My attempts to keep things ticking over here while I was in the frozen north didn’t quite come off..
Anyway, 2007 hasn’t quite started for me yet, so one more Youtube post. As you know, one of the questions I chase about here is that of just how good football was pre-1939, and in finding answers it can help to compare other sports, as this montage of England rugby tries from down the years allows us to do.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfkX_mYqeOs]
For what it’s worth, in my experience the hard job in rugby is to beat your first man, whereas in soccer it’s your second.
I also reckon that scrum-half play has actually deteriorated: see how often in the old clips the half gets the ball away without the one, or even two, paces that are often used nowadays.
Otherwise, the lesson seems to be that tries come from pace/swerve/sidestep from the individual and from support and swift transfer with teammates. Stopping them comes from making your first tackle.
That’s very interesting indeed – I’ve heard your comment about scrum half play echoed darkly elsewhere too.
Grand viewing, isn’t it? This could be my favourite of all of the Xmas Youtubing..