James Thomas wrote:
Seems to have come from the rugger buggers and I don't understand it there but as it is such a shit gameI'm not that bothered but Steve Claridge was talking about second phase ball the other week and it was mentioned by Adie Boothroyd today.
I don't understand, is it just the latest catch phrase?
latest catch phrase?
nope been around for years.
clearly you are a bit of an arse for thinking rugby's a shit game, but to educate you a little:
first phase posession is posession from the set piece, ie scrum or line out
second phase starts at the breakdown of the first phase - so if a ruck/ maul starts you then have second phase ball
& so on
the higher the phase number, the more time the other team has had to organise their defence
bristol scored a drop goal to win the match against gloucester on the 19th phase of posession a couple of years back, was an amazing bit of control & ball retention.