on the field instead of who has the ball.

It’s that rugby is a game based on territory, while American Football is based around possession of the ball.  Rugby is such a fluid game, not stopping as much as American Football, that the location of the ball is much more important than who has it at the moment.  Whoever has the ball can change at a moment’s notice, and where the ball is becomes much more important. 

While American Football is focused more on who has the ball.  Given that American Football is much more structured – with a certain number of downs and distance before either turning the ball over or earning more possession of the ball, and plays developed to maximize possession and minimize risk of gaining territory.   Even when teams throw the ball deep, if the ball is turned over there can be a long time before they get the ball back, again focusing on possession instead of where the ball is.

As a result you get a game that requires more tactical movement of the ball, and less of a strategic philosophy than you see with rugby.  In rugby, you can’t plan out each play throughout the game, play-by-play, because the game is too chaotic and dynamic that, more often than not, you have to develop basic plays and apply them on the fly, depending on the situation and the location of the ball.  This is why set piece practice for rugby teams is still important, because at a moment’s notice you can suddenly have possession of the ball right next to the end zone.

I’m not here to either bury or praise rugby, or American Football. I love them both for different reasons, they are both exciting once you know the basics.  If you haven’t seen a rugby game yet, you should sit down with a friend, or at the local Celtic pub, and watch a game, asking questions as you go (or, ya know, you can leave comments here to be answered too. 😉 )

Many years ago I wrote an online column asking if USA Rugby was trying to destroy what was called “Major League Rugby” at the time.  While my answer hasn’t changed too much in the decade or so since, I’m starting to wonder if high-level rugby in the United States is just doomed. 

What brought this up recently was the announcement from USA’s Rugby Super League that OMBAC, one of the most storied clubs in America and one of the Super League’s founding clubs , was dropping out of the competition next year.  OMBAC (Old Mission Beach Athletic Club, based in Cali.) decided that they needed more matches to stay competition fit for a run at the national title (my guess, I haven’t yet asked Bob Watkins of his opinion), and in order to do that they needed to stick with So Cal Division 1 rugby. 

Since OMBAC can’t compete in both competitions, they need to bail on the Super League this year and hope to return next year.  OMBAC is the third team this off-season to bail on the Rugby Super League, following on the heels of the fellow RSL founding club the Potomac Athletic Club (aka PAC, based in Washington, D.C.) and the Boston Irish Wolfhounds.

So I have to ask, is the Rugby Super League eventually doomed to failure, much as Major League Rugby was at the time many years back?  

I think they are, but for different reasons.

Back in the day, Major League Rugby appeared to have an intriguing idea – bring higher-level rugby to a city-based league.  Major cities would have one team, maybe two, and would compete against other cities instead of other clubs, even those based in the same geographic locations.

Traditionally, rugby teams would move up and down the ladder from lower to higher divisions based on their performance, through promotion and relegation.  While this works in Europe for the most part (in rugby and soccer), American sports programs have always been different. 

We like our “professional” teams to be city-based, with a consistency of who will be competing in the league from year to year.  Fans wouldn’t want the Buffalo Bills, for example, to be relegated to minor league football while some UFL team like Las Vegas was promoted to replace them.

(Although to be fair, of all of the teams in the NFL who have earned relegation back to the minors, the Bills are at the head of the class and this should be seriously considered)

And Americans have a strong devotion to college athletics, as witnessed by the massive amounts of energy and money spent on these activities every year.  Even top flight college teams like Cal have a strong enough financial base that they are considered to be a revenue source for the university. 

These are a few ideas for Rugby Super League to consider when they start revamping the RSL later this year.  If you have teams based by location, and not just by what teams are the hot teams this year, and if you allow those teams to have a recruiting base that makes sense from a regional standpoint, you might see more success from the Rugby Super League, even if this stands counter to how rugby is played “across the pond.”  

The International Rugby Board announced the Fall 2010 schedule, for the Tier 2 (or “Whipping Post” teams) earlier today.  Of course the U.S. is on this schedule, as is co-World Cup entrants Tonga, Canada, Georgia, and the like. 

Also on this schedule is a doubleheader between Romania and Uruguay, to determine who will land the final Rugby World Cup 2011 slot and earn a quick trip to New Zealand (I say quick because these guys will be ejected quickly, with possibly zero wins to their credit).

The U.S. Men’s national team has an interesting tour ahead of it in the month of November.  Starting off in Lisbon on Nov. 13 to face #22 Portugal, before jetting off to the Galashiels in the Scottish Borders to play against the Scotland “A” team (their second string team). Near the end of the month, on Nov. 27, the U.S. will finish their tour in Tbilisi, Georgia against the #17 ranked team.  

Meanwhile, our Canadian neighbors will be in Europe at nearly the same time, starting off with #26 Belgium on Nov. 6, then playing Spain, ranked #23, a week later.  This should be a fairly easy start for Canuckistan, ranked once slot above the United States at #14.  They wrap up the Maple Leaf tour on Nov. 20 in Tbilisi, Georgia and Nov. 27 on Lisbon, Portugal.

The complete schedule can be found here.

According to the International Rugby Board, the reigning Sevens Champions Samoa will be without Sevens’ most capped (made the most appearances) player, Uale Mai. Mai, an important component of Samoa’s Sevens Championship run last year, has been offered a contract with Spain’s El Salvador club team.

“It’s a big loss. We are going to miss Uale’s experience, but we cannot hold on to him,” admitted Samoa head coach Stephen Betham.

Betham has replaced the superstar with Alatasi Tupou.

