@Billy-Tell said in WRWC Final - NZ Vs England:
Don’t think we were winning that without the red card. Nevertheless well done. Fluhler is fantastic. DC was a great 10 but he is a shît goal kicking coach. We need to learn how to defend a maul.
I think the game offered up some clear and obvious evidence to WR that mauls need to be brought back to having some form of contestability. England were so massively dominant in their own maul showing great organisation and power yet the same attributes offered nothing in defending them.
Mauls are just such an unbalanced part of the game. The primary playing option at many levels of rugby now is to get into a position to maul, such is the advantage offered in that facet.
Of course the NH will cheer the 'beauty' of it because they don't want to dilute a strong part of how they play without seeing what an unbalanced, boring part of the game it is for spectators.
I was watching with a few non rugby geeks and they were all confused as to why the ball could be protected with players in front of it and defenders were unable to defend. It just looks all wrong.
I think there was even a penalty for collapsing a maul when the maul didn't even collapse but continued up field. One player was dragged to ground by one other player. In a ruck, that's a clearcut and is encouraged. In a maul it is a penalty. Go figure.