6 Nations Tournament..... Meh

[Daithi]

Following Rwc 15 & now 6Ns 2016 it's quite clear northern hemisphere rugby is in a pretty poor state. Just some of the issues for me are :

-Poor standard of play with a Lack of attacking ambition
-Sabotaging of international game by clubs, in France especially
-Dull matches, with low crowd participation of
-Poor officiating and inconsistent disciplinary measures

Some simple improvements might be :
The introduction of bonus points.
(double them for any grand slam (all match) winner, so say a team that wins all 5 games would win the 6Ns championship automatically as is currently the case).Also a system where its Bps based on tries difference might be best e.g get 3 more tries than opposition => a BP win

- clear Referee directives on interpretation would help

- TMO directives should also be greatly improved

This has been a great tournament over the years, it would be a shame to see it decline simply due to inaction on modernising and standardising it, as most other modern tournaments have already done. Any thoughts ?!?

[tigerburnie]

No need to change the laws or the game, just get the current laws applied, first lets penalize not straight for feeds into the scrum and also offside. I wouldn't mind banning lifting in the lineouts and the return off proper rucking though.

[Rebel Yell]

The inconsistencies with refereeing was one of the major irritants. From an Irish perspective apart from some of the dire stuff served up the lack of atmosphere in the aviva in the lead up to kick off needs to be looked at.

[ormond lad]

Following Rwc 15 & now 6Ns 2016 it's quite clear northern hemisphere rugby is in a pretty poor state. Just some of the issues for me are :

-Poor standard of play with a Lack of attacking ambition
-Sabotaging of international game by clubs, in France especially
-Dull matches, with low crowd participation of
-Poor officiating and inconsistent disciplinary measures

Some simple improvements might be :
The introduction of bonus points.
(double them for any grand slam (all match) winner, so say a team that wins all 5 games would win the 6Ns championship automatically as is currently the case).Also a system where its Bps based on tries difference might be best e.g get 3 more tries than opposition => a BP win

- clear Referee directives on interpretation would help

- TMO directives should also be greatly improved

This has been a great tournament over the years, it would be a shame to see it decline simply due to inaction on modernising and standardising it, as most other modern tournaments have already done. Any thoughts ?!?

Bonus points are not needed for the tournament. The differences with teams having odd numbers of home/away games and the issue of grand slam, even though you take it into account, mean it shouldn't come in.
That most other tournaments have a bonus point system doesn't automatically mean the 6Nations should have one in place.
The issue about referees and TMOs is probably better discussed in the laws thread but what exactly do you want changed about referee interpretations etc.

No need to change the laws or the game, just get the current laws applied, first lets penalize not straight for feeds into the scrum and also offside. I wouldn't mind banning lifting in the lineouts and the return off proper rucking though.

Banning lifting. ah here!!
I don't think any laws changes are needed too much...

[Daithi]

Bonus points are not needed for the tournament. The differences with teams having odd numbers of home/away games and the issue of grand slam, even though you take it into account, mean it shouldn't come in.
That most other tournaments have a bonus point system doesn't automatically mean the 6Nations should have one in place.
The issue about referees and TMOs is probably better discussed in the laws thread but what exactly do you want changed about referee interpretations

Bps could easily be introduced. If people are so concerned about having just 1 extra home or away game versus their opposition, they could always put a premium on away Bps won e.g double those bps say, simple

In this 6Ns, after a really good Rwc for officiating, the standards went off a cliff imho. There didn't seem to be nearly the consistency in application of the laws as there was only 5 months previously. Secondly the TMO work was slow at times. Finally & worst of all imho , the sanctioning of offences after games was really woeful and inconsistent e.g. the hits on Sexton and Dave Kearney in Paris, deserved sanctions when not acted on properly in the game, the reckless use of the boot (5 times in a row) by Mike Brown on Conor Murray in the English match and the lack of a sanction for same were just some (Irish) examples of poor or non sanctioning for indisciplined or dirty play. In a game struggling with player health issues this is simple not good enough tbh.

