ESPN classic has just arrived on my multi channel platform and it has made me go back and watch some stuff long forgotten. Most recently I watched the 1991 rugby world cup in England. It has got me thinking about the game of rugby and how it has changed.
Obviously the players have got bigger and stronger. The England back line of 1991 looked like the seven dwarf's compared to the current set of backs. The forwards looked kind of lumpy and mis-shapen. Their was no extra thin shirts or grip gloves. What did this mean to the game? It was slower for sure. Did this make the game worse? No! The game was as exciting as the game we see today. If anything the skill levels were slightly higher. Case in point was the way French back line played. They lined up deep and ran at space none of the flat line play we see today. Backs were given time to work. Also national styles were more apparent. New Zealand and Scotland were aggressive rucking sides and England were superb maulers. This made for some fascinating games.
Why blog about this? Sometimes we look at rugby and think about the now and forget where the game has come from and maybe what we have lost in the great rush to globalise the game.
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