Rugby League A to Z

[racha]

2 - MAN LINEOUT

 

Also known as a short lineout. This is self-expanatory.

 

Eg: "Western Samoa are getting cleaned out at lineout time so they

 

have had to resort to the 2 - man lineout."

 

( see cleaned out, lineout )

 

 

 

50 - 50 BALL

 

Any ball that can be contested by either side is said to be 50 - 50,

 

especially in the case of bombs, or in some lineouts.

 

Eg: Warren Jack "its all in the reflexes" Burton should resort to the

 

bomb more in order to create some 50 - 50 ball.

 

( see bomb )

 

 

 

ADVANTAGE LINE

 

An imaginary line that extends across the field from where the last

 

scrum, ruck, maul, lineout or play the ball was formed. This is used

 

as a measure of how much good has been done.

 

Eg: "The Otago backs are in disarray as they failed to make the

 

advantage line again."

 

( see play the ball, scrum, done good )

 

 

 

AGAINST THE FEED

 

Only used in league commentaries to describe the extremely rare

 

occurrence of the team losing the ball to the opposition after

 

feeding it into the scrum. Should never never never ever happen,

 

but has been known to occur.

 

Eg: "Oh dear... Alfie put the ball in properly that time, and

 

now the opposition have taken the ball against the feed. That'll

 

teach him."

 

( see scrum, tighthead )

 

 

 

AGAINST THE HEAD

 

Used only in Union commentaries to describe the rare occurance of the

 

ball being hooked by the opposition after the scrummage put in.

 

Eg: "Gee, a little bit of illegal play there and Purvey's taken the

 

ball against the head for Waikato. Must've been the Hand of God."

 

( see scrum, tighthead, against the feed )

 

 

 

AROUND THE CORNER

 

A style of kicking that is the most suitable technique for todays

 

conditions.

 

How to kick around the corner style:

 

1) Line the ball up with the goalposts.

 

2) Take 2-3 steps backwards, followed by up to 2 steps to

 

either left or right, depending on whether you are right-

 

or left-footed (respectively).

 

3) Calm down, either by following one of the following three

 

techniques, or by your own method.

 

(i) Lynagh technique: Sniff left armpit followed by right.

 

The smell should be sufficient to act as a relaxant.

 

(ii) Fox technique: Take deep breaths with arms at sides

 

whilst shaking your fingers. Reputed to be better than

 

the Lynagh technique, because of Fox's higher accuracy.

 

(iii) Shane Howarth technique: Take 3 steps back followed

 

by 2 huge steps to the left (not 3 little ones) to

 

gently stretch the groin. Take a deep breath and as

 

you do so stroke your balls delicately. Remind

 

yourself that these might not be there for the next

 

match if you miss. Repeat.

 

4) When calm, move in gently towards the ball and strike it

 

with your boot making allowances for the wind.

 

5) If you have done everything correctly you should have a

 

more than even chance of the ball going over.

 

Eg: These days everyone who is sane uses around the corner style.

 

 

 

ATTACKING RUGBY

 

An expression used to describe the brand of rugby that a team plays.

 

It usually involves keeping the ball alive for as long as possible

 

and using the whole team in phase after phase of play. The theory

 

says that if you keep the ball alive long enough holes will appear

 

in the opposition defence.

 

NOTE: not to be confused with the style of rugby Richard Loe prefers.

 

Eg: Otago is said to play a brand of attacking rugby.

 

 

 

BACK ROW MOVE

 

The back row are the loose forwards of a team. A back row move

 

consists of the loosies working in tandem from a scrum. One of them

 

picks the ball up (usually the number 8) and backs into one flanker

 

and tries to unload to the other flanker. However this always seems

 

to result in the referee pinging them for accidental offside so I

 

can't understand why teams do this.

 

Eg: The back row move tried then was really stupid as it wasted

 

quality ball.

 

( see pinging, quality ball )

 

 

 

BASICS

 

(Or Fundamentals) Another (Stu) Wilsonism, it is always used when

 

whining about a team which, for reasons best left to themselves, has

 

decided to play Catch-up Footie right from the start of the game,

 

with miss-out passes, reverse passes and miracle balls being

 

attempted at each and every opportunity.

 

Eg: "Now its just a matter of getting back to basics. These guys

 

should be doing the fundamentals." (Stu makes a point of saying

 

this at least once per game, even when it's not really appropriate).

 

( see catch-up footie, miss-out pass, reverse pass, miracle ball )

 

 

 

BLACK DOT

 

The black dot is the little marking on the centre of the cross bar. It

 

is quite often not even black. Mal Meninga when lining up a shot for

 

goal used to say "Black Dot" to himself in order to imagine the ball

 

travelling straight down the middle. Because of this it is customary

 

to shout "Black Dot" at an opposition goal kicker as they are shooting

 

for goal in order to put them off by conjuring up images of a Meninga

 

in their minds.

 

Eg: BLACK DOT (deep breath) BLACK DOT (deep breath) ......

 

( see meninga, torpedo )

 

 

 

BLIND SIDE

 

From scrums, rucks and mauls the shortest side to the touch line is

 

known as the blind side. Most teams always seem to "work the blind"

 

everytime they try an attacking move.

 

NOTE: This term has also been used to describe teams that Richard

 

Loe had played against (now fallen into disuse).

 

Eg: The AB's are too predictable because they always work the

 

blindside with their big wingers.

 

 

 

BLINDER

 

Used by commentators when a League player has drunk some bad

 

homebrew... er, I mean when a player is having a good match.

 

Eg: "OH! Renouf! He's having a blinder!"

 

( see done plenty of good )

 

 

 

BOMB

 

(i) A high kick into the air designed to usually put pressure on the

 

opposition fullback. This pressure comes from the chasers who try to

 

regather the ball or at least take out the fullback. In rugby the

 

ideal bomb should land just outside the 22m line to prevent the

 

"mark" being taken. In league it should land just outside the goal

 

line.

 

NOTE: DO NOT use this term whilst playing rugby in Ireland, it

 

can lead to possible misunderstandings. Instead use the local

 

term "garryowen".

 

Eg: "And that's a HUGE mid field bomb from Warren Johnson"

 

(ii) The act of spoiling a certain try by doing something ridiculous.

 

Eg: He bombed a certain try by cutting back inside.

 

(see cut back, high hoist, mark, take out)

 

 

 

BREAKDOWN

 

(i) Where play momentarily halts, ie at a collapsed maul or a ruck.

 

Eg: "The Waikato loosies are slow getting to that breakdown, John."

 

(ii) Also used to describe what happens to the All Black loose

 

forwards during a test match, they get injured so frequently.

 

Mike Brewer has given new meaning to being first to the breakdown.

 

Eg: "Whattaya mean, Brewers injured?! Has he broken down already!?"

 

 

 

BRILLIANT

 

(i) An adverb (I done 6 form England) used to describe a passage of

 

play that is particularly outstanding.

 

Eg: That run by Lomu was absolutely BRILLIANT!!!!

 

(ii) See Talented.

 

Eg: That Campese is bloody brilliant!!!

 

 

 

BULLOCKING

 

Pronounced 'bollocking' by most commentators and with usually the

 

same effect, a bullocking run is usually made by a forward with

 

the ball in hand, scattering tacklers as he goes.

 

Eg: "'Bull' Allen is making a bullocking run towards half-way -

 

the tacklers are trying to put him down, but there aren't enough

 

of them."

