The London Stadium hosted the game between Saracens and Harlequins for the second year running at the London Stadium. Next year it is moving to Spurs new ground .
On a side note and to explain why the rugby is moving, I could have cried this week when I read David Aaronovitch’s article in The Times after his visit to the new Spurs stadium. He wrote,
‘It’s so great ’
‘Beautiful from the outside. Extraordinary from within’.
‘Even from the highest point, there is no ‘Pass my opera glasses, Fiona’, feeling’
‘The place has famously been built for racket.’
‘ A cornucopia of food’.
Oh, woe is me! The distance from the front seats to the pitch is 4.5 metres to 7.9 metres. At the London Stadium it is up to 20 metres. Anyway, let’s get back to rugby and whether there are comparisons to be made to football.
1. In rugby, referees stop the clock when play is suspended. At the end of a half, play continues until the ball goes out and then a hooter sounds. Surely, this is a better system than a fourth official judging how many minutes to add.
2. VAR seems to work with no problem in rugby and is used quite often. The crowd is aware of what is going on and the referee wears a mic, so the television audience can hear what is going on.
3. Play is shown continuously on the big screens. At West Ham, there are more adverts than football and it is an annoying distraction. Goals scored by opponents are never replayed.
4. The rules in rugby are even more complicated than football. Even the commentators sometimes can’t explain what has happened. Simplifying rules is a good thing e.g. hand ball and the correct stance of a player.
5. There are only a handful of stewards. The spectators for rugby are more well behaved and less prone to violence.
6. Players don’t feign injury or roll about on the ground. However, a punch up on the pitch is more likely in rugby.
7. When a player is injured, the attendants can come onto the pitch without the referee’s permission, as long as they don’t interfere with play.
8. The Sin Bin is widely used. I think 10 minutes off the pitch is a good punishment for some offences. A red card can ruin a game. I still remember Tony Gale’s appalling red car in the Fa Cup semi –final against Nottingham Forest in 1991. It ruined the game.
9. A penalty try can be awarded in rugby. Perhaps that could apply to a situation where a player has handled the ball to prevent a goal in football.
So, I might not have got this completely right, but there are a few lessons to be learnt.