LONDON - Rugby and rugby league are becoming so similar that their becoming one code seems inevitable, according to former England rugby lock Paul Ackford.
With rugby and league all but indistinguishable on the field of play, it could not be long before a merger took place, Ackford said.
He supported his view with statistics produced by the University of Wales Institute in Cardiff, which suggested there was hardly any contesting in rugby scrums, and passing movements were becoming more similar to league.
"It's official. Rugby union has finally evolved into a refined version of rugby league ... it cannot be long before a merger takes place," Ackford said.
A statistical review for the university shows how close the two codes have become.
Ackford said the dividing line between the two codes had been blurred. Gone were the days of flowing rugby. It had become a staccato, contact-oriented sport with players seeking bodies rather than space.
"When the rugby league World Cup kicks off on October 28 with the match between England and Australia, any spectators still around for union's corresponding fixture in November might not notice the difference," he said in the Sunday Telegraph.
The Cardiff study of last season's Six Nations championship found how one-track rugby had become, with 81 per cent of all passing movements consisting of two passes or less before they ended in a penalty, scrum, lineout, ruck or maul.
Over half of all moves were restricted to one pass only, shattering the perception that rugby is more sophisticated. Possession is retained in 84 per cent of lineouts and 85 per cent of scrums.
The Cardiff report looked at 2500 scrums from around the world since last year's World Cup.
Only 37 of these went against the head. New Zealand top the retention table, holding on to 96.8 per cent of their ball, while England have not taken a strike against the head since the 1995 World Cup.
"How much longer before we see the union scrum degenerating into the shambles league offers?" Ackford said. "With union essentially aping league in the way it plays and the way it wants to play, the debate now centres on the future for both codes."
- NZPA
Merger of rugby, league 'is inevitable'
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