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Extra time needed for satisfaction
COMMENT: Bret Harris | May 12, 2008 Extra time needed for satisfaction | The Australian
A DRAW in any sporting contest is an unsatisfactory experience.
After 80 minutes of intense competition, there was an empty feeling after the Waratahs' 13-all draw with the Stormers in Cape Town yesterday.
NSW captain Phil Waugh did not seem too thrilled about the draw when he was interviewed straight after the match even though it was clearly a much better result than losing.
The valuable two competition points the Waratahs collected allowed them to remain in third place on the ladder. A loss would have dropped them to equal fourth.
OK, had the Waratahs won they would have reclaimed second place from the Hurricanes, which would have been better.
So the result was not as good as it could have been and it was not as bad as it could have been. It was somewhere in between, not quite good, not too bad, but obviously nothing to celebrate.
Stormers' captain Jean de Villiers said the draw felt like a loss and from the South African perspective he was right because they have probably squandered the chance to secure a home semi-final.
But that's the thing about a draw, you really don't feel anything too much.
Sport, for the spectator as much as the competitor, is about gratification. You cheer your team to win, you wallow in a loss. But a draw? It's a non event.
With all of the focus on revitalising the Super 14 competition, is it time for SANZAR to consider ways to break deadlocks at the end of a game.
There is already provision for extra time in the Super 14 semi-finals and final.
It is quite incredible to think that in the 36 play-off matches that have been played in the previous 12 years of Super rugby that none have gone into extra time.
But it is only a matter of time before a finals game is drawn.
There are provisions for breaking deadlocks in the knock-out games of the World Cup when you have to have a winner and a loser, although not in the pool matches.
One of the most gripping World Cup games was the final of the 2003 tournament between Australia and England in Sydney. The fact it went into extra time only enhanced the sense of drama and heightened the tension.
If England five-eighth Jonny Wilkinson had not kicked the match-winning field goal in extra time, we may have seen a soccer style field goal shoot-out to determine the world champion.
Rugby officials such as ARU chief executive John O'Neill are looking for ways and means to make the game more entertaining.
Why not rub out the emotionless draw and introduce devices such as extra time and penalty shoot-outs to spice up regular season games in Super 14?
There is also the option of introducing the golden point rule from rugby league, which was brought in with one group of people in mind - the fans.
Rugby purists would argue that taking away the draw would be unacceptable because it would go against the ethos of the game.
There is something chivalrous, some would say, about playing out a draw.
You could also point to the fact that there have only been two draws in the Super 14 this season so there so no real need to ensure there are winners and losers in each game.
But that is a rather old-fashioned way of looking at it. The modern, professional game is underpinned by television revenue, which means the TV audience must be catered for, or gratified.
The introduction of extra time, penalty shoot-outs and golden point could help to make Super 14 a more entertaining and enjoyable experience for spectators.
Satisfaction guaranteed - at least for the winner.
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