Night Of The Scrum

I went to the Reds v Tahs game last night. Massive rivalry. Best two Australian Super 15 sides. Suncorp Stadium. 36,000 people. Balmy autumn night. Easter long weekend.

Yep, it had all the ingredients. Except for the rugby.

Don't get me wrong. It was a great night out and the atmosphere along Caxton St before the game was electric. All the bars were full and people were streaming towards the ground down the closed-off street.

But again, the actual rugby let the night down and I think it really is a problem for the sport of rugby union. As a spectacle, it has the capacity to be quick and exciting and brutal and breathtaking. But it's being let down by complex and confusing rules and pedantic refereeing. As well as coaches and players who'd rather not lose than win.

Because that's what happened last night. NSW had Qld in their 22 for about 25 mins at one stage and just kept resetting scrum after scrum. I haven't seen the stats but I reckon 20 scrums were called in that time with multiple resets for each one. And the referee coming up with even more confusing calls as the game went on that left us scratching our heads and saying to each other "what was that for?"

Qld bravely held on for a rare win against NSW which was a great result and keeps Qld on top of the Super 15 table with the Auckland Blues. It was also their 7th win in a roll and really sets them up the rest of the season.

But it sure wasn't pretty and I dare say I'm not the only fan left with a bad taste in their mouth and wondering for the future of rugby if that's considered entertaining and exciting.

Of course, the rugby purists will say it was a great game. Even one of my fellow attendees sat on the edge of his seat in the second half rubbing his hands with glee. But hey, he's a former prop so he has probably spent way too much time in the middle of a scrum anyway.

So yes, there were plenty of people there who would have loved it . But someone like myself, who is a fan and is interested but is not a fanatic about the game, well, it didn't come across that well.

I once was a fanatic though. I played rugby for a number of years during my uni days and played in as far away places as the UK and the US. And I lived in the UK during the 99 World Cup and spent an awesome seven weeks travelling around watching the Wallabies win that trophy. So for a long time, my football passions were shared between both rugby and AFL.

But certainly over the last 5-7 years that has changed dramatically and I've moved back to AFL as being the major sport in my life. As a spectacle, it has it all over rugby and the skills on show are so much more impressive.

So yes, I got back on the Reds bandwagon last night and happily parted with my hard-earned to go along and support them. But I didn't part with that hard-earned to watch scrum after scrum and hear very little apart from the referee's whistle.

A big shame really. Because as I said, the night had all the ingredients for a super Super 15 match between two big rivals. Just a pity about the spectacle that was delivered in the end.

Oh well, go the Reds anyway. And go the Wallabies later in the year as well.

EDM.