 

 

 

BUMFACE

 

Will Carling (Ed.: Thanks Ross, I always wondered who they were

 

going on about.)

 

 

 

BUST

 

When a player is able to break a tackle and find themselves in open

 

territory he is said to have made a bust. The bust may mean only

 

the breaking of the tackle or as much as a complete break up the

 

middle.

 

NOTE FOR COMMENTATORS: Be careful when using this term during

 

commentary on women's rugby matches.

 

Eg: He made a great bust up the middle by splitting the defence

 

wide open.

 

 

 

CAMPO'S

 

(Disease) Causes the player afflicted to do crazy thing in their

 

own in-goal such as trying to run it out when there are five

 

players bearing down on you or trying to offload a miracle ball

 

when no-one is in any position to catch the thing. Named after

 

the Daring David Campese, largely through the '89 Wallabies -

 

Lions test series in-goal cough, resulting in the winning of the

 

series for the Lions.

 

Eg: "Strawbridge has got the ball within his own in-goal, he only

 

needs to kick for touch - aw for fuck's sake, he's knocked the

 

thing on and they've bloody well scored. He must have a case of

 

the Campo's."

 

( see cough, miracle ball )

 

 

 

CATCH-UP FOOTIE

 

When one team is behind by a large amount of points they usually get

 

desperate and resort to a different game plan. This really only

 

happens in the last 20 minutes of a game. This tactic is known as

 

catch-up footie and is characterised by spinning the ball wide at

 

every chance (ie no continuous cut backs) , taking the tap on

 

penalties (instead of shooting for goal) and trying to unload

 

miracle balls all the time. This brand of rugby/league is highly

 

dangerous as it usually leads to coughs, intercepts and the loss of

 

2 or 3 easy points at each penalty. Therefore it is only recommended

 

in hopeless situations.

 

Eg: "They're down by 20 with only 15 to go on the clock, I think it's

 

time to play catch-up footie."

 

( see cough, intercept, miracle ball )

 

 

 

CAUGHT NAPPING

 

Refers to the defense being unaware of what is happening and thus

 

unable to defend properly.

 

Eg: "The South African side was caught napping from that quick

 

tap by Bachop."

 

 

 

CHANGE STRIP

 

Is the outfits that a home team changes into when some other team

 

comes visiting and have the same colours as the home team normally

 

play in.

 

Eg: "The Canadian's have used their change strip today as their

 

uniform is exactly the same colour as at least three other playing

 

nations!!!"

 

( see strip(ii) )

 

 

 

CHANGING THE ANGLES

 

When a player comes into the backline at a different line to the rest

 

of the backline he is said to be changing the angles. This has the

 

effect of disrupting the opposition defensive patterns in the hope of

 

making a bust. However this can result in the player coughing up

 

the ball. Used most effectively against sliding defences.

 

Eg: "Little is changing the angles again"

 

( see cough, bust, sliding defence )

 

 

 

CHEAP YARDS

 

When the ball carrier makes ground up the field because of ineffective

 

or non-existent tackling then they are said to have made cheap yards.

 

Eg: "The marker defence is not working as they are making cheap yards

 

every time."

 

( see hard yards/metres )

 

 

 

CHEATING

 

When a player knowingly infringes he is said to be cheating. If the

 

ref spots it a penalty will be conceded, but if you get away with

 

it, it's a good tactic. And remember this "It ain't cheating if you

 

don't get caught".

 

Eg: "Carter has been cheating all game, but is doesn't matter

 

because the ref hasn't spotted a thing."

 

( see conceding the penalty )

 

 

 

CHIP

 

The same as a pop kick and is normally performed by a centre.

 

Eg: "Great little chip there from Jason Little, he found space and

 

over he went."

 

( see pop kick )

 

 

 

CLEAN

 

A player who never resorts to cheating or dirty play is known as a

 

clean player. The complete opposite of filthy.

 

Eg: The Great Grant Fox was a clean player.

 

( see filthy )

 

 

 

CLEANED OUT

 

A term used to describe a team that is not winning any ball in the

 

lineouts and are therefore forced to feed of the crumbs.

 

Eg: "Otago is getting cleaned out at lineout time and they are

 

forced to use Joseph at the back everytime."

 

( see crumbs )

 

 

 

COAT OF PAINT

 

A term used mainly in league when a shot for goal misses the posts

 

by less than half a metre when using "around the corner" style or

 

getting within the width of another set of posts when using

 

"torpedo style".

 

Eg: OOOOHHH.. there was only a coat of paint in that one.

 

( see torpedo, around the corner )

 

 

 

COLLAPSING THE SCRUM

 

When a scrum goes to ground (ie the front rows hit the deck) it is

 

said to have collapsed. The reasons for this happening are many and

 

varied, not even the referee knows why. Because of this the referee

 

will tend to ping a player at random in order to continue the game

 

if he has had enough of resetting the scrum after each collapse.

 

This is considered to be good refereeing, but most teams find

 

themselves hard done by the decision. If a team has in the eyes of

 

the referee deliberately collapsed a scrum in order to prevent a

 

push-over, a penalty try may be awarded.

 

Eg: "I think Otago deliberately collapsed that scrum in order to

 

stop a certain try."

 

( see pinging, push-over, scrum )

 

 

 

COMING DOWN WITH SNOW ON IT

 

Used in Northern Hemisphere to describe and Up and Under that has

 

gone to an unusually high height.

 

Eg: "Crumbs, that one's coming down with snow on it."

 

( see bomb, crumbs, up and under )

 

 

 

CONCEDING THE PENALTY

 

A good professional team will deliberately concede a penalty in order

 

to prevent a try being scored. Other teams with really stupid hot

 

headed players will concede penalties just for the fun of it. A

 

penalty can be purposely conceded by some of the following methods:

 

1) Doing a superman impression by diving in over the top in a ruck.

 

2) Being blatantly offside at ruck, maul and scrum time.

 

3) Collapsing the scrum.

 

4) Punching or kicking someone right in front of the referee.

 

This tends to be especially annoying if your team has just

 

been awarded a penalty and the referee reverses it.

 

5) Not releasing the ball in a tackle situation.

 

6) Not allowing the tackled player to release the ball by lying

 

all over them.

 

7) Stripping the ball in the tackle in front of the referee.

 

8) Bad mouthing the ref in a way that really pisses him off!

 

All good teams these days have specialists at giving away silly

 

penalties and they are usually found in the front row of a team.

 

Eg: "That was a really stupid penalty conceded by Jamie Joseph,

 

there was no need to stand on Carter's head and now Bishop has

 

reversed the penalty."

 

( see over the top, collapsing the scrum, offside, strip )

 

 

 

COUGH

 

The act of losing the ball forward for no apparent reason.

 

Eg: "He's coughed the ball up right on the line... *again*"

 

 

 

CRUMBS

 

(i) A term used to describe not good quality ball that a team

 

"feeds" off, such as loose ball at line out time.

 

Eg: "Those Counties forwards have been starved of possession so

 

they have been forced to feed off the crumbs."

 

(ii) A term used by commentators to indicate awe.

 

Eg: "Crumbs, Keith, there're some big tackles going in there"

 

( see quality ball )

 

 

 

CUT BACK

 

The act of bringing the ball closer to the forwards after the ball

 

has been released from the ruck, instead of passing it out to the

 

wing. This is achieved by picking out the closest opposition

 

forwards and charging straight towards them. As a result, many

 

tries are bombed, because passing it to the wings scores tries.

