Rugby - Last Feet!

[Tamerlin]

Originally posted by Caligastia
But how is this visible to you and I? Unless we go into the homes of the rich folks and the poor folks, we will not see this.

No need to visit the home of the rich folks, it can be seen in the streets if you care to look, it is not blatant as the worst situations remain hidden and because no one is speaking about this.

I agree, but at least it happens once a year.

I know, I know but I would prefer people to be kind all year round and not because of Xmas and I would prefer them to be kind without regressing back to infancy.

I am convinced the opposite is true, but I guess we won't agree...

Perhaps is the situation different where you live but I can assure you this is not the case on the old continent.

Merry Christmas.

Thanks Caligastia!

[finbar]

Originally posted by Tamerlin
It's more technical than that but the ball is actually not rotated in the "French pass".

Damn French and their technical stuff! I mean, look how they complicated a simple thing like a kiss with their French version!

Over 3 metres the "aimed pass" is justified though most players are handling an "aimed pass" even under 3 metres.

Yes, they tend to. But I'd've thought it wouldn't matter to a skilled player. Skilled players can pick up half-volley passes from their boot laces so they ought to be able to take a rotating ball.

[finbar]

Originally posted by Havak
And I am a little fibber too.

It's Christmas - we'll forgive you the wishful thinking with the adjective!

I may drop in occasionally over the festive period - if we manage to win our games of course.

SCENE: HAVAK'S HOUSE ON CHRISTMAS DAY.

HAVAK sits at his computer.

MRS HAVAK: "Havak! What are you doing sitting at the computer on Christmas Day!"

HAVAK: "Checking Kitchen Renovation, Wallpaper and Paint websites, beloved"

MRS HAVAK looks at the computer screen.

MRS HAVAK: "So who are finbar, Caligastia, Tamerlin and LDiCesares?"

HAVAK: "They're finbar Caligastia Tamerlin LDiCesares Pty Ltd. They're a one-stop home renovation company!"

MRS HAVAK: "That's all right then"

MRS HAVAK walks away.

HAVAK: "Phew ... "

Don’t read too much into it if you see we lost the game this Saturday – it’s the RFU national cup and we are hosting the second place side from the second division. It’s likely we will have a third string side out.

I was wondering what was happening this weekend over there. I checked the Heineken and Zurich fixtures and there was nothing scheduled.

More than that it’s not included on the season ticket so I’ve had to fork out good money for tickets to it.

Look on the bright side - comprehensive Leicester wins have been few and far between this season.

[finbar]

Originally posted by Tamerlin
Don't leave me alone!

*With the NH bloc reduced to a single entity, the SH bloc licks its lips in anticipation*

By the way, don't bother to respect the spirit of Xmas as far as I am concerned as I don't believe in any god, actually I don't like at all this period of the year (hypocrisy and make believe are at their best at this time). It's a real pain to see the whole Apolyton site littered with Father Christmas hats.

I'm a bit with you, Tamerlin. It's like Easter, Valentine's Day and all those sorts of events. A crass money-making exercise reeking with hypocrisy. George Witless Bush will have a Christmas tree in his sitting room while he plots his attack on Iraq.

[finbar]

Originally posted by Havak
I have every faith in your ability to keep the faith in my absence.

Fear not, you're leaving him in safe SH hands. You'll return to find him lauding SH referees.

I like it. Because I get nearly two weeks off and for no other reason.

Obviously Havak isn't getting the christmas present from Mrs Havak that he asked for.

Ideally in life I would like to be entirely my own boss like Finbar – but I doubt I would get any work done!

Mmmm. Very good point. Working from home is a blessing and a curse. Often the line between work and home becomes blurred - while it's a blessing not to have to go out to work every day, mixing with idiots and fools and plebs; it's too easy to wander out into the garden to weed the vegie patch, or sew some more vegie seeds, or watch television. Computers, too, have been a blessing and a curse. The word processor has been a boon to writers, but the internet - and rugby threads in particular! - has caused productivity to drop enormously!

[Tamerlin]

Originally posted by finbar
Damn French and their technical stuff! I mean, look how they complicated a simple thing like a kiss with their French version!

Though it is more technical, you must recognize the French kiss is more pleasant than the common one.

Yes, they tend to. But I'd've thought it wouldn't matter to a skilled player. Skilled players can pick up half-volley passes from their boot laces so they ought to be able to take a rotating ball.

The problem is not with the quality of the "aimed" pass or with the deftness of the receiver but that this pass is not always adequate for short distances when an attacker is running at full speed, actually the aimed pass often slows down the attacker as it often changes the direction of the run.

Whatever the technical explanations, what is important is that both the journalist and Jo Maso agree to say the generalization of the aimed pass is partly responsible for many aborted attacks and thus for the multiplication of mauls and handling errors in modern Rugby.

[Tamerlin]

Originally posted by finbar
*With the NH bloc reduced to a single entity, the SH bloc licks its lips in anticipation*

Time to go Berserk!

I'm a bit with you, Tamerlin. It's like Easter, Valentine's Day and all those sorts of events. A crass money-making exercise reeking with hypocrisy. George Witless Bush will have a Christmas tree in his sitting room while he plots his attack on Iraq.

We are on the same wave length I also dislike all these things and especially Valentine's Day, I think the later one is the worst of all.

Fear not, you're leaving him in safe SH hands. You'll return to find him lauding SH referees.

