How to confuse younger generations of rugby supporters
Posted: Thu Nov 21, 2024 6:31 am
Get them to do the maths!



A place where escape goats go to play
https://www.notplanetrugby.com/
I get mildly annoyed when people call the scrum half and fly half "the nine" and "the ten". Maybe I should start calling them "the I" and "the J" (though Bristol's went in the opposite order?)Hal Jordan wrote: Thu Nov 21, 2024 2:19 pm Bristol vs Leicester from the letters for positions days.
Hal Jordan wrote: Thu Nov 21, 2024 2:19 pm Bristol vs Leicester from the letters for positions days.
I don't understand it. Was there a period where pens/DGs were worth 4 when we were in the 5pt try era? I freely concede there are creatures in the Mariana Trench with better maths skills, mind, that's why I was mostly a forward.
Bristol did indeed go in the opposite direction.Niegs wrote: Thu Nov 21, 2024 3:06 pmI get mildly annoyed when people call the scrum half and fly half "the nine" and "the ten". Maybe I should start calling them "the I" and "the J" (though Bristol's went in the opposite order?)Hal Jordan wrote: Thu Nov 21, 2024 2:19 pm Bristol vs Leicester from the letters for positions days.
Union numbered RL style back in the day too, didn't it? With FH and SH being 6 and 7?
Code: Select all
Year TRY CONV PEN DGOAL GOAL (FROM MARK)
1886 1 2 - 3 3
1889 2 2 - 3 3
1891 1 2 3 3 3
1893 3 2 3 4 4
1905 3 2 3 4 3
1948 3 2 3 3 3
1971 4 2 3 3 3
1977 4 2 3 3 -
1992 5 2 3 3 -
I only know the answer to this particular moment... tries still worth three, if converted, called a 'goal'. If unconverted, just a 'try'. I'd heard this before, but the confusing bit was that both five-point converted tries and three-point penalty goals/drop goals are in the same column. So that's where England's 8 comes from. New Zealand converted four of their tries and missed the kick on one.Brazil wrote: Thu Nov 21, 2024 4:06 pmI don't understand it. Was there a period where pens/DGs were worth 4 when we were in the 5pt try era? I freely concede there are creatures in the Mariana Trench with better maths skills, mind, that's why I was mostly a forward.
From wiki, sounds like it was both rare and difficult:epwc wrote: Thu Nov 21, 2024 4:40 pm On the points I was confused too, so I did some digging:
Code: Select all
Year TRY CONV PEN DGOAL GOAL (FROM MARK) 1886 1 2 - 3 3 1889 2 2 - 3 3 1891 1 2 3 3 3 1893 3 2 3 4 4 1905 3 2 3 4 3 1948 3 2 3 3 3 1971 4 2 3 3 3 1977 4 2 3 3 - 1992 5 2 3 3 -
I think this is accurate. I'd never heard of a Goal from a mark
It also suggests this was still possible until 1977 ... so was being able to call a mark anywhere on the pitch (a la AFL) still in play that late?The goal from mark was seldom seen for several reasons: the kicking team would have had to make the mark comfortably within the range of the opponent's goal, usually implying a gross error on the part of a defending player. The player making the mark would presumably have considered a drop goal attempt from open play less likely to succeed than a goal from the mark. The defending team were allowed to advance as far as the mark, meaning that the kick had to be attempted from still further away, and were moreover permitted to charge the attempted kick as soon as the ball was placed on the ground, the kicker started to run up or offered to kick the ball.
I started in 1964 and don't eitherepwc wrote: Thu Nov 21, 2024 4:52 pm I started secondary school in 1976, don't remember anything about Goals from a Mark