 

Eg: "He's cut back inside into the opposition forwards"

 

( see bomb (ii) )

 

 

 

DECK

 

(i) Another term for the ground or playing surface.

 

Eg: A good tackle is one which puts a player on the deck.

 

(ii) Can also be used as a verb in order to describe somebody

 

thumping an opponent to the ground.

 

Eg: "Robin Brooke just decked Eric Rush!"

 

 

 

DONE GOOD

 

Where a player has performed some good deed - placed a ball well in

 

the tackle, has made a good tackle, a good kick upfield, or has made

 

hard yards/metres.

 

Eg: "He done good"

 

( see hard yards/metres )

 

 

 

DONE PLENTY OF GOOD

 

As above, but the action results in points being scored. Includes

 

making a critical pass, kick, or intercept. Also can be used when

 

a player has "done good" throughout an entire game.

 

Eg: "He done plenty of good with that (insert pass/kick/catch)"

 

( see done good )

 

 

 

DOT IT DOWN

 

When a player has forced the ball over the opposition's goal-line,

 

he is said to have "dotted it down". Several styles are available

 

to the player of today:

 

1) The Wilson "hold it in front while you dive for the line"

 

style. Risky and especially stupid, as a tackle in mid-flight

 

is usually sufficient to dislodge the ball and cost you the

 

match (many expletives about the 1994 Bledisloe Cup match

 

deleted).

 

2) The Halligan stretch: diving and reaching for the line at

 

full stretch while the touchline is a matter of centimetres

 

away. Better than manoeuvre (1) as the ball is grasped firmly

 

by the hands.

 

3) Crash-over: Usually from a ruck or maul close to the line.

 

Involves one of the larger forwards breaking away, busting

 

weak tackles and falling over the line to score. Very hard

 

to stop.

 

4) Push-Over: see Push-over

 

5) Show-off style: Where the backs have split the defence and

 

run in to score the try with little, if any, opposition. Can

 

result in an unfortunate, not to mention embarrassing, cough.

 

6) Copy-book style: Rarely done, so not worth mentioning.

 

Eg: "And he's dotted it down in the corner/under the sticks for a

 

ssSENSATIONall try!!!"

 

( see wilson, cough, push-over )

 

 

 

DOUBLE AROUND

 

A rather useless and stupid backline move where a player passes the

 

ball to the player outside of him and then runs around behind the

 

receiver and gets on his outside. This has the effect of creating

 

an overlap where one doesn't exist. However this rarely works as

 

no else knows what is going on apart from the original passer and

 

usually results in a cough or an intercept.

 

Eg: "I don't know what Walter Little is playing at, but the Double

 

Around is simply not his style."

 

( see cough, intercept, overlap )

 

 

 

DROPPIE

 

(i) Another term for drop/field goal.

 

Eg: Langer sure needs some practice at those droppies.

 

(ii) Drop-restart, either from the 22 or half-way in RU, or in the

 

goal-mouth in RL.

 

Eg: "Howarths droppie from half-way failed to go the ten metres"

 

 

 

EASY METRES

 

( see cheap yards ).

 

 

 

EIGHTMAN

 

Obscure South African term for the Number 8 forward.

 

Eg: "Tim Gavin the eightman for Australia has crashed over for

 

an exciting push-over try."

 

( see push-over )

 

 

 

ENGINE ROOM

 

Another name for the two locks of a team, especially in reference to

 

scrums.

 

Eg: "In the engine room today for the All Black's we have Cooksley

 

and Jones."

 

 

 

EVER-PRESENT

 

Refers to a player, usually the open side flanker, who is always "on"

 

the ball carrier. This can only be achieved through being constantly

 

offside all game.

 

Eg: "The ever-present John Jeffery was always a real pain for any

 

opposition half back or 1st five eigths."

 

( see offside )

 

 

 

FAIRIES

 

Forwards name for the backs; somewhat archaic; not used in commentary

 

because of its alternative connotations.

 

Eg: We (the fatties) do all the hard work, they (the fairies) get

 

all the tries. (Pre-70's forward's complaint about the game)

 

 

 

FAKE SPEED

 

Is actually what the open side flanker who "WAS ALL OVER THE PITCH"

 

had-- the bastard was offside all match long... Who needs speed when

 

you can notice when the ref's looking or not.

 

Eg: "Brewer has disguised his fake speed well by being constantly

 

offside all game."

 

( see genuine speed, ever-present )

 

 

 

FATTIES

 

Backs name for the forwards; somewhat archaic; still used by Stu "the

 

wanker" Wilson.

 

Eg: The fatties make hard yards and bust tackles.

 

 

 

FILTHY

 

A player who continuously infringes, throws punches, stomps and pokes

 

opposition full backs in the eye is called filthy.

 

Eg: Richard "Pokai" Loe is the filthiest player in NZ at the moment,

 

but Joseph comes a close second.

 

( see stomping, pokai )

 

 

 

FLAT

 

When the defending backline are close to the off side line they are

 

said to be standing up flat. There tends to be a very fine line

 

between being flat and offside and many referees will tend to ping

 

sides whenever they feel like it.

 

Eg: "Those cheating XXXXXX backs have been standing up flat all game."

 

( see cheating, ping, offside )

 

 

 

FLAT-FOOTED

 

A player who is stationary when the opposition is moving towards

 

him at a rapid rate is said to be flat footed.

 

Eg: "Walter Little was unable to keep up as he was caught

 

flat-footed from the start."

 

 

 

FOURTEEN-POINTER

 

An intercept made when a try was almost certain, leading to a runaway

 

try scored at the other end.

 

(For some reason known as a twelve-pointer in league.)

 

Eg: "That fourteen pointer under the sticks has completely screwed

 

them."

 

( see intercept )

 

 

 

FRENCH FLAIR

 

Used to describe any legal attack with ball in hand within your own

 

half.

 

Eg: "England need to show some French Flair to stand any chance in

 

this match."

 

( see attacking rugby )

 

 

 

FRINGE

 

(i) A player who is close to being selected for their national team

 

is known as a fringe player.

 

Eg: "Bull" Allen is a fringe player for the AB's.

 

(ii) A player who is close to being deemed off side is known to play

 

on the fringes. This normally applies at ruck and maul times. A good

 

open side flanker will play on the fringes all game.

 

Eg: "Richard Loe has been on the fringes all game".

 

(iii) A player who likes to play the game dressed in fishnet

 

stockings, a red suspender belt, and a nightie with lots of black

 

lacy bits.

 

Eg: "Christ Keith, I think the new **** ****** uniforms are a bit on

 

the fringe."

 

 

 

FULL CREDIT

 

A phrase used by players during post match TV interviews. It has

 

been used so many times that it has lost all meaning completely.

 

You can blame Fitzy for this one.

 

Eg: "Full credit to the guys/boys/oppostion, they played their

 

guts out for the full 80 minutes."

 

 

 

GAME OF TWO HALVES

 

Another post match cliche. Loosely translated to mean "We were

 

leading by shit loads at the break and then we fucked up big time

 

and lost rather stupidly."

 

Eg: "To use an old cliche it was a game of two halves."

 

 

 

GAS

 

(i) Another term for pace or speed.

 

Eg: He has got plenty of gas.

 

(ii) Also used to describe a malodorous complaint associated with

 

the tight-five when straining particularly hard in the scrum.