Kiwi’s Face Injuries Before Commonwealth Games

The New Zealand All Blacks Sevens team coaching staff are facing questions about injuries to many of the team’s star players that were selected

Otago’s Adam Thomson injured his MCL (media collateral ligament) in Dunedin’s recent 13-8 win over Otago, New Zealand Sevens captain D.J. Forbes has been recovering from a groin injury for the last two months, and Tomasi Cama injured his cheekbone last month.

On a more positive note, playmaker Hosea Gear decided that he has healed enough from a hamstring injury to play in the Sevens tournament during the upcoming Commonwealth Games in a couple of weeks. Time will tell if Gear has recovered enough to make an impact during the tournament.

Fiji Out Of Commonwealth Games

Despite still a part of the U.K. Commonwealth (although they are currently suspended from the Commonwealth), Fiji has been banned from the 2010 Commonwealth Games, and the Rugby Sevens component of the games, in India as a result of the 2006 Fijian coup.  This is a damn shame because Fiji has always been one of the most exciting sevens teams in the world, and is considered a crowd favorite at the Commonwealth Games.

While I understand the need of the “Commonwealth” to suspend Fiji for the actions taken in the coup, I do hope that the Fijians are able to work their way back into the next Commonwealth Games – Sevens rugby is much more exciting when Fiji is taking part.

Is the financial crisis in higher education threatening to shift the balance of power in the collegiate rugby ranks? The powers that be at the University of California Athletic Department are looking at how to balance the department’s budget, which is running in the to the tune of $10 million per year and rising.  Among the options they are looking at include ending some of the sports programs, including rugby.  Is that going to balance out the college rugby universe over a few years time?  Feel free to let it all hang out here!

Benson

http://player.vimeo.com/video/15182340

Rugby SuperShow – v. 0.1 a test run and College Rugby in America from Benson on Vimeo.

According to this report in the London Independent, the International Rugby Board isn’t making the upcoming 2011 Rugby World Cup easy on the “Developing Nations.”  While the top tier teams have plenty of time to recover between matches, teams like the U.S., Russia and other “not so important” nations are going to stack up their matches like cordwood, with not as much time to recover.

From the story:

And no shock either that the poor bloody infantry – the likes of Namibia, Georgia, USA and Russia – have again been handed horrendous itineraries. The mathematics of playing in four pools of an uneven number of teams (five) always guarantees someone will have to back up rapidly from match to match, but first-time qualifiers Russia face four Tests in 17 days from 15 September (v USA) to 1 October (v Australia). Namibia face Fiji on 10 September and Samoa four days later, then South Africa on 22 September and Wales on the 26th. The top six established unions all have at least five days between matches. So much for encouraging the very countries in which the World Cup is supposed to be propagating the game.

It’s interesting that the teams with the depth and experience to play matches closer together, those top tier teams such as Australia, England, etc, get more time to recover, while the nations that the International Rugby Board wants to expand into – again the U.S., Russia, Georgia, etc. – get screwed over.

Short answer: No. Unlike the Bills, the All Blacks already have a world championship.

(*Ba, Dum, Crash!* Wokka Wokka)

New Zealand is undoubtedly on top of the world – getting ready to host the World Cup, a sweep in the 2010 Tri Nations Tournament, the All Blacks are ranked #1 in the world by near record ranking levels, the Black Ferns have just won their 19th straight World Cup (or something close to that), and the New Zealand Sevens team is showcasing last year’s Super 14 Rookie of the Year.

Things can’t be better, can they?

But I’m starting to feel the fear, it started around Sept. 9 of this year.  Oddly enough that marked one year until the kick off of the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.  Questions started popping into my mind, and if you’re a member of All Black Nation, then you know what I’m talking about – whether you want to admit it or not.

• Are the All Blacks peaking too soon?
• Are they going to maintain this level of play for the next 13 months?
• What will happen on their Northern Hemisphere tour this year?
• Is there another “ill fated” pot of coffee in their future? (see 1995 Rugby World Cup championship conspiracies)
• Is another team going to step up and be able to beat the All Blacks on their home turf?

New Zealand has always been notoriously hard to beat anywhere, but in the Land of the Long White Cloud they are damn near invincible.  Much like the Bills in Super Bowl XXV (sorry Giants fans, but you know it’s true) it turns out you don’t have to be the best team in the tournament to win the championship.

The All Blacks have been among the best teams in rugby for, well seemingly ever. But Fate (or a reasonable facsimile) always seems to jump up and bite them in ass. Their one World Cup championship came back in 1987. To end this by putting that in perspective, I was just starting high school in ’87 – and I’m approaching ancient status. 

The Daily Reflector from… somewhere in North Carolina, has pictures from today’s Eastern North Carolina Wheelchair Rugby Tournament in… somewhere in North Carolina.  Check out the action and the profile pics!  And if you’re interested in Wheelchair Rugby click on over to the U.S. Quad Rugby Association.

Sorry about the delay, took a few days off – working on a future idea for this here site that I hope you’ll like!

Anyway, on to the post!  All Black winger Joe Rokocoko – who readers of the Rugby SuperSite might remember received quite a bit of criticism for his selection on this year’s undefeated New Zealand Tri-Nations team – announced that he has signed on with the New Zealand Rugby Union, and probably sticking with the Auckland Blues in Super Rugby, through their 2011 Rugby World Cup campaign!  This is great news for Rokocoko, a specialist winger playing currently with the Blues.  Congratulations!

(one of the things I’m working on the for the site is an email interview with Rokocoko, who made an impression on me in the first Tri Nations game this year. I’ll keep you updated on how that goes)

B