2019 Rugby World Cup: Martin Devlin - Of course the haka is unfair, just ask Fiji

Two World Cup topics to tackle today, one being the haka the other this utter BS called "rush defence".

I hate to say I told you so but, in fact, I did. Weeks ago amid a series of pre-Cup predictions I said it is only a matter of time before the anti-All Black stories started. Among these (in no particular order) the ABs get the rub of the ref's calls, Richie McCaw is still offside and the haka is an unfair advantage.

Because it's all so obvious and inevitable and been done to death so many times before, it's almost also too boring to even respond to. But for argument's sake I will.

Congratulations to whoever this Irish idiot is that re-raised the topic and garnered however many social media hits he did on it and hopefully his efforts even extend beyond the obligatory 15mins of fame normally attached to such irrelevance.

But I doubt it. By next week we'll be even closer to the quarter-finals and the need for bubblegum stories like this to fill blank pages will dramatically subside.

To end his argument in a sentence I'll offer you this: Of course the haka is unfair. In fact the various individual applications provide a distinct advantage for ALL the Pacific Island nations that perform one.

Just ask Fiji last night.

As for this so-called "rush defence", just stop it. Let's call it what it actually is, which is OFFSIDE defence.

Several times on Saturday night there were more Springboks in our backline than All Blacks.

Now, either those in green accelerate faster than Usain ever did OR they jump the gun and are offside. The easiest way to determine the legality of this tactic is to do what the NFL does and paint in 10m and 5m lines from the goalposts to the halfway on both sides of the field.

Automatically this would give the linespeople, referee's, TMOs and all us watching at home the clearest and fairest view on whether or not the defenders have in fact rushed or rushed before the ball was released.

Executed within the laws of the game the tactic is awesomely effective. Problem is, the key to allowing teams to rush up in defence is all about getting the timing exactly right. There isn't an expert analyst, commentator or past player on the planet who's convinced that this defence is legal every time it's used. And that's because it's not. Repainting the field would immediately end all such arguments.

But of course World Rugby will do nothing. Their biggest contribution to the sport this year was changing the official title of Women's Rugby World Cup to just Rugby World Cup. Their incompetence and idiocy has never better summarised than in that one, single irrelevant action. It says everything about World Rugby in a sentence.

A bunch of fish-heads who think changing a name is more important than fixing the game.