 

Eg: "Gee there is a lot of gas in that scrum; Yeah, and the tight

 

five are working hard in there too."

 

 

 

GENIUS

 

Any player who does NOT cut back inside.

 

Eg: "CAMPESE!!! is an absolute genius!!!." (Said during a Bledisloe

 

Cup test after he went around Timu to score out wide.)

 

( see cut back )

 

 

 

GENUINE SPEED

 

Invented by Stu "the wanker" Wilson, commentator extraordinaire. A

 

player who can run extremely quickly has "genuine speed". Although

 

it is implied by the use of the term "genuine", no-one has ever been

 

accused of having fake speed.

 

Eg: "That Osborne... he's got genuine speed, he has" (heard 3-4 times

 

in the 1994 NHarbour/Canterbury semi).

 

 

 

GIRLS

 

Another name used by forwards to describe the backs.

 

( see fairies )

 

 

 

GO LOOKING FOR WORK

 

When a good winger is starved of the ball he will go infield and play

 

out of position in order to get involved in the game. This may happen

 

as a result of continuous cut backs by the inside centres or because

 

of a kicking 1st 5/8ths.

 

Eg: "Kirwan has come off his wing to go looking for work because he

 

hasn't seen the ball all game."

 

( see cut back, inside centre, kicking 1st 5/8ths, out of position )

 

 

 

GO THE DISTANCE

 

(i) When a penalty has been awarded or a try scored, and the kicker

 

has come forward to attempt the shot at goal. If, upon taking the

 

kick, it fails to reach the cross-bar (as opposed to spraying to

 

either side), it can be said to have not gone the distance.

 

Eg: "Ohhh... I'm afraid that isn't going to go the distance"

 

(ii) Also refers to players and their ability to last the full 80

 

minutes, in the same way as petrol is used.

 

Eg: "I don't think the O**** forwards are going to go the distance"

 

( see spray, petrol)

 

 

 

GO YOU GOOD THING!!!

 

A little gem from that loud mouthed Ocker TV commentator Chris

 

"I'm not very" Handy. It is used during the replay of a great

 

individual try being scored by an Australian.

 

Eg: (As Jason Little scythes through the ineffective tackling to

 

dot it down under the sticks) "Goow yew goud theeng!!!"

 

 

 

GOT ALL THE SKILLS

 

Said by admiring commentators in reference to players who can kick,

 

run, pass *and* tackle well, and possess foresight.

 

Eg: "Zinnies' come back to cover that kick really well, and his kick

 

has found touch two metres out from the opposition goal-line... awww,

 

he's got all the skills, he has."

 

 

 

GOT THE WOOD ON

 

A term used at scrum time to describe a team who has the ability to

 

push the opposition pack backwards.

 

Eg: "Waikato has got the wood on the Otago scrum."

 

 

 

GRUBBER

 

A small kick that travels mainly along the ground.

 

Eg: "Alfie has put in another little grubber to totally surprise the

 

opposition and score under the posts; he's never done that before!"

 

 

 

HARD YARDS/METRES

 

The act of breaking the advantage line, usually involved through use

 

of good body position (head forward). No passing is involved apart

 

from the feeding of the ball to the player, who then sticks his head

 

down and charges forward. Can quite often result in a cough.

 

Eg: "The fatties up front are making plenty of hard yards every time

 

they receive the ball."

 

( see advantage line, cough, fatties )

 

 

 

HE ONLY KNOWS ONE WAY

 

Refers to player who lacks foresight, or lacks the ability to pass

 

the ball. Players who only know one way simply go forward all game

 

all day, into or through as many opposition players as possible.

 

Eg: "Hainsworth's got the ball... he only knows one way"

 

 

 

HEADLESS CHOOK

 

A player suffering from Little's disease. Said to be similar to

 

the unfortunate bird thus named. (Probably an insult to the bird.)

 

Eg: In the 1991 World Cup Wallaby/AB semi final the entire AB

 

backline were headless chooks.

 

( see cut back, little's disease )

 

 

 

HERE'S A CHANCE

 

Used primarily in RL but found creeping into RU commentary. Used

 

when in attacking backplay and the players equal or outnumber the

 

defence. Pronunciation is very important: here is pronounced as

 

though it has two e's after the h, but still said really quickly.

 

Chance is pronounced as "channz".

 

Eg: "Eet's sex on foive Toddy, heerz a channz".

 

 

 

HIGH HOIST

 

Like a hoist, except much much higher and it returns with a

 

whitish colouring.

 

Eg: "The high hoist from Rob Andrew has caught everyone by

 

surprise."

 

( see coming down with snow on it )

 

 

 

HIGH SHOT

 

A tackle that comes into contact above the shoulders of the victim

 

is known as a high shot. This can be a very effective method of

 

taking a player out, but usually results in a pinging. A high shot

 

can cause some niggle in a game. Also known as a head high tackle.

 

Eg: "Oh shit, that high shot nearly took his head clean off as he

 

hasn't moved for 5 minutes."

 

( see take out, pinging, niggle )

 

 

 

HIGH-STEP

 

Campese's way of running when someone tries to tackle him. Normally

 

the defender lands up in hospital with a stitches.

 

Eg: "Great high-step there from Campo; the opposing winger hasn't

 

moved yet!"

 

 

 

HIT IT UP

 

A rugby league term meaning, when short of intelligent ideas (i.e.

 

most of the game) to charge forward in the hope of causing a bust.

 

Eg: "Lomax has been hitting it up strong all game."

 

( see bust )

 

 

 

HOIST

 

( see bomb )

 

 

 

HOOF

 

Kicking downfield for tactical position. Named after the noise the

 

ball makes as it leaves Rob Andrew's foot.

 

Eg: "And Bachop has *hoofed* that ball downfield. Pity it went out

 

on the full, though."

 

 

 

HOSPITAL PASS

 

A stupid pass, by a player that lacks foresight, that puts the

 

receiver in immediate danger of being tackled is known as a hospital

 

pass. The receiver usually gets some treatment upon being put on the

 

deck.

 

Note: Ziekenhuis Pass == Hospital Pass in dutch. It's about the only

 

one of the phrases used in Holland that actually get's translated into

 

Dutch.

 

Eg: "That pass was a real hospital pass from Crabb as Foster got the

 

ball and Carter at the same time."

 

( see deck, treatment )

 

 

 

HOW'S YOUR FATHER

 

A term used whenever a player loses his temper and shows it. It is

 

mostly used when a player pushes an opponent or tries to deck him.

 

Eg: "After that stomping on Pienaar there was a bit of How's your

 

father amongst the forwards."

 

( see deck (ii) )

 

 

 

I DON'T BELIEVE IT

 

An expression used by moronic commentators to describe a passage of

 

play that is unexpected or out of the ordinary. Which really means

 

every time a try is scored or stuffed up.

 

Eg: "I don't beeeeelieve it,.... they've scored again".

 

 

 

INCISIVE CUT

 

An incisive cut is a backline movement that results in a bust when

 

a player changes the angles, usually when coming in from the

 

fullback position.

 

Eg: "Hewson made an incisive cut from fullback."

 

( see bust, changing the angles )

 

 

 

INDUSTRIAL RUGBY

 

Rugby as it's played in much of the United States at Bside,

 

collegiate & high school levels. Characterized by more fistfights

 

than scrummages, a complete lack of knowledge of the laws and a

 

unwillingness to give up poor habits (ie lack of fitness, head

 

tackling & 'spearing' with your head (ah! qv spearing)) acquired in

 

American Gridiron/Football.

