Is Rugby A Gentleman’s Game

Rugby was once looked at as a sport for the brave hearted, forwards who grunted with every push, bump and tackle and a game that was played in two halves without a ‘break’.

It was a game that was marveled at and which show pieced the sheer intensity of each team without tak­ing a ‘break’ in either of the halves.

It was a game that saw the surviv­al of the fittest those players who played the full 80 minutes (minus injury breaks) without taking a ‘break’.

This ‘break’ being referred to is the one-minute water break during the matches and which, if looked at closely could decide the game for one team or the other.

This is especially so if one team is at that moment dominating the game and have their ears pricked back.

Never before water breaks were introduced did you see rugby play­ers being carried off for heat stroke or exhaustion nor did you ever see breaks in either halves apart from injuries.

If World Rugby was so concerned about heat being a major factor, then how about teams playing in extreme cold conditions or like the Flying Fijians some years back playing in the snow in Italy?

Was there any considering given to teams like Fiji who were not used to cold weather to be given a ‘hot water’, tea, hot chocolate or coffee breaks in the two halves?

Water breaks

These water breaks have certain­ly killed the interest in many spec­tators who pay good money to see the continuity and flow of major matches.

The temperature and humidity at Churchill Park last Saturday (I’m sure) did not warrant water breaks as conditions were the same as many major matches that were played previously over the years at the same venue.

Many team sports, such as rugby union introduced water breaks into games as part of measures to tackle the spread of COVID-19.

However, a major rugby union, the Irish Rugby Football Union, on January 26 this year, announced that due to the easing of public health measures they were doing away with water breaks In rugby matches.

In implementing of heat guide­lines, World Rugby said in extreme weather conditions, an objective assessment of the environment may be required to assist in deter­mining the safety of the prevailing conditions.

World Rugby says:

• Game Day Interventions should be implemented once the Heat Stress Index (HSI) is above 150. The HSI is determined using a combi­nation of temperature and humid­ity (see graph in World Rugby Heat Guidelines PDF).
•  If practical, training and play­ing should be scheduled when am­bient temperatures, radiant heat (direct sunlight) and humidity are expected to be at acceptable levels.

Utilizing the Heat Stress Index, a guide to acceptable levels would be temperature 30 degrees Celsius and humidity 60%

World Rugby also stated there is no evidence to suggest training or playing at higher temperature and humidity levels will result in a heat illness.

Following this there are proce­dures which match officials must follow before allowing the water breaks.

Rugby union’s major opponent, rugby league never take a water break as with many other sports.

My five cents piece here is– World Rugby has taken the excitement out of the game with these water breaks and the intensity of the game is killed there and then.

Feedback: charles.chambers@fijisun.com.fj