Rugby - Far better dealt with then football

[WanChaiMiller]

Wrinkly has this spot on, the reason rugby players do as they're told by the ref is that ANY chat back gets a yellow, and coaches and players across the land appreciate what damage that can do to the cahnces of winning in a game. That respect started by te refs across every level in rugby giving a ten yard advantage for every word said, that should be introduced to football in my opinion, it would stop the back chat immediately.

Having said that, football refs tend to be egotistcal knob heads, so would turn it into a farce on many occasions, but worth a try nonetheless.

Absolutely not true. You have totally missed it. Its not penalisation that enforces good behaviour.

Good behaviour is ingrained from the very minute you walk into a rugby club as an 8 year old junior. From that moment you are taught respect for the game, its history and culture. Respect for opponents and officials.

Unlike football where we taught to think of officials as egotistical knob heads, and abuse officials and opponents.

[the_idiotb_stardson]

Middle class people are better behaved. Of course there are exceptions.

However, the majority of the middle class deserve their status. They worked hard rather than squander it on booze and drugs. They do not fall for instant gratification and actually make sensible long term decisions. They also know that being polite and saying please and thank you can open a few doors and it is a better strategy than 'kicking off' like a spoilt kid if things don't go your way.

Rugby players and fans are predominantly middle class. It's a nicer atmosphere and there is much to admire in their sportsmanship.

Rather than whining about how unfair it is and carry a chip on their shoulder, many would do better instead if they imitated the middle classes.

[animallittle3]

Middle class people are better behaved. Of course there are exceptions.

However, the majority of the middle class deserve their status. They worked hard rather than squander it on booze and drugs. They do not fall for instant gratification and actually make sensible long term decisions. They also know that being polite and saying please and thank you can open a few doors and it is a better strategy than 'kicking off' like a spoilt kid if things don't go your way.

Rugby players and fans are predominantly middle class. It's a nicer atmosphere and there is much to admire in their sportsmanship.

Rather than whining about how unfair it is and carry a chip on their shoulder, many would do better instead if they imitated the middle classes.

The cocaine trade is exclusively aimed at the middle class and high rollers , not the greatest sensible long term decision given it's effects on your health .

The middle class have practically taken over PL football grounds .

Had spots of bother in the corporate facilities at Oakwell over the years too when opposition fans have frequented them .

Funny old world innit .

[great_fire]

Explain why, because really, you don't know do you, so really, you're saying only a working class kid could do summat like that arent you, bit pathetic that to be honest..

Wrinkly has this spot on, the reason rugby players do as they're told by the ref is that ANY chat back gets a yellow, and coaches and players across the land appreciate what damage that can do to the cahnces of winning in a game. That respect started by te refs across every level in rugby giving a ten yard advantage for every word said, that should be introduced to football in my opinion, it would stop the back chat immediately.

Having said that, football refs tend to be egotistcal knob heads, so would turn it into a farce on many occasions, but worth a try nonetheless.

I don't think England's Pacific players have the same background TBH, they're usually from quite poor backgrounds and are often the breadwinner for an extended family back home, there have also been some English League players playing for England who don't have the same background either.

[great_fire]

The cocaine trade is exclusively aimed at the middle class and high rollers , not the greatest sensible long term decision given it's effects on your health .

The middle class have practically taken over PL football grounds .

That's always been funny how the same people who buy free trade stuff and ethically-traded goods snort coke which must be the least ethically sourced product going with numerous murders behind it.

[millertop]

Heres the problem. People like you. You want to use the system to show refs up and prove they are useless. Why? So the crowd can hurl abuse at them?

Rugby union shows how good the refs are who command even more respect.

People like you?
Was you happy with the official/s at Saturday’s game? Did you respect him/them?

I for one wasn’t happy at all and 100% didn’t respect the Ref at all

[KerrAvon]

The cocaine trade is exclusively aimed at the middle class and high rollers , not the greatest sensible long term decision given it's effects on your health.

That would be a great point if it wasn't cobblers. 20 years or so ago, cocaine was the drug of choice for high earners, but it is now used across the whole of society.

[KerrAvon]

Having said that, football refs tend to be egotistcal knob heads.

I think football may be slightly faster than rugby, making it harder to officiate. Secondly, I wonder whether some refs might act like egotistical knob heads, because of the back chat and lack of respect they get.

[CTMilller]

I think football may be slightly faster than rugby, making it harder to officiate. Secondly, I wonder whether some refs might act like egotistical knob heads, because of the back chat and lack of respect they get.

I think there's some truth in that - especially the first point; there are probably slightly fewer occasions when a decision could be seen as 50/50.

I played school, university and club rugby from the age of 13 to 36 and would make a couple of points:

As Wan Chai Miller said, you start from a very early age with a mindset that the ref is all powerful and what he says, goes. There's virtually no point in dissent. Rugby is very much about gaining ground and the ref has the power to move a set piece forward another 10 yards simply because an arguing player hasn't already dropped back the required 10. This can often provide a big psychological advantage. Players who cause this to happen because they argue with the ref are pretty quickly brought into line by their team mates.

The ref is always talking to the players in set pieces - often reminding them of what they can and can't do. It creates an atmosphere where his role as arbitrator and neutral observer is not just about blowing a whistle, signaling and then wagging a finger after an infringement. He is part of the game. He will often inject humour into a situation which stops things flaring up.

Players tend to save their energy for the massive physical effort of actually playing the game - especially in the scrum. Any player who has enough breath to get lippy with ref (or start messing with another player) is probably not trying hard enough. Obviously a lot of tit-for-tat niggling goes on but it's easier to do it "discretely" within a scrum or a maul - even in a line-out. (I struggle with some arthritis in my fingers as a result of having had them bent in directions they're not supposed to go...)

Even without video assessments and Sin Bins, rugby is just so much more a game that is self-regulated by the demands of the sport itself and the way you're brought up to play it.

[Gainsbro_Miller]

Middle class people are better behaved. Of course there are exceptions.

However, the majority of the middle class deserve their status. They worked hard rather than squander it on booze and drugs. They do not fall for instant gratification and actually make sensible long term decisions. They also know that being polite and saying please and thank you can open a few doors and it is a better strategy than 'kicking off' like a spoilt kid if things don't go your way.

Rugby players and fans are predominantly middle class. It's a nicer atmosphere and there is much to admire in their sportsmanship.

Rather than whining about how unfair it is and carry a chip on their shoulder, many would do better instead if they imitated the middle classes.

Not sure who defines 'working class' or 'middle class' or whatever but...…..

I was at Twickenham on Sunday, along with a group of nine others of a similar age (mid fifties). All of us from the Rotherham area and all from 'working class' backgrounds (my interpretation) born into 'average' families, where our parents worked down pit, at steel works, on building sites or in a factory. We all went to comprehensive schools (or Spurley!!).

I lived in a semi-detached house on a council estate in Thurcroft and was 'dragged up' proper i.e. taught good manners and hard work pays off.

I think the first and 'positive' section of your description above would largely describes myself and my compatriots but we are not middle class.

The second and 'derogatory' section does not reflect my understanding of the 'working class'. It may be that there is now a different classification...…...lower than working class...….maybe the Jeremy Kyle ??? generation....

Who knows?

As I said above, I don't know who decides the criteria but I firmly believe that I am working class.

Despite this, I have been to far more rugby matches than football in the last few years.
This is not because I have developed a bout of "middleclassitus" or anything like that but because of three factors:
SKY tv, all seater stadia and agents, who are collectively ruining the game.

Maybe, one day (soon) due to alternative streaming etc (legal or otherwise) the football bubble will burst....