 

Eg "That industrial match bore more resemblance to the recent Tyson

 

fight than to a game of rugby."

 

( see spearing )

 

 

 

INSIDE CENTRE

 

A team has two inside centres, the 2nd 5/8ths and the centre. The

 

inside centres are the greatest sufferers of Little's Disease.

 

Eg: "The inside centres are doing their job well; they are cutting

 

back inside every time they receive the ball."

 

( see little's disease, cut back )

 

 

 

INTERCEPT

 

When a player fires a pass that is taken by an opposition player it

 

is said to be intercepted. This can quite often result in the scoring

 

of a try known as an "intercept try".

 

Eg: "He shouldn't have unloaded then as the intercept has cost them

 

the game".

 

 

 

KICKING 1st 5/8ths

 

A 1st 5/8ths who constantly kicks the ball when they receive it is

 

known as a kicking 1st 5/8ths. This is an important component of

 

ten man rugby. However this is especially frustrating for the backs

 

outside him as they never see the ball on attack.

 

Eg: Some people (mainly from the South Island) despised the Great

 

Grant Fox as they thought he was kicking 1st 5/8ths all of the time.

 

 

 

KNOCK-ON

 

RL: When a player drops the ball, irrespective of whether it

 

travels forwards or backwards, he will have been seen to have

 

knocked it on by the eagle-eyed referee (Greg McCallum).

 

Eg: "That was *another* poor call by McCallum, there was no way

 

that's a knock-on".

 

RU: When a player coughs the ball forward; however, half-backs

 

at the base of scrums and rucks are usually exempt from this

 

rule, usually because the ref is paying more attention to the poor

 

bastard getting treatment than the clearance of the ball.

 

Eg: "Crabb's knocked the ball on in that scrum, but its okay,

 

cos' Colin "Eyes Of The" Hawke has missed it. Again."

 

( see cough, treatment )

 

 

 

LATE TACKLE

 

(i) A term used to describe a tackle on a player well after he

 

has got rid of the ball. The degree of 'lateness' varies in each

 

rugby-playing country. In England, if the tackle is made 10

 

picoseconds or longer after the player has got rid of the ball,

 

the tackle is late. In New Zealand, if the tackle is made during

 

the same 40 minute period, it's Ok.

 

Eg: "Crowley got the kick away to touch, but the Brooke brothers

 

combined to thump him with a huge late tackle."

 

(ii) A term used to describe a tackle made in a game played

 

under lights with a kickoff time later than 7.25pm.

 

Eg: "Well Stuey, I guess that's what you would call a really late

 

tackle - it's quarter to nine in the evening!"

 

 

 

LEADING FROM THE FRONT

 

Refers to the team's captain, if he/she is a forward. Involves making

 

Hard Yards/Metres, doing good, putting players on the deck

 

(preferably by tackling), and making plenty of busts.

 

Eg: An inspirational leader, like Zinzan Brooke, is said to lead from

 

the front.

 

( see hard yards/metres, done good, deck, bust )

 

 

 

LEFT OR RIGHT

 

When the scrum is packing down in centrefield and the ball is

 

released, it could go either way; hence, left or right. Which is so

 

bloody obvious (which other way could they go?) I wish Quinny would

 

stop saying it.

 

Eg: "They could go left or right from the scrum, Stuey"

 

( see scrum )

 

 

 

LEG SPEED

 

Another term for genuine speed which that NZ league commentator

 

(Lambert (sp?)) used to harp on about. A problem can arise when this

 

'leg speed' does not equal the speed of the upper body of course.

 

Eg: "He's got real leg speed."

 

( see genuine speed )

 

 

 

LIFTING

 

A lineout technique perfected by the Australians, and poorly imitated

 

by South Africa, whereby at a throw-in, a player is held in the air

 

(or "supported") by his team mates for anything up to three seconds.

 

Eg: "McCall was up in air for ages; no he wasn't lifted, he's just

 

a natural jumper."

 

( see lineout )

 

 

 

LINE BALL

 

(i) A term that is used by commentators when a pass is only thrown

 

forward by 1 to 2 m.

 

Eg: "That's a harsh call by McCallum. That was definitely line ball"

 

(ii) How a referee sees a pass or line out throw in when he is 30m

 

from the action and the ball travels at least 2m forward.

 

Eg: "Keep on playing fellas. That was close enough to a line ball"

 

 

 

LINEOUT

 

When the ball is put out over the touch line a lineout forms. This

 

involves the two opposing forward packs to line up parallel next to

 

one another. They should be standing about 1m apart. The hooker of

 

the team who didn't put the ball out (unless it went out from a

 

penalty) gets to throw it in to the lineout. Before the ball is even

 

released the gap in the lineout should be immediately closed up. Once

 

thrown in every player should have a go at getting the ball by leaping

 

in the air, jumping across to the other side, jumping off the

 

shoulders of the opposition, lifting, using the outside arm or by any

 

other method which the referee does not ping for cheating. This

 

creates a real mess which makes it almost impossible to determine who

 

is cheating and who isn't, so the ref will at least 6 times a game

 

randomly ping a team for infringing.

 

Eg: "That lineout was a real mess, the ref could of pinged either

 

team for at least a dozen different infringements; it was good

 

refereeing to simply play on."

 

( see take out, lifting, pinging )

 

 

 

LITTLE's DISEASE

 

Known in the Latin as cutbackitis, it involves the 2nd 5/8ths

 

perambulating in a rapid forward motion to a point between the

 

advancing forwards and the goal-line every time he/she receives

 

the ball. This disease is very contagious and has spread throughout

 

most of the rugby playing world. Named after the famous North Harbour

 

2nd 5/8ths W. Little.

 

Eg: "He's cut back for the tenth time today - he must have Little's

 

disease."

 

( see cut back )

 

 

 

LUYT TACKLE

 

A particularly refined form of post-match insult. Guaranteed to

 

win friends and influence people. NOT! Best used to poison the

 

minds at after match dinners and an especially effective way of

 

cleaning out the cupboard of every friend you ever thought you

 

might have once had.

 

Eg: "Big call there from Louis, the Luyt tackle he put on has

 

offended everyone present."

 

 

 

MANY

 

More than twenty.

 

Eg: "Fox made a mistake with that kick, he doesn't make many of

 

those...!"

 

 

 

MARK

 

In rugby a player that catches a kick, such as a bomb, in their own

 

22m zone may claim the fair catch or mark. Play then restarts from

 

where the mark was taken. This is a great relief to many fullbacks as

 

it saves them from a lot of treatment.

 

Eg: "Howarth was lucky to receive the mark that time as he was about

 

to get nailed in a bone crushing tackle."

 

( see bomb(i), treatment )

 

 

 

MAUL

 

Two main kinds: a rolling maul and a go-nowhere waste-of-time

 

give-the-ball-to-the-opposition type maul, which Waikato

 

specialises in.

 

Eg: "Dear me, John, Waikato have lost the ball because they

 

didn't use it. Why couldn't they have released it?"

 

( see rolling maul )

 

 

 

MENINGA

 

The act of missing an easy shot for goal, named after the great

 

league player Mal Meninga. He was/is the greatest exponent of torpedo

 

kicking in the modern game, who could almost manage a 50% success

 

rate. His sprays are some of the best misses ever. Can also be used

 

for stuffing something up completely.