[the plastic paddy]

Bps could easily be introduced. If people are so concerned about having just 1 extra home or away game versus their opposition, they could always put a premium on away Bps won e.g double those bps say, simple

In this 6Ns, after a really good Rwc for officiating, the standards went off a cliff imho. There didn't seem to be nearly the consistency in application of the laws as there was only 5 months previously. Secondly the TMO work was slow at times. Finally & worst of all imho , the sanctioning of offences after games was really woeful and inconsistent e.g. the hits on Sexton and Dave Kearney in Paris, deserved sanctions when not acted on properly in the game, the reckless use of the boot (5 times in a row) by Mike Brown on Conor Murray in the English match and the lack of a sanction for same were just some (Irish) examples of poor or non sanctioning for indisciplined or dirty play. In a game struggling with player health issues this is simple not good enough tbh.

Marler's elbow to someone's head not prompting a ban was crazy compared to SOB slapping that scum bug in his midriff.

[sewa]

-Sabotaging of club game by international sides, in Ireland especially

Fixed

[In Joe we trust]

Bps could easily be introduced. If people are so concerned about having just 1 extra home or away game versus their opposition, they could always put a premium on away Bps won e.g double those bps say, simple

In this 6Ns, after a really good Rwc for officiating, the standards went off a cliff imho. There didn't seem to be nearly the consistency in application of the laws as there was only 5 months previously. Secondly the TMO work was slow at times. Finally & worst of all imho , the sanctioning of offences after games was really woeful and inconsistent e.g. the hits on Sexton and Dave Kearney in Paris, deserved sanctions when not acted on properly in the game, the reckless use of the boot (5 times in a row) by Mike Brown on Conor Murray in the English match and the lack of a sanction for same were just some (Irish) examples of poor or non sanctioning for indisciplined or dirty play. In a game struggling with player health issues this is simple not good enough tbh.

Didn't they pretty much drop all the top refs for the 6nations to bring in younger less experienced refs for most games?

[Daithi]

Sewa, I see your point, can you at least bold or italics the change to my original, ta, D

[Daithi]

Didn't they pretty much drop all the top refs for the 6nations to bring in younger less experienced refs for most games?

They rotate it a bit but this is no excuse for standards dropping in the application of the laws imho, international refs should provide international level consistency.

Allied to ref inaction on discipline on the pitch, the sanctioning off the pitch was very poor imho & did the 6Ns & game a huge disservice imho.

[redherring]

I don't think the crowd participation is an issue. The atmospheres are non-existent in the southern hemisphere. I would introduce the BP system. I would also move the tournament forward two weeks. Drier and warmer conditions will improve the standard of rugby.

[Old Dog]

Marler's elbow to someone's head not prompting a ban was crazy compared to SOB slapping that scum bug in his midriff.

Ah, but SOB's ban was for sheer cretinism and, in that regard, was fully deserved.

[sewa]

They rotate it a bit but this is no excuse for standards dropping in the application of the laws imho, international refs should provide international level consistency.

Allied to ref inaction on discipline on the pitch, the sanctioning off the pitch was very poor imho & did the 6Ns & game a huge disservice imho.

I.e. they didn't work out the way you wanted them to. The Irish players are whiter than white and everyone else is a thug

[the plastic paddy]

Ah, but SOB's ban was for sheer cretinism and, in that regard, was fully deserved.

It wasn't the brightest thing ever seen, but I would say Marler's "Gypsy Boy" comment would, at the very least, be on a par.

[Daithi]

I.e. they didn't work out the way you wanted them to. The Irish players are whiter than white and everyone else is a thug

Nope Sewa, I thought the tournament as a whole was very flat, the adjudicating poor, the sanctioning worse, with player welfare high on everybody who cares agenda, and my post reflects concerns around those issues and looks for some constructive suggestions to maybe mproving it. Sorry for your old gripes all the same, it must be terrible.