This is probably not what you think it is…

This is about my book, ONLY A GAME, published on this site in serialized form. OAG is written in short verses (chapters) to enhance the serialization. Each verse is self-contained — a story on its own. Each can be appreciated without the full context of reading all the previous verses. That essentially makes it a book of short stories, except for the consistency of characters, theme and plot line: a local club’s quest for a championship. Those properties tie it together as a novel rather than a collection of vignettes.

Accomplishing this involves a bit of redundancy. Some themes, character traits, etc. are repeated in the various verses. My thinking is that this will work as reinforcement overall, rather than be too annoying.

I see this as the model of the book in the Net Age: short bits that can be absorbed quickly AND independently, or in aggregate over time. Think of the verses as bricks being laid down as part of a building. They are not a linear progression to the end result, but an architected whole that presents the entire edifice of the book.

If you read a verse, and it piques your interest, you can go back and read the previous verses. As part of the serialization, I have saved all the old verses on this blog site.

I publish the new verses on Thursdays. Check back next Thursday or Friday (depending on your timezone) for the next one.

Cheers.

The Plate Winners

US Men’s Sevens team beats #1 rated Fiji to win the Plate final in Port Elizabeth!

See the story on the Eagles website: USA Men’s Eagles Sevens

Congratulations gents, well done!

I watched the Bath-Harlequins match thinking I’d finally get to see what all the Sam Burgess fuss was about. Well, there wasn’t much of Burgess. He played the last 15 minutes or so, had a couple of carries, a forward pass that wasn’t called and not much else.

However, there was some interesting applications of the laws in this game. Wayne Barnes sin-binned 3 Harlequins players, all of them in the bin for an overlapping stretch. First it was the tighthead for not contesting the scrum, then a second-row for collapsing a maul and then the replacement tighthead for not contesting.

With no tightheads left, Barnes told the Bath captain there would be uncontested scrums. No chance for Bath to choose a scrum for their attacking penalty 5-meters out, or at least no benefit from the choice. They went for the lineout, which ended up in a knock-on and a scrum, uncontested, anyway.

The interesting thing to me is that after all the penalties against Harlequins at the scrum, Barnes continued to penalize them and issue yellow cards. Wouldn’t it have been fairer, and more in the spirit of the game, to just give a penalty try for that second penalty at the 5-meter?

Ejecting the reserve tighthead, I think his name was Collier, hurt both teams. Bath lost their potent scrum weapon, and Harlequins went another man down (3 total at the time). According to the laws, a penalty try may be awarded if, except for the penalty, a try would “probably” have been scored.

Certainly, with the Harlequins pack skating backwards, there would have been a try if Barnes hadn’t blown the whistle. Maybe it was a safety thing.

Regardless, I think the penalty try would have been a more reasonable choice. The game could have kept some of its integrity with scrums continuing. Personally, I’d rather give up a few points than a front rower, even if he’s struggling.

The referees have long taken the stance that they apply the laws to enhance the game. Why not in this case?

What say you?

I am tired of all the talk about the scrum being irrelevant and taking too much time. Did you watch England and Australia play? The scrum was the difference in the game. Without the domination by Marler-Hartley-Wilson the game would certainly have gone the other way. Not since Andrew Sheridan dominated Australia in the 2007 World Cup has the scrum been so decisive.

If you don’t believe me, look at Stuart Lancaster thanking Graham Rowntree at the end of the game. Lancaster knows what happened.

Yes, sometimes setting a scrum slows down the action. It’s not as pretty as wings flying down the touch-line, but it’s part of the game. Certainly the scrum can still be tweaked some to reduce the number of collapses, but quit talking about removing it.

Where would we go with out it? The same place that Rugby League has gone. The scrum provides some of the variety and complexity that makes Union so exciting and vibrant. It needs to stay an integral part of the game.

The only way to remove the scrum from the game is to stop knock-ons. Imagine trying to do that…

Have you been watching the autumn internationals?

They have been outstanding. Dramatic. Nail-biting. Intense. Close. Hard-fought. All of the standard clichés. And all true.

I’ve just watched Australia and Ireland. Can a more dramatic, close, intense match be imagined? Rob Kearney’s drop-goal attempt has to be the metaphor for the entire series of autumn internations: massive, brilliant, audacious and oh so close! Just off the right upright from something like 45-50 meters.

The majority of the games have been like that. France-Australia. Italy-Argentina. Wales-Australia. All matches that still hung in the balance at the final whistle.

And, you’ve got to love it on television. The close-ups of the players. The emotions and drama displayed. Real joy, pain, determination and chagrin. Is this not a fabulous spectator sport?

What’s not to love?

It bodes well for the upcoming World Cup!