 

Eg: "He really meninga'd that easy one. My five-year old could've

 

done better"

 

( see torpedo, spray )

 

 

 

MEN TO BURN

 

The situation where there are more men on the ball carrier's team

 

outside of him than in the opposition team. Very similar to overlap.

 

Eg: "Eroni Clarke has men to burn... now he's cut back inside".

 

( see cut back, overlap )

 

 

 

MILKING

 

A player will quite often will pretend to be interfered with in the

 

play the ball or a half back may throw a dummy pass in order to

 

receive a penalty from the ref, such a tactic is known as milking.

 

Eg: "Benny Elias has done good, he's milked a penalty out of

 

McCallum by deliberately loosing the ball in the play the ball."

 

( see done good, play the ball )

 

 

 

MIRACLE BALL

 

A pass that is deemed to be Miracle Ball is one which seems impossible

 

and usually results in a cough, or an intercept. Success can often

 

result in plenty good being done. Used mainly in RL commentaries.

 

Eg: "He triod to offload a meerecle bawl there, but it deedn't com

 

awf"

 

( see cough, intercept, done plenty of good )

 

 

 

MISS OUT PASS

 

In a regular backline movement a pass that goes wider out than the

 

next player is termed a miss out pass. More than one player can be

 

missed out at a time. This form of passing is usually very disastrous

 

as it leads to intercepts and the wastage of good overlaps. In my

 

opinion it is completely over used.

 

Eg: "Ricky Stuart did not need to throw the miss out pass then, he

 

had a 3 on 2 overlap outside him."

 

( see overlap, intercept )

 

 

 

MORTALITY RATE

 

Refers to the number of injuries and replacements that occurs in

 

a certain position. A high rate is a cause of great concern for

 

coaches and can lead to ridiculous selection policies.

 

Eg: "In order to combat the high mortality rate in the All Black

 

loose forwards Laurie Mains in his infinite wisdom has decided

 

to play Brewer, Jones and Brooke as they are three very reliable

 

players who can always last the distance."

 

( see breakdown (ii) )

 

 

 

NEEEH NEEEH

 

The sound made by the Auckland Mouse's trumpet. Initially intended

 

to rouse the Auckland fans to fever pitch, it is now there for

 

tradition's sake.

 

Eg: "NEEEH NEEEH HAR-BOUR NEEEH NEEEH HAR-BOUR"

 

 

 

NIGGLE

 

When tempers, especially amongst the forwards, start to get frayed

 

and little scuffles start to brake out, then there is said to be

 

some niggle creeping into the game.

 

Eg: In the 1994 NPC final Mark Carter was a constant source of niggle

 

and eventually he got the treatment he deserved.

 

( see treatment )

 

 

 

NORTHERN HEMISPHERE REFEREEING

 

Only vaguely similar to its cousin south of the equator, northern

 

hemisphere refereeing involves stopping absolutely *anything*

 

before it results in a try-scoring situation. But they can't even

 

do that right.

 

Eg: "It was a good display of northern hemisphere refereeing. The

 

ref managed to stop seven tries, and awarded 43 penalties for

 

various petty technicalities."

 

( see southern hemisphere refereeing )

 

 

 

OFFSIDE

 

Being offside is a pingable offence. In rugby a player must be behind

 

the hind most feet of a ruck or maul in order to be onside, in league

 

they must be back 10m from the play the ball. When the ref feels that

 

it is time for a penalty he will dish out one for offside.

 

Eg: "Harrigan has stamped his authority on the game by giving an

 

early penalty for being offside."

 

( see play the ball )

 

 

 

OLD INSIDE BALL

 

Why it is old I don't know. However it is a pass that fired in the

 

opposite direction to the rest of the backline movement.

 

Eg: "Ohhh.. inspired play there by Langer with the old inside ball."

 

( see changing the angles, sliding defence )

 

 

 

ONSLAUGHT

 

A period of play where one team constantly attacks the opposition's

 

goal line for several phases of play. Usually, an onslaught provides

 

few points as the necessary speed of play means that a cough is

 

likely and turnover inevitable, especially considering that only a

 

weak team could spend so long on the goal line without doing any

 

good.

 

EG: "What an onslaught by the Canadians - how long can the

 

Springbok line hold?" (Long enough, as it turned out)

 

( see cough, done good, turnover )

 

 

 

OOHHHHHH REF

 

A general cry of anguish from players when they think they have been

 

hard done by. This usually happens in lineouts. It can also be used

 

to point out to the ref an infringement by the opposition in order

 

to help him see it like it is.

 

Eg: "Oohhhhhh ref!!! Lifting."

 

( see lineout )

 

 

 

OUT OF POSITION

 

In rugby and league, players are assigned positions of where they

 

should play; ie a winger should be on the end of a backline. When a

 

player is expected to be in their normal position on the field but

 

are actually somewhere else they are said to be out of position.

 

Being caught out of position in defence will usually lead to the

 

concession of tries.

 

Eg: "What's Fitzpatrick doing out of position on the wing; he should

 

be in there amongst the forwards slugging it out."

 

 

 

OVER THE TOP

 

When a ruck has formed and players from one team dive across off

 

their feet onto the other side in order to prevent the ball being

 

cleared they are said to be going over the top. This is a pingable

 

offence.

 

Eg: "The Springbok forwards have dived over the top again and the

 

referee is letting them get away with it."

 

( see pinging )

 

 

 

OVERLAP

 

An overlap occurs when the attacking side has more men in the

 

backline than the defending side has. This can be caused by the

 

fullback coming into the backline or by defending players being

 

caught out of position. By simply passing it through each player

 

an easy try will be scored. However this is not usually the case as

 

many tries are bombed as the inside centres will quite often cut

 

back or fire a stupid miss out pass and thus nullify the overlap.

 

This results in irate wingers.

 

Eg: "It's a 4 on 3 overlap, they must score surely; oohhhhhh noooo

 

he's cut back inside and bombed a certain try".

 

(see inside centre, miss out pass, cut back,bomb(ii), out of position)

 

 

 

PETROL

 

Another term for staying power/stamina. Usually used in reference to

 

teams who are exhausted in the final quarter.

 

Eg: "Otago ran out of petrol on more than one occasion this year,

 

letting numerous teams win in the last 15-20 minutes"

 

( see running on empty )

 

 

 

PHALLIC TERMS

 

Mostly used in RL commentaries; the following were all heard during

 

the live Sky coverage of the '94 Winfield Cup "Grannnn Final".

 

Brief Insertion: When a side has finally made it into the opposition

 

half and is just as quickly pushed back out again through punishing

 

tackles or through coughing the ball.

 

Early Insertion: When a player is substituted/interchanged early

 

in a match.

 

Splitting Them Wide Open: When the defending side's defence fails

 

to hold back the opposing team (who will usually be playing at pace)

 

they are said to have been 'split wide open'.

 

Thrust up the middle: see Hit It Up; differs in that at the end of

 

the "Thrust", the player is always put on the deck.

 

Eg: "The Early Insertion of Darren Smith was a dumb move by the

 

Canterbury coach as the Doggies had just Thrust Up The Middle into the

 

Raiders half when a brilliant tackle on Smith turned the attack into

 

a mere Brief Insertion and the resulting cough has given the Canberra

 

backs a chance to Split the Bulldog defence Wide Open."

