Watch most of the Ireland v Wales game whilst visiting mum yesterday , would say wales skill levels and game management were on level with the top amateur clubs ,not a clue how to break down the Irish, forward passes and knock ons a plenty ,they slung the ball around like a hot potato at times ,and if Ireland had gone to the wings more often instead of trying to batter their way up the middle it would have been a cricket score ,shocking performance .Still can’t get my head around those kicks up field when the attacking team has possession ,complete madness in my eye ,am I missing something?

I can recall it in RL, Harcombe?? I think used to employ it on the first tackle occasionally but even then it was well on the way out.

I assume it’s because in a Union scrum or line out you have a good chance of getting the ball back from a kick so the yardage is worth it. Chuffing boring to watch though.

Because of the key difference between rugby league and rugby union.
If they run the ball from deep, they risk losing it in the ruck. If they kick for position, the opposition have that risk and if your forwards are good you get a chance to attack in their quarter.

It's no different to what we do on the 6th tackle.

But it is’nt poptart as they haven’t got to turn possession over, From what my untrained eye saw the opposition are expecting just that ,and far two often have huge gaps to exploit if a running option was order of the day . Why they turn the ball back inside is also beyond me when outside backs are looking at a clear run to the line . You can see from Ireland’s attack and defence structures that a RL brain is at the helm, Wales had no answers

It's now been rectified and IS now recordable



....apparently it was a technical glitch ....yeah right

We started watching yesterday and I genuinely wanted it to be entertaining (mainly 'cos there was bugger-all else on TV worth watching), but after 10 minutes both me and the missus just got so frustrated with all the un-fathomable penalties that we gave it up as a bad job and switched channels anyway

On two occasions in the second half England had an overwhelming overlap on the left edge over the halfway line, and instead of letting the ball out to the three quarters with all that space the half back kicked over with the England players unable to make up the ground, so frustrating just watching never mind waiting for a gift which never came

I gave up watching the Ireland game the rec played advantage for the Irish then did it again calling further advantage next it will be a further advantage until a team scores and the other side just kicks off the game is a joke. To cap it off today I watched an Italian defender go up for a high ball early on only to get a forearm from a French player nothing said.
I just cannot bide watching it. I played it at school but never been a fan watching it

Remember at Bradford some years ago now we kicked straight from the scrum for Paul Sampson (think that was his name) to hare down the field and touch down Unopposed ,and can’t remember the Team doing that again in that season .

Bobby Goulding providing the kick if I remember rightly?

I don't intend to be patronising but I feel that a lot if the comments come from not understanding the (union) game.

The sad thing is, they are learning from our game and we are still bitter about their game and just block it out.
I get the bitterness. Union have a lot to answer for in keeping League down, with banning it in public schools, university and forces. Not to mention demonising players going north.
But they are now learning and passing it off as their own. It bugs me, but we should do the same.
Kicking alone. Brough would be a standard kicker in Union. Just think if we trained like their kickers do. Our game has changed and kicking is much more valuable to us.

I find Rugby League far better to watch, but you can't knock the 6 nations experience. They beat all other sports with effectively International local derbies.

I spent time attending RU matches over the last 20 years and the games virtually unrecognisable from my early days. I'm not sure but I think it was Sale who started to play RL in the backs and continued with RU in the forwards.
Like it or not they have taken over the Rugby title while providing employment for players who would have been put out to graze in our came.
Its not that long ago that the grounds were half full and a match day experience non event, all clubs have worked hard to turn things round and have received full support from the RFU.
I doubt very much that anyone withing the organisation can take the game to the next level