We all watched wonderful games this weekend. I'll make some analytical points at the end.

How rugby has changed:

When I first watched rugby, in 1946/7,

1) A drop counted FOUR, a try THREE – went to FOUR and now FIVE.

Other changes since then:

2) All kicks from the centre line were place kicks.

3) Lineouts could stretch across the field

4) Wings threw the ball in at lineouts

5) Forwards in the lineout could stand shoulder to shoulder

6) Players jumping in a lineout could be 'taken out' in the air

7) Players jumping to catch a high ball could be tackled in the air – this happened to me playing for Rhodes University in Somerset East in 1958: ligaments ripped off the lower back. (So I was left in hospital, where I encountered a relatively unattractive nurse named Alena, who, when she'd given me a shot of pethidine, turned into Elizabeth Taylor. It took a month to recover.

8) To convert a try, the kicker had to have another player holding the ball off the ground. He then lowered the ball to the ground shortly before the kicker kicked.

9) Scrums were formed by a short, aggressive charge to engage – many neck injuries.

10) Locks bound round each other’s waists not between the legs of props.

11) Flanks could follow the ball round the scrum as it was heeled by the opposing side – in a match at Loftus in 1962, Rhodesia VS Northern Transvaal, our scrum was so outplayed that Oupa du Pisanie and the other flank, sometimes picked up the ball we had heeled before out scrumhalf, Vic Lasky, could get it.

12) Tight heads could bore in on the hooker.

13) The scrumhalf had to put the ball in straight: this meant there was something called a 'heel against the head', involving very skilful play by the opposing hooker – today the ball is put in skew 90% of the time, which makes most scrums a farce.

14) Defending backs could line up in line with the eighth man's feet and from lineouts could stretch across the field on the advantage line.

15) Jerseys had long sleeves and collars.

16) High tackles were legal and frequent, many by grabbing the collar and hurling an opponent into the ground.

17) Tackles 'without arms' were ignored.

18) Passing was done without the modern, much-overrated 'spin'.

19) There were no kicking tees for penalties at goal – the kicker had a choice of making a hole with the heel of his boot and placing the ball in it or building a mound of sand to place the ball on.

20) Before playing the ball with hands in 'loose play', a player had to tap it with his boot first.

21) There were none of the modern 'rolling mauls'.

22) Dribbling the ball ahead by forwards played a fairly frequent part of their play.

23) On the whole, attacking forwards stayed in the middle of the field hoping for a cross kick from the wing and ready to advance to break downs and engage in loose scrums. (Today the nearest man to breakdown is involved, be he wing, centre or fly half – this means, often, that the side receiving the ball gains an advantage of a speedy wing or centre being faced with the often fruitless tackles by props and locks opposite them, and many tries ensue, What's the solution?)

24) On attack, fly halves often executed diagonal kicks to the corner flag – now called 'cross kicks' for some incomprehensible reason.

25) If a player placed the ball across the try line and any part of his body touched the corner flag, the try was disallowed.

26) Knock-ons were whistled if a player fumbled the ball forward even if it didn't touch the ground. 27) Any player could kick the ball directly into touch from anywhere to cause a lineout.

28) When catching a ball in the 25 yard area, in order to 'make a mark', the player had to dig his heel into the turf and shout 'Mark!'

29) Balls were brown in colour, often of heavy leather – the same with lace-up boots.

30) The wing throwing the ball in at the lineout HAD to have his feet behind the touchline.

31) Support of the lineout jumper and the receiver from a kick-off was not allowed.

32) Scrumhalves in those days almost never executed a 'box ' kick.

33) The grubber kick and chip were used – almost as poorly as they are executed today.

34) A try then was awarded only if the player concerned pressed the ball into the turf behind the try line with one or two hands on it firmly – none of the 'downward pressure' stuff of today or pressure on the ball from the waist up.

