Brendan Fanning: World Rugby will have to mess with the fundamentals of the game to really change the handling technique

An hour before kick-off, we heard the legendary Wallaby, strongman and spiritual leader, David Pocock, was out. Thankfully this fell on our lap before it was picked up by the bookies. It was an opening game if not a concluding game changer. That comes down to a tactic that Ireland is turning into performance art.

Les Kiss has become synonymous with suffocating resolution. In 2011, the former Kangaroo has been transformed into an Ireland defense coach for three years, and has done his job very well. He delivers with detail and effect on how the men in blue hold off opponents in contention, gain an edge in the argument and the huge psychological boost that comes with it.

The Aussies must not have been adjusted to the same station because in Auckland that night they roamed any blind alley, and were immediately apprehended. It was a bad one, fueled by the patent annoyance of the Wallabies, who seemed powerless to deal with.

One detail that Kiss doesn’t have to worry about is safety. Or, open up the opportunity to concede penalties. There was no incentive back then to dismiss the high-shooter game, which was seen as a virtual treasure trove of Pacific island players, who struggled to adhere to the game’s disciplinary requirements here. .

No, the coach is more focused on identifying an opportunity to strangle a ball bearer, and then on the quick reaction of his teammates to jump in and turn it into a stand-by. His is a one-sided love. “Maul!” – followed by “Scrum!” Cue passionate applause from the crowd.

What could go wrong? Rugby is rugby, however, the game will rotate around every other season until we get to where we are now: an all-out – if inconsistent – push for head-to-head game elimination .

The way this has been applied has caused all sorts of things, from old school geeks who like to lament a game that has gone light-hearted to conspiracy theorists who claim it’s a tree. sticks to defeat the weaker.

Last weekend gave a few examples that generate a lot of heat. In Connacht’s URC game against the Stormers, first-half Conor Fitzgerald was leveled by a high save from South African Ruhan Nel was quoted.

The spot conversation between referee Ben Blain and his TMO Leo Colgan was one of increasingly awkward exchanges as both sides wanted it to be private and unrecorded.

After that, the match between Ireland and Italy happened two incidents. First, the Italian’s replacement was Hame Faiva, who changed the game for the worse. The second half was followed by a situation that did not change the game because it did not attract attention at the time: Ryan Baird tackled Alessandro Fusco at a high level.

These are all high shots at first – the problem lies in the exact contact point, force and damage levels, then the mitigating factors. In all of this, there seems to be an acceptance that to improve health and safety, disrupters need to lower their starting point in the first place. The problem is, they really don’t like doing this.

Joe Schmidt was quick to point out the problem here: once the hitter reduces his height, it not only changes the image but also tilts the scales in favor of the carrier. Faced with a reduced tackler, it will be easier for the ball carrier to put him down with a smack or step around him completely. If he makes contact, his chances of successfully offloading also increase.

You can understand the reluctance to play in this game. The attackers had time to think that they could take their chance and delay until the last millisecond. People who don’t have time to think react late, with predictable results. What we are left with are incidents that are awkwardly introduced and TMO dissected, or incidents that are not resolved at all.

The reality is that coaches are now satisfied with the trade-off between players continuing to attack the ball when it’s chest wide and incurring penalties. Perhaps in the underworld is an indicator to back up this policy, so go ahead.

In these cases, there will be no change in behavior unless there is a change in the carrot and the stick. Shifting advantage around tackles will involve messing around with the fundamentals of ‘use it or lose it.’

Reducing the height of the tackle to central defender will almost certainly facilitate more offloading, but that will be a worry for defensive coaches around the world, who go to sleep at night dreaming of performing those goals. Outstanding tackles bury people and the ball.

That certainly appealed to Les Kiss back in the day when he was cornering this market on Ireland. His reclusiveness is not to predict the future, but to make Ireland harder to confront in the present. And he achieved it.

However, the new world order requires something different. If World Rugby wants to be consistent in its crusade to improve health and safety, it will have to mess with the fundamentals of the game and assist referees who are battered for making bad decisions. big call.