International rugby union is a poor spectacle and needs more emphasis on running the ball rather than kicking, All Blacks’ coach Graham Henry said yesterday.
The New Zealand coach’s comments come after Tri-Nations’ Tests this year have been largely decided by kicks.
South African flyhalf Morne Steyn has been the tournament’s most influential figure so far, kicking eight and then seven penalty goals to ensure victories over the All Blacks in Durban and Australia in Cape Town this month.
PHOTO: AP
“The product you’re looking at needs some attention, quite frankly. We, and the Australians, like to play a ball-in-hand type of rugby and enjoy playing the game,” Henry told reporters. “That’s part of the product and we think that’s important, so I guess the product’s not too great and that’s disappointing. I think we need to have some attention on that and the people who make the laws try and improve the product, and the people involved try to improve the product.”
Henry said there is an too much emphasis on kicking and the game has suffered as a result.
“I know there’s been a bit of an emphasis on kicking and sides not catching particularly well, and people are trying to exploit that,” he said. “We need to think outside the square about how we can change the game so it’s more enjoyable to play and better to watch.”
The International Rugby Board trialled experimental law variations (ELVs), but did not adopt them.
Wallaby coach Robbie Deans said it was unsurprising that the removal of the ELV sanctions had resulted in more kicking.
“When you look back at the World Cup in 2007, it was always a possibility, particularly when you’ve got a side like South Africa, who are so able to play the game that way,” Deans said. “They essentially won the World Cup in 2007 without playing. There is a lot of kicking, but the kicking has improved as well. I think we’re missing the opportunity to keep people on their feet [at the breakdown]. If we do that, we’ll get the benefit of the laws the way they are currently.”
An “outstanding” 17-year-old Chinese badminton player died of cardiac arrest after collapsing on court during a tournament in Indonesia, officials said yesterday. Zhang Zhijie was playing a match late Sunday against Japan’s Kazuma Kawano at the Badminton Asia Junior Championships in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The score was 11-11 in the first game when Zhang fell to the floor between points. The teenager received treatment at the venue and was rushed to hospital in an ambulance, but passed away later that night after repeated efforts to resuscitate him failed. “Medical conclusions ... indicated that the victim experienced sudden cardiac arrest,” Broto Happy, spokesman for
Taiwan’s men’s national basketball team is set to upgrade its depth in the paint after signing Brandon Gilbeck of the P.League+’s Formosa Dreamers to a naturalized player’s contract. The 27-year-old big man from the US landed in Taoyuan early on Monday, where he was welcomed by Chinese Taipei Basketball Association deputy secretary-general Chang Cheng-chung. The two signed the deal, which still has to be approved by the Sports Administration and the Ministry of the Interior. Chang said he is confident that “the proceedings would go smoothly.” If approved, Gilbeck would become the third naturalized basketball player in Taiwan, following the New Taipei Kings’ Quincy
A buzz of excitement crackled through the hushed arena as the rider gripped the reins of her stuffed steed. Welcome to the strangely exacting world of hobby-horsing, the Finnish sport guaranteed to put a smile on your face. Immaculately coiffed equestrians leap athletically over fences just like in horse jumping, going as fast as they can against the clock straddling their stick steeds. Things are more stately in the dressage, with riders trotting their stick horses with intricately decorated stuffed heads before the discerning eyes of the judges. About 260 riders from 22 countries — most women and girls aged 10 to 20 —
Taiwan is to have two pairs vying for the women’s doubles at the Olympic Games’ tennis event in Paris as Chan Hao-ching and her older sister Latisha Chan officially clinched their third straight Olympic berth, the national tennis association said on Thursday. The International Tennis Federation on Wednesday evening confirmed the Chan sisters’ qualification for the event, meaning they would join the duo of Hsieh Su-wei and Tsao Chia-yi to compete in the Olympics. There are 16 entries in each doubles event. Hsieh, ranked No. 2 in the world on the Women’s Tennis Association doubles rankings as of Monday, secured her slot earlier,