35) Results then suggest that, in international test matches, local refs were invariably biased – the Springboks won only once in NZ (in 1937) and then much later after neutral refs took games: same with NZ teams and others in this country. (Two examples: 1949 4^th Test - Crusaders Ground, Port Elizabeth: SA VS NZ – Henderson, All Blacks left wing, I was firmly informed, scored a legitimate try in the far corner from me. I was 12 and in 'standing room' so couldn't see. Try disallowed by SA ref Ralph Burmeister; Max Blaise's denial of a try to Fergus Slattery at Ellis Park on the 1974 Lions tour. There is no conclusive proof that bias was shown but it's led to neutral refs today.)

36) All this statistical crap about 'carries' is part of an increasing American influence – e.g. defenders barged out of the side of rucks as in US football; if the 'carrier' today runs five metres, it's recorded and acknowledged as good play even if he loses the ball to the opponents – absolute crap! 37) Refs were not 'wired', no TMO obviously, no replays.

38) No substitutes for injuries or otherwise!

39) The ref was sole judge of time – disastrous sometimes. Many controversies.

40) No yellow cards or reds – a man could be sent off for dirty play and this meant for the whole game......

What have I left out??

A few comments on the matches:

1. Lions VS Crusaders: Lions simply outplayed in almost every sphere. Home side's discipline was inexcusably poor
2. Canes VS Stormers: Schreuder much more influential and Grant more organized I felt. Pity to lose, but a fair result for the visitors. Once again, when Stormers needed to retain possession at the final whistle, they kept the ball without error. If then, why not during the game?
3. Cheetahs VS Chiefs: A truly great game. But! Despite Naka Drotske's comment that 'we'll continue in the second half with our attacking game plan', they 'protected' their lead – usually disastrous and nearly so this time. The message at half time to the home team should have been, starve them of the ball. Play in their half, defense must be impenetrable, count your tackles! Take your opportunities, attack whenever possible; but don't lose the ball. The Chiefs had other ideas, They dominated possession and territory. So 43-43, a great result for the visitors after the score at half time. The match turned when Goosen went for too much distance – why? - Missed touch and the Chiefs contrived to score after a dazzling set of moves. There's one place where the Cheetahs lost the game.

4. Force VS Reds: What a game! The Force played their hearts out for the full 80 minutes and won an historic victory when Haywood showed determination, skill and speed to score in the final minutes.

 Enjoyed the other matches – nothing much to say...

Neil Jardine

Captained Rhodesia 1962 – 1969 Rector of Michaelhouse. (1978-1986)

"Rugby is a thinking game – its’ not a running or a kicking game. This mania for running with the ball and playing open rugby at all costs is stupid – you must adapt yourself to the circumstances and play to your strength"

Now 50 years later Niel Jardine writes for Frosty Rugby Fans ...

Thanks for replies.

One comment came from a classmate from Selborne College days, Aubrey Lentin. He says the constraints in the defenders' 22 and 'red zone' are a sufficient to deter professional fouls – yellow cards are given. I still think, it's a scourge for the attacking side. The inevitable fouls, coached I'm sure in many teams, lead sometimes, not always, to a yellow card and a penalty. Often, it's just a penalty e.g. the foul by one of the Reds' forwards five metres from his line in the match against the Cheetahs. The penalty was goaled so the attackers got three points, instead of a possible/probable seven! So I'll stick to my suggestion that penalties in those areas should be 4 or even 5 points.

