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« Trouble in store for Quinlan | | Joining the realms of Twitter » May 4, 2009 Posted on 05/04/2009 History in the making Delight for the Tigers but despair for the Blues as rugby history was made at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. The first penalty shoot-out in the tournament's 14-year history was an incredibly cruel way for the Blues' European campaign to come to an end and hopefully it will be the last time we see such drama. It was only the second ever semi-final to go to extra time after Brive and Toulouse went the distance in the 1998 - on that occasion Brive went through on the greater number of tries. The tournament's first ever final - between Toulouse and Cardiff in 1996 - also went beyond 80 minutes with the French side squeezing home. But the shoot-out had only once before reared its ugly head in a top class European tie with Beziers getting the better of Agen in the 1984 French Cup Final. The Tigers were almost embarrassed to win what was a thrilling cup tie in such a way - no mass team celebration following Jordan Crane's winning kick. And unsurprisingly the Blues were not the greatest fans of the format following the game. The world's best club tournament has never wanted for exciting scenarios - the stakes have always brought out the best of European rugby. As a result it does not need to resort to such staged drama. Surely a much more favourable solution - for players and fans - would be sudden-death extra time. OK, 100 minutes of gruelling rugby could not separate the sides but are you telling me that with increasing fatigue a result would not come in another 20 minutes that would see the first score clinch victory? Tired limbs and tired minds would lead to defensive lapses or infringements with one sure to produce a match-winning score. No player would complain with such an outcome while the queue for gripes about the penalty shoot-out is already stretching around the block. How can such a high-profile match be decided by the kicking prowess of players who do not specialise in that facet of the game? It reflects badly on the tournament and the sport. The tournament should be ashamed of the way it treated the Blues' Martyn Williams in particular. One of the world's best players is left in tears because he could not land his place kick - when would he have ever taken a kick before? On reflection it would be laughable if it were not so tragic. Thankfully we didn't get down to the props in sudden-death as I fear that would have been even more painful to watch. Although I dare say the ever-impressive Gethin Jenkins would have had no trouble. European Rugby Cup chiefs should initiate a review immediately to prevent a repeat and to preserve the status of their flagship competition. I've never seen anything like it before and hope not to see such like again. Comments Posted Dominic Rossi on 05/04/2009 I agree - a shootout is no way to end a rugby match. I would rather see it go to sudden death extra time, but if there really is a need to end it quickly, why not do it seven aside? That would open up space and increase the chances of scoring, and it would almost guarantee that the match would be won on the basis of good running rugby. Posted Alvise Fiume on 05/05/2009 I think rugby should learn from football: no goalkeeper means shootout nonsense, but sudden death (or golden goal) has been a failed experiment in football. It would be a heavy charge on referee, because a penalty could be a no-reply decision. I think sudden death can be introduced only for tries (maybe also in the first 20 minutes of extra time), while goal points should decide the winner only at the end of a fixed extra-time (no matter how many extra-times are needed). Posted darklord on 05/05/2009 i think everyone is being a bit po-faced about the penalty shoot-out. I thought it was fantastic, and a reasonable, skill-based way to decide the outcome. No one has mentioned that extra time was approached by both teams in a pretty low-risk fashion. If you're not going to have a go in e-t then it has to be settled at some point. plus it means forwards get to practice goal-kicking in training- marvellous Posted Dick Pearson on 05/07/2009 Three minor points and a suggestion: 1. Just because some players can't kick it doesn't mean they should at least be able to have a go at one of the game's fundamental skills. Everyone is going on about non-kickers having problems but the first player to miss was Johne Murphy who has kicked in competitive gamesfor Tigers. Suggestion: why not use the new UK cup competition to try methods to get a result in drawn games, giving a 3rd pt.
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