Simply impossible, I think this has something to do with genes and humanity still don't know how to apply genetic therapy through Internet forums.

[Tamerlin]

Originally posted by finbar
Mmmm. Very good point. Working from home is a blessing and a curse. Often the line between work and home becomes blurred - while it's a blessing not to have to go out to work every day, mixing with idiots and fools and plebs; it's too easy to wander out into the garden to weed the vegie patch, or sew some more vegie seeds, or watch television. Computers, too, have been a blessing and a curse. The word processor has been a boon to writers, but the internet - and rugby threads in particular! - has caused productivity to drop enormously!

It can't be more true, though I don't have a garden...

[LDiCesare]

I am not sure amied pass is a reason for current handling problems. However, I am positive that an aimed pass shouldn't be used at short distances. As Tamerlin said, you can't adjust your run, and you receive it as you would get a cannonball if you are near the passer. This means the receiver is more likely to:
- let the ball bump out of his hands before he even holds it,
- miscontrol the ball and let it fall,
- lose time controlling it and be tackled before he can do anything useful.

I also remember floating passes (French passes if you like, actually they were Irish), which were over 5 meters range, at the level of the players' heads. As a defender, seeing that, you didn't know who the pass was addressed to (it looked like it could go beyond the player who would actually catch it), and the receiver had all kinds of opportunities with these balls. In particular, they could immediately change the orientation of their race and accelerate while catching th e ball, and were not prone to fumbling them.

[LDiCesare]

Working from home is a blessing and a curse.

I understand that too.
I code at home the way some people here do mods. That is a kind of work for which I have no constraints. Sometimes, I lapse into do-nothing mode for a week or two... I also try to write from time to time, but I can't get a novel written in less than 2 or 3 years, and the quality won't get it published anyway... Maybe if I had to do it to get some money I would work at either of these hobby-would-be-job's harder. I think you can't stay at home doing nothing (like watching TV) forever. You soon get bored, and if you have some work to be done, you'll end up doing it sooner or later out of boredom.
The "later" part in "sooner or later" is a bit annoying though.

[finbar]

Originally posted by Tamerlin


Though it is more technical, you must recognize the French kiss is more pleasant than the common one.

Too much information!

The problem is not with the quality of the "aimed" pass or with the deftness of the receiver but that this pass is not always adequate for short distances when an attacker is running at full speed, actually the aimed pass often slows down the attacker as it often changes the direction of the run.

Mmmm. A good pass should be directed in front of the receiver, allowing him to run onto it at speed. Watching the best passers in action is something to behold - their timing and placement is superb. If the receiver has to change direction or interrupt his momentum, it's simply a bad pass. Personally, I think a lot of the problems with ball handling in rugby these days stem from bad passing - delivering the ball "at" rather than "in front of" the receiver.

[finbar]

Originally posted by LDiCesare
However, I am positive that an aimed pass shouldn't be used at short distances.

I agree. The aimed pass wasn't designed for short distances anyway. It was a means of controlling the flight of the ball over longer distances.

[finbar]

Originally posted by LDiCesare
I think you can't stay at home doing nothing (like watching TV) forever. You soon get bored, and if you have some work to be done, you'll end up doing it sooner or later out of boredom.

True. My problem with writing for television is that I'm only governed by deadlines, the dates I have to deliver the script. So I can fiddle around for days on end - growing my vegetables, taking the dogs down the part, reading the newspaper, etc - and then work for 24 hours straight to get the script finished. It's a habit I've fallen into because I've been doing this for a very long time. When I first started, I was very disciplined. Not anymore.

The "later" part in "sooner or later" is a bit annoying though.

[Tamerlin]

Originally posted by LDiCesare
I am not sure amied pass is a reason for current handling problems. However, I am positive that an aimed pass shouldn't be used at short distances. As Tamerlin said, you can't adjust your run, and you receive it as you would get a cannonball if you are near the passer. This means the receiver is more likely to:
- let the ball bump out of his hands before he even holds it,
- miscontrol the ball and let it fall,
- lose time controlling it and be tackled before he can do anything useful.

You have rightly said, with one post only, what I am clumsily trying to explain since yesterday.

I also remember floating passes (French passes if you like, actually they were Irish), which were over 5 meters range, at the level of the players' heads. As a defender, seeing that, you didn't know who the pass was addressed to (it looked like it could go beyond the player who would actually catch it), and the receiver had all kinds of opportunities with these balls. In particular, they could immediately change the orientation of their race and accelerate while catching th e ball, and were not prone to fumbling them.

I was pretty sure Havak or you, as Rugby players, could greatly add to the discussion through your experience of the game.

May be Havak has been too busy today collecting news on the Internet.

[LDiCesare]

I was pretty sure Havak or you, as Rugby players, could greatly add to the discussion through your experience of the game.

Yes, I can attest that the "French" pass is very efficient from that match I played against an Irich team. They didn't need aimed passes against us, I am afraid, but these long floating passes remain a vivid memory (along with the score, which I won't reveal, even under torture). You tend to learn from losses sometimes. I am not able to do those nice floating passes, but at least I know they are very efficient.

If the receiver has to change direction or interrupt his momentum, it's simply a bad pass.

Actually, I think a non-aimed pass can be executed faster than an aimed one with better precision. That can explain why a player under pressure delivering an aimed pass is likely to make an average or bad pass.