The other matter Aub raised was drop kicks. He thinks they're playing too significant a role in matches, argues they should only be allowed from a kick from the opposing team. Once again, I can't agree. The drop kick, for me, is one of the most exciting examples of kicking for goal under pressure and can be resorted to whenever other avenues of attack have been exhausted because of the fantastic defence strategies being used in the modern game. Against the Blues, Jacques Louis Potgieter's drop from near the halfway line in a tight situation was sensational and exciting. Great skill!. In the Stormers vs Crusaders game, why Peter Grant, flyhalf replacement for the Stormers, appeared not to consider, let alone attempt, a drop in the last four minutes of the match, when the visitors were one point behind, is a mystery. He and his captain clearly suffered a momentary tactical and leadership bypass, and with the standard of play so high these days, any little mistake can change a result. What was Jaco Taute thinking when he did not pass to his unmarked wing, van Wyk, with an open try line a few metres ahead? Rush of blood? Overconfidence? Who knows? That decision, Simon Rhodes' offside and Ntubeni's appalling throw-ins at the lineouts cost the Stormers the game.

For the rest, the match had been evenly contested with Schalk Burger in awesome form; he was everywhere, brutal on attack, solid on defence, distributed well e.g. pass to de Villiers, who executed a perfect chip for the de Allende try. Groom and Catrakilis ( never seen him kick worse tactically) combined well in the face of some devastating tackling by the Crusaders under the inspiring Reid, but the Stormers gave a brilliant display of defensive technique that I have never seen equalled. Terrific!
( If I were asked, my advice to Todd Blackadder would be: don't keep Tom Taylor at flyhalf. He's wasted there, too close to the action; give him space at fullback or outside centre.)

I continue to be irritated to the point of anger by the refusal of the refs to blow consistently on the 'putting of the ball into a scrum'. Sure on Saturday, there were a few penalties, but let's look at the example of Weepu, of the Blues. He was penalised twice, after a great tight-head from Visagie, when Weepu had put the ball in straight. Immediately, he resorted to the crooked put in. After one of these, he was penalised again. He protested and the ref was heard to say, 'Yes, but not 'straight ENOUGH'. For heaven's sake, it's either straight or it's not; there's no 'straight enough'! Weepu had his man and put the ball in crooked at every consequent scrum without sanction.. Inexcusable!

Why are refs so 'stiptelik' about the accuracy of throwing in at lineouts and so pathetically unable to discipline scrum put-ins? The IRB has, after some time, now got the scrums steady and safe. There are fair encounters. This is important to the point that if scrums are not 'looked after', they'll become merely a way of restarting play. If we don't keep scrums that play a significant part in providing good ball for the backs, we're on the road to Rugby League. No matter how often Ashwin Willemse parrots on week in week out on TV, that 'it all starts in the front row'; any one with eyes to see can tell it doesn't. Of course, there are occasions when a really powerful effort can lead to a vital penalty or a pushover try, but they're rare.) These days, mauls are the thing.

While we're on about small errors leading to tries, how about the knock-on by Kriel, from a perfectly good pass which led, in the Lions vs Sharks match, to a brilliant try from the brilliant Paul

Neil Jardine

Captained Rhodesia 1962 – 1969 Rector of Michaelhouse. (1978-1986)

"Rugby is a thinking game – its’ not a running or a kicking game. This mania for running with the ball and playing open rugby at all costs is stupid – you must adapt yourself to the circumstances and play to your strength"

Now 50 years later Niel Jardine writes for Frosty Rugby Fans ...

If you miss 7, yes 7, goalable kicks, how do you expect to win. Despite some great play, particularly in the second half, it was all aggression from the Chiefs and Cruden was great. Apart from moments of individual skill, he played with intelligence and precision. ( I was astonished to hear John Mitchell and Naas Botha on TV, berate Pollock, the ref on the day. They claimed he got 80% - that's what they said – of his decision wrong in rucks! I'm not in a position to comment, but perhaps Kingsley Went will give an opinion; he's done the job at national and international level.)

Neil Jardine

Captained Rhodesia 1962 – 1969 Rector of Michaelhouse. (1978-1986)

"Rugby is a thinking game – its’ not a running or a kicking game. This mania for running with the ball and playing open rugby at all costs is stupid – you must adapt yourself to the circumstances and play to your strength"

Now 50 years later Niel Jardine writes for Frosty Rugby Fans ...