 

( see playing it at pace, deck, cough )

 

 

 

PIGS

 

See Fatties.

 

 

 

PINGING

 

When a referee blows up the play for a penalty or free kick the

 

infringing team is said to be pinged.

 

Eg: "Bishop has been consistently pinging the Auckland forwards all

 

game".

 

 

 

PLAY THE BALL

 

In league when a tackle has been effected the ref with ask the

 

tackled player to stand up and play the ball. The player should

 

then be released and get to his feet properly. The ball should

 

then be placed on the ground and raked back by one boot to a player

 

behind him. However this usually not the case as the play is quite

 

often termed a "real mess". This is because the opposition usually

 

interferes or the tackled player will try to play it while still

 

held or perhaps he might sort of just throw the ball back between

 

his legs. Many players will try to have the ref on in order to milk

 

the penalty. What ever happens this is a constant source of pinging.

 

Eg: "Pon-gee-ah doesn't know how to play the ball properly; he

 

hasn't got it right all game."

 

( see pinging, milking )

 

 

 

PLAYING IT AT PACE

 

A team with poor quality forwards will often try to play the game at

 

pace; this involves taking quick taps, quick throw-ins, fast drop-outs

 

but not necessarily spreading it at every opportunity.

 

Eg: "Southland will have to play their games at pace next year, as

 

their forwards are too light to compete with the larger scrums"

 

( see taking the tap )

 

 

 

POKAI

 

Richard Loe's nickname after sticking his finger in the eye of Otago

 

fullback Greg Cooper in the 1992 NPC final. It is now used for any

 

instance of a player being poked in the eye.

 

Eg: "Aaawwww... that's a real pokai if I ever saw one."

 

 

 

POP KICK

 

A little kick into the air designed only to get over the head of the

 

defending player directly in front of the kicker.

 

Eg: "Strawbridge has used the pop kick to great effect this

 

afternoon. He has tried it everytime he has got the ball and it

 

even worked once."

 

 

 

PULLISLEGORFANITIMWITHEWETEND

 

Another gentle comment often heard along the touchline, in the

 

nature of giving sound advice to a player whose team is being

 

supported.

 

Eg: "PULLISLEGORFANITIMWITHEWETEND!!!"

 

 

 

PUSH-OVER

 

(i) Weak opposition is said to be a push-over if they offer little or

 

no resistance.

 

Eg: "The West Coast are push-overs at rugby."

 

(ii) A try scored from a set scrum near to the line. The attacking

 

team attempts to drive the opposition over the goal-line, with the

 

number 8 picking up the ball and attempting to dot it down over the

 

line. Can quite often result in a cough in the attempt to get the ball

 

down over the line. Very hard to stop if the opposition has a "got the

 

wood on" you. Also known as a John Mitchell special until 1994.

 

Eg: "Waikato have got them pinned on their own line as this is the

 

sixth scrum in succession in order to get the push-over."

 

( see dot it down, scrum, cough, got the wood on )

 

 

 

PUT 'EM OVER FROM ANYWHERE

 

Used to describe a goal-kicker with prodigious skill. Restricted to

 

around the corner style *only*.

 

Eg: "Halligan can put 'em over from anywhere"

 

( see around the corner )

 

 

 

QUALITY BALL

 

Ball fed tidily to the halfback from mauls, rucks, lineouts or scrums

 

for delivery to the backs is quality ball. Only teams with good

 

forwards are guaranteed of gaining quality ball. Teams without good

 

forwards are forced to feed off the crumbs.

 

NOTE: This term can also be used to describe the 'real' leather

 

rugby balls played with around the World, as opposed to those

 

silly plastic ones that the World Cup Sponsor (eg. Adidas)

 

produces in order to make ace goalkickers look like arseholes.

 

Eg: "Cooksley has won plenty of quality [two-handed] ball in the

 

lineouts."

 

( see crumbs )

 

 

 

QUICKY

 

*NOT* what you might think - nothing to do with rugby groupies or

 

cheer leaders! A quick throw-in. Usually taken when...

 

(i) there are no opposition players nearby when you have the ball

 

(ii) there are, but they are cleaning you out horribly, because...

 

(iii) the ref is not pinging them for lifting.

 

Eg: "They have to resort to the quicky again in order to compete."

 

( see cleaned out, pinging, lifting )

 

 

 

RAKING

 

Same as stomping.

 

Eg: "Pienaar came off the field with a long rake mark on his back."

 

( see stomping )

 

 

 

REFEREE

 

The stupid jerk who tries to enforce the rules of the game. The

 

only job in the world where you have to start out perfect and get

 

better (sadly, few achieve this lofty goal).

 

Eg: Greg where's my walking stick and spectacles McCallum was sadly

 

rated the number one referee in the Winfield Cup.

 

 

 

REVERSE PASS

 

A passing technique used by off-form halfbacks (scrum halves)

 

to please the crowd and convince their coach that they really

 

_are_ having a great game after all. Stu Forster, the Otago

 

and All Black halfback now makes 60% of his passes this

 

way. Has the added effect of keeping both the 2nd-Five and

 

the Centre on their toes as the ball can go anywhere.

 

Eg: "A good reverse pass by Tonu'u there... pity it didn't land

 

near any of his backline."

 

 

 

ROBUST RUNNING

 

Another league term, the meaning of which I am not quite sure

 

of. But I do know that most teams require more robust runners.

 

Eg: "The Broncos need to have more robust running on attack."

 

 

 

ROLLING MAUL

 

A maul that actually moves is deemed to be a rolling maul. It is a

 

good method of making hard yards and putting the crowd to sleep.

 

Eg: "Waikato have made 5m since this maul started a minute ago. It's

 

pretty exciting stuff isn't it."

 

( see hard yards/metres, maul )

 

 

 

RUCK

 

When a heap of players lie sprawled on the ground and the ball is

 

wrapped up in the middle of it, it is said that a ruck has formed.

 

The ball must be made available by rucking. This is a good

 

opportunity to dish out some treatment to the opposition players.

 

Eg: "Oh dear, he is on the wrong side of an AB ruck......

 

that will require at least 30 stitches."

 

( see rucking, treatment)

 

 

 

RUCKING

 

Rucking involves using the boot in order to free up the ball from a

 

ruck. However this use of the boot can get over vigourous and turn

 

into stomping.

 

Eg: "It wasn't his fault he was pinged for over vigourous rucking

 

he thought Buck Anderson's head was the ball."

 

( see stomping, ruck, pinging )

 

 

 

RUGBY WAS THE WINNER

 

A comment made during many after match speeches. Translation: "We

 

lost a close game that could have gone either way, but I think

 

we should have wasted them, however in reality the ref was a wanker

 

and we lost."

 

Eg: "At the end of the day rugby was the winner and not us."

 

 

 

RUN IT AT 'EM

 

A team who is desperate to score big points will run it at 'em at

 

all cost by always electing NOT to kick the ball. This is a symptom

 

of Catch Up Footie and attacking rugby.

 

Eg: "Hawkes Bay will run it at 'em all day cos they never give up."

 

( see attacking rugby, catch up footie, taking the tap )

 

 

 

RUNNING ON EMPTY

 

When a side has run out of petrol, it is running on empty. Teams find

 

it tough going, when they are running on empty.

 

Eg: The Otago forwards quite often run on empty in the last quarter

 

of their matches.

