D’Arcy Waldegrave: Sportstalk host on NRL’s head contact crackdown and the dangerous sport coming to New Zealand

The NRL’s calling on referees to crackdown on head contact.

It comes as the sports latest round saw 18 yellow cards.

But some are saying it’s part of the game and becoming too strict runs the risk of slowing the game down.

Sportstalk host D’Arcy Waldegrave joins the show to discuss how the rules might change, a new game coming to New Zealand that has people concerned.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Darcy Watergrave Sports talk hosters with me Darcy.

Speaker 2 (00:02):
Hello, Hello Heather, So, what's the problem that we have
eighteen yellow cards in the last round of the NRL.

Speaker 3 (00:08):
They're saying that the NRAL are cracking down at a
higher level and telling the referees you've got to watch
the head contact because this is not good for our sport.
We can't have guys dribbling into a cup at the
age of forty, so let's start policing it. And then
I said no, not no, not no, It's just like normal.

(00:28):
We always do this. Yeah, Bill Harrigan's going to join us.
Do you remember Bill Harrigan from back in the days,
the healthyen days of rugby league where they'd take heads
off freely without even thinking about it. What does Bell
reckon one of the best? Well you find out after
seven o'clock tonight when he joins us to talk about
is a lot of cards. It's a really interesting debate
around the fine balance between keeping the punters entertained, the

(00:53):
people that pay for the tickets, and the people that
pay for their subscription, and then also duty of care
for the players too. Because Lee's rapidly going on the
line that rugby used to go along where you spend
most of your time with you know, your finger up
your nose, picking waiting for something to actually happen. Because
they're going through replay after replay after replay, after red

(01:14):
to the bunker that then they seem players and they
bring them back. It's a bit messy. So Bill's going
to join us talk about is there actually a solution
to this because we need to look after the players' heads,
no doubt. But it is a high speed contact sport
and you make onooks, what do you do? You break eggs.
It's going to happen from time to time. So are

(01:36):
they going over the top as far as their policing
of head.

Speaker 2 (01:39):
High problem is though what happened with Rugby. What's frustrating
as a viewer with Rugby is that what they're penalizing
is often just a mistake. Right, So I'm totally fine
if you penalize somebody who has quite deliberately gone for
a head high or something like that.

Speaker 3 (01:54):
But if it's just well, they players sliding into tackles
and then they get on report, they get marks for
a yell and they we'll.

Speaker 1 (01:59):
Hold on and that's NRL. Is it the same thing
that's happening.

Speaker 3 (02:02):
Yeah, so they want to have a situation where the
referee has that control, but increasing and thinking, well, if
it's obvious to them, go for it. If it may
have been a slip or I know, and it might
have to go, and it might have to go, well
just let them deal with it after the game. And
of course the argument there as well. If somebody transgresses
and they don't get binned and it gets put on report,

(02:25):
that means the team they transgress against doesn't get the advantage.
But I think if players and teams know that's the
way things roll, they'll live with it. Everybody's going to win,
anyone's going to lose. So it's a lot though, what
do they have like eighteen sending holes over the weekend.
That's a lot of bin time. The judiciary an, I
don't want to do this, although most of them have

(02:46):
pleaded guilty, said yeah right now, and did it give.

Speaker 1 (02:48):
Me the finn out? Have you seen this combat sport
run it?

Speaker 3 (02:52):
Yes, it's not really a combat.

Speaker 1 (02:54):
This is them just literally running at each other.

Speaker 3 (02:57):
Yes. The Herald have got a really interesting video where
there's an amateur version of it and a guy got
cleaned out and he's lying on the ground convulsion. It's
really horrible to watch.

Speaker 1 (03:08):
What do they hit each other with? Which part of
the body.

Speaker 3 (03:10):
The bodies heads, they're not bison, So.

Speaker 1 (03:15):
It's two vertical people running.

Speaker 3 (03:17):
At each other trying to get an advantage and tackle
you back over again. Now there's a pro version of
it that I believe is coming to New Zealand where
they've got professional athletes involved.

Speaker 2 (03:26):
In the point of the sport is to run at
each other without breaking speed, full speed, run out each other.

Speaker 3 (03:32):
Then get the advantage and push the other guy back.
And I don't know. I don't know because people are
always looking for something to people. Well, remember powerslack powerslap
there you go. Guys can kind of defend each other.

Speaker 1 (03:53):
Broke you.

Speaker 2 (03:53):
I broke you with you were midst you're saying there's
some professionals doing.

Speaker 3 (03:57):
This while it's coming to town. It's in Australia. I
think it's coming to New Zealand as well. But you've
got some former NRL athletes lined up who know all
about running.

Speaker 1 (04:06):
Harder people problem as they does death. You know, I'll
tell you what the brain injury.

Speaker 2 (04:11):
Life is too easy for us. We don't get taken
out by wars for the most part anymore. In the
in the modern world, we don't really die of hunger
or starvation or that many diseases.

Speaker 3 (04:21):
Very first world of you here, Yes, there's a lot
of people suffer all of that.

Speaker 1 (04:24):
There's not enough. There's not enough risk in life. So
we're going to find it both running into each other.

Speaker 3 (04:30):
Promoters. It's promoters. How can I make some money? I
reckon guys running at each other will be all. I
don't know what's going to happen next.

Speaker 1 (04:36):
It's a bull rush. Somebody just text and said it's
bull rush.

Speaker 3 (04:39):
Well bullrush, though you won't remember the healthy end days
of bull rush. Whereas I went to primary school in
the seventeen I used to live on I love bull rush.
We used to play piggyback bull rush and the biggest
kid in school is my best mate, and I was
the smallest kid in school. So we're impossible to bring
down because he was so huge and I was so light.
We just run straight over people. But the regular bullsh

(04:59):
it's a group running at one person, they get tackled.
Then it's a group running at three people, then they
get tacked. This is just one on one oh Man.

Speaker 1 (05:07):
Okay, Darcy listen, thank you.

Speaker 2 (05:08):
I'm constantly surprised, can be Darcy Watergrave, Sports Talk Hoost.
We'll be back at seven o'clock here on News Talks
EDB For.

Speaker 1 (05:16):
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