Agent O'Neill erasing the Tahs v Brumbies game from history

During the week it was reported that Lord John is on his way to the IRB armed with a DVD of the Reds v Bulls game as proof SANZAR’s new law interpretations (NLI’s) are the best thing to happen to rugby since Webb-Ellis got the shits with soccer and picked up the ball.

It will be an interesting discussion particularly if JO’N is ambushed with the DVD of another game to refute his assertions.

Which game you ask? The Tahs v Brumbies game from last night dumb arse.

These two games were different in every possible way, except for the final score of 19-12, so it really shots a pretty massive hole in JO’N’s assertion that the new interpretations have rugby on the verge of a ‘new-dawn’.

As you would expect the commercial imperative is paramount at the ARU and O’Neill was pretty pumped with the Reds v Bulls game.

‘You wouldn’t see a better game of rugby than the game last week between the Reds and the Bulls.

”There’s an IRB conference on the laws of the game in May and I’m sending them off a copy of that DVD saying: ‘You want to see how the game can be played?’

”We’re not being smart alecs about it but you can’t keep blaming the laws. You really have to take control of the things that are under your power, and the tweaking that we undertook this year and the recognition that we either could keep going south or say ‘enough’s enough’, it’s worked out like we hoped. Better.”

Leave it out, John!

Without doubt the NLI’s have given attacking teams more confidence to retain possession but beyond that there is very little to suggest they promote exciting or indeed entertaining rugby.

Whether or not a game is entertaining is a subjective judgement so we’ll leave that discussion there, but the component that has the biggest influence on this so-called “entertainment” value, is a team’s approach to the game.

In one corner stands the Reds, and to a lesser extent the Force, while in the other stands the Tahs and Brumbies.

It is clear the Reds and Force go into games willing to have a crack at the opposition and score points. It mightn’t always be successful, however that’s the way they go about it.

It is also just as clear the Tahs and Brumbies go into games not necessarily with the intention of winning, but with the intention of not losing.

Why is this?

You can hardly argue the Tahs or Brumbies don’t have the personnel capable of peeling off stunning back-line moves or shifting the ball around with malice. It has become more of a case of both these teams sifting the ball around with ‘malaise’

The Brumbies were at the top of everyone’s must watch list as the season started but they have gone from being labelled to ‘Real-Madrid’ of the Super 14, to the ‘Real-Disappointments’.

The Tahs have always played conservative rugby but this season, as others have broken new ground, the Tahs have stayed firmly rooted to the spot they were at 2 years ago.

People blamed Ewen McKenzie while he was coach for the Tahs lack of endeavour, but he’s moved on, and the Tahs haven’t.

Tahs supporters will point to the fact the Tahs have scored only 1 less try than the Reds as evidence they are playing attacking rugby, but the question remains, who would you rather watch?

As JO’N stated this week, “If you play with passion, play with pride, play as a team – then you play winning and entertaining rugby.”

This is something both the Tahs and Brumbies are yet to do.

So Lord John, make haste and destroy every copy of the Tahs v Brumbies game before you head to Dublin, and on an ANZAC weekend – Lest We Forget.