 

( see petrol )

 

 

 

RUNNING RUGBY

 

A tradition espoused by the Randwick Rugby Club. Although not

 

invented by them they have epitomised this style of the game since

 

the time of the great Cyril Towers. Many a Randwick prop has been

 

seen scoring a running try wide out after being made look good by

 

the likes of John Thornett, Ken Catchpole, Ken Wright, the Ella

 

brothers and yes even Geoffery Sayle. The spirit lives!

 

Eg: "In recent years England has become infamous for not ever

 

playing running rugby."

 

 

 

SCRUM

 

(i) The Rugby Union version: 8 players in a 3-4-1 combination.

 

Occurs after accidental off-sides, coughs, stuffed-up droppies,

 

after a ruck has been formed and the ball not released, or when a

 

maul remains static and the ref blows it up. The scrum is fed by

 

inserting the ball parallel to the two front rows so that the hooker

 

of the feeding side can hook it back to his number 8's feet. Both

 

sides push like shit against one another, either in an attempt to

 

make ground, to push the other side off the ball or at least

 

break the opposing hooker/prop's neck/spine.

 

Eg: "The scrum is packing down in centrefield. They can go left or

 

right from here."

 

(ii) The Rugby League version: Mildly resembles RU version, but

 

missing both flankers ie a 3-2-1 formation. Almost never any pushing;

 

no point, as feeding to the scrum is always between the second-

 

rower's feet and pops out almost immediately. A prerequisite for

 

these scrums is to have the hooker almost sitting on the ground.

 

Caused by coughs or kicks finding touch from broken play. Really, a

 

complete waste of time.

 

Eg: "Langer hasn't fed that ball straight into the scrum all game"

 

( see left or right, cough )

 

 

 

SEND OFF

 

(i) League Version: A player is removed from the rest of the game

 

when referee Greg McCallum gets it wrong or if the player has done

 

a single act of naughtiness; such as a tackle that creeps 2mm above

 

the shoulders. This is very disastrous for the rest of the team as

 

they have one less man for the rest of the game.

 

Eg: "Now, McCallum has got it wrong *again* there was no way that the

 

tackle was above the shoulders and he shouldn't have been sent off."

 

(ii) Rugby Union Version: Only happens when a player has deliberately

 

infringed for about the tenth time in a game or if the player has

 

blatantly dished out unnecssarily harsh treatment while the ref was

 

watching. In non-international fixtures this is by far the best way

 

of getting a new player onto the field and therefore it actually

 

benefits the offending player's team.

 

Eg: "Robin Brooke looks tired; I think he should smack Jones in the

 

face so he can get sent off and a fresh reserve can come on."

 

( see high shot, treatment )

 

 

 

SIXES AND SEVENS

 

Occurs as a result of being split wide open; result is that the

 

defensive patterns are not set and thus the attacking side has a

 

great chance to score tries.

 

Eg: "Canterbury have split the Manly defence wide open, and the

 

Eagles are all at sixes and sevens. What d'ya think about that,

 

Lowie? Ha-Ha".

 

 

 

SKIP PASS

 

( see miss out pass )

 

 

 

SLAUGHTER

 

What happens when a good team encounters a useless team and

 

makes them wish that they had stayed at home.

 

Eg: What the All Blacks did to Japan in the 1995 World Cup

 

pool matches: 84-3 at half time, final score: 145-17.

 

 

 

SLIDING DEFENCE

 

A defensive pattern used by a team which involves the defence running

 

across field to make the tackles. The backs start close in to the

 

scrum and move out towards the attackers.

 

Eg: "The sliding defence of the Taranaki backs managed to snuff out

 

that move."

 

 

 

SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE REFEREEING

 

Refereeing that is totally incomprehensible to Northern Hemisphere

 

players. Usually interpreted as meaning that treatment must be handed

 

out when ever possible.

 

Eg: "A good display of southern hemisphere refereeing by Dave

 

'That wasn't a forward pass' Bishop. If he had blown that one up,

 

there wouldn't have been nearly so many casualties."

 

( see northern hemisphere refereeing, treatment )

 

 

 

SPEAR TACKLE

 

A tackle that is designed to permanently injure the poor bastard

 

with the ball. The tackler(s) upend the ball carrier by grabbing

 

him by the balls and then drive his head as hard as they can

 

into the ground. A good way to earn a rest for the whole team as

 

the resulting stretcher and neck brace always take at least 5

 

minutes to come out.

 

Eg: "That Harrogan is a dirty player as he dead set spear tackled

 

little Alfie while the ref wasn't watching."

 

 

 

SPEARING

 

Where a new player tackles the opposition by putting the top of his

 

head squarely into the abdomen of the runner. Tackler usually

 

leaves his feet, and receives a serious neck injury after attempting

 

this once. Usually a habit of American football player-rugby

 

crossovers.

 

Eg: "Ohhhh, wow, Gareth Rees there spearing the opposition man

 

with his head, that's gotta hurt!"

 

 

 

SPILL

 

Differs from a cough in that the ball tends to just fall forward

 

rather than actually being "coughed" forward.

 

Eg: "Ohhhh.... he's spilled the ball on the line and bombed a

 

certain try. That'll cost them the series!"

 

( see cough )

 

 

 

SPRAY

 

The act of missing the posts by a great distance when shooting for

 

goal. Very common occurrence when using torpedo style. Most

 

spectacular when shooting for goal from the side line, but most

 

stupid when from in front.

 

Eg: He sprayed it from right in front of the posts.

 

Note: the most impressive spray (using a non-torpedo technique)

 

seen to date would have to be that of the Argentinian fly half

 

Cilley against Manu Samoa: Started from the left hand touch, the

 

kick curved in the air to reach to right hand touch line without

 

ever looking like crossing the goal line, let alone go through

 

the posts.

 

( see torpedo )

 

 

 

STEAL METRES

 

(i) The act gaining ground while the opposition is not ready. Very

 

similar to cheap yards as not a hand is laid on the ball carrier.

 

This is quite often achieved when a game is being played at pace.

 

Eg: "Steve Walters has is very good at stealing yards from the dummy

 

half position."

 

(ii) A form of cheating where a player always takes at least 2 steps

 

forward from where a penalty, mark or the play the ball should be

 

taken.

 

Eg: "Hancock has been stealing metres all game by not playing the

 

ball from where he was tackled."

 

( see cheap yards, cheating, playing it at pace )

 

 

 

STEAL THE BALL

 

( see strip )

 

 

 

STOMPING

 

When rucking gets dangerous, ie if a boot is being raked across the

 

head of another player, it is called stomping. This is way of hurting

 

opposition players and conceding penalties. A player who does this is

 

called filthy.

 

Eg: "Richard Loe has really hurt Timu this time by stomping

 

repeatedly on his head. Well it's his own fault for being on the

 

wrong side of the ruck."

 

( see rucking, conceding the penalty, filthy, treatment)

 

 

 

STRIP

 

(i) A term used in league to describe the illegal process of

 

ripping the ball away from the person who is playing the ball.

 

Usually carried out in front of the referee so that the offending

 

player is pinged. This a very good way of conceding an unnecessary

 

penalty.

 

Eg: "That was dumb play from Lomax to strip the ball in the tackle

 

as Harrigan has dished out another penalty."

 

(ii) Is also used to refer to the players' kit.

 

Eg: "The All Black's strip is easily recognised."

 

( see conceding the penalty, pinging, change strip )

 

NOTE : The obvious alternative meaning has been omitted due to the

 

fact it has (should h