Balls

Questions for the players, the management, the UAFC, the URSC or other supporters... Someone might answer you!! (and pigs might fly)

Moderator: Moderators

Post Reply
User avatar
cables
Lord Chancellor
Posts: 8487
Joined: Sat Jun 11, 2005 1:40 am

Balls

Post by cables »

Balls

I start this one with considerable reservations, as when I kick it I never know where the ball will end up.

On the current kicking thread there is a reference to different balls. I suspect Hillary knows quite a bit about balls - unlike a supporter I recall called Jock.

I decided to go down under on this one and see what knowledge existed around the bush. Our friends in TWF did not let me down as they have an excellent and accurate post detailing the specification for ball(s) in rugby.

http://twf.com.au/showthread.php?t=8697

It would appear that spare balls may be available during a game but a team (presumably an individual from a team) may not gain or attempt to gain unfair advantage by using them or changing them.

The pressure of all balls at the start of play must be - 65.71-68.75 kilopascals, or 0.67-0.70 kilograms per square centimetre, or 9.5-10.0 lbs per square inch.

How does the referee check that?
Illegitimi Non Carborundum
colind
Squire
Posts: 734
Joined: Sun Jun 12, 2005 8:13 pm
Location: Belfast

Re: Balls

Post by colind »

Cables

Last year I, along with many others, acted as a volunteer for the U19 World Championships.

One of the IRB guys had the specific job of preparing the balls for each match. Brand new balls were used for each game (6 per match if I recall correctly) and he used an electric pump to ensure that each one had the correct pressure.

Hope this helps. :thumright:

Colin
User avatar
Rooster
Rí­ na Cúige Uladh
Posts: 40137
Joined: Sat Jun 11, 2005 12:39 am
Location: Chicken coop 17

Re: Balls

Post by Rooster »

IIRC when the Webb Ellis balls were first used there was a spate of complaints from kickers as they did not fly in the same trajectory as other makes, from what I remember from the time they curve one particular way when struck at one end, you will notice kickers spinning them around before kicking if they have time and always placing thm in the tee with a particular end forward, if you get it wrong they spiral off to one side. Also I think their range is decreased from the Gilbert balls but not as badly as the Mitre.
This may have been changed by the manufacturer but I don't know,
“That made me feel very special and underlined to me that Ulster is more than a team, it is a community and a rugby family"
Rory Best
User avatar
browner
Lord Chancellor
Posts: 8670
Joined: Sun Jun 12, 2005 10:38 pm
Location: Globe Vienna crashed and burned...Giant TCR SL2 rising from the ashes.

Re: Balls

Post by browner »

How does the referee check that?

With his kilopascal meter?
Stand up for PICU R.V.H.
User avatar
BR
Rí­ na Cúige Uladh
Posts: 18579
Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2005 11:12 am
Location: On a roll.

Re: Balls

Post by BR »

browner wrote:
How does the referee check that?

With his kilopascal meter?
But where do you find a 65.71-68.75 one?

This one must be at least a 140 kilo pascal:


Image
Can I come out from behind the sofa yet?
www.stoutboys.co.uk
User avatar
cables
Lord Chancellor
Posts: 8487
Joined: Sat Jun 11, 2005 1:40 am

Re: Balls

Post by cables »

Latest research:
With the credit crunch kicking in, shoppers will be relieved to hear a cost-effective alternative to steak is now available for creating classic meat dishes.
The Testicle Cookbook: Cooking With Balls has been hailed as the world's first testicle recipe collection and includes testicle pizza, battered testicles and barbecued testicles with giblets.
And if counting the pennies isn't enough of a reason to indulge in the delicacy, testicles are also renowned for their libido-boosting properties.
Squeamish men, look away: The cover of 'The Testicle Cookbook: Cooking With Balls' by Serbian chef Ljubomir Erovic
Rich in testosterone, they are believed to be a powerful aphrodisiac in countries such as Serbia and China.
The e-book, available for download from the Internet, comes with handy video guides showing the author, Ljubomir Erovic, peeling the skin off testicles and slicing them up into bite-size chunks.
Several different animals, including stallions, ostriches, bulls, pigs and turkeys, get the Erovic treatment.
"Wash testicles thoroughly for 30-45 minutes," begins the recipe for testicles pie.
"Once softened, mince them in a mincer."
A "very sharp knife" is needed for traditional style testicles, which get boiled, cut up and deep fried in hot oil.

Erovic, 45, may be self-taught in the art of testicle cuisine but his 20 years of "cooking with balls" make him a world authority in the field.
He said: "The tastiest testicles in my opinion probably come from bulls, stallions or ostriches, although other people have their own favourites.
"The best for aphrodisiac properties are sheep and stallion testicles.
"All testicles can be eaten - except human, of course."
Erovic also organises the World Testicle Cooking Championship, held annually in Serbia since 2004. It draws in chefs from Australia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Norway and Serbia. One metric tonne of testicles are prepared.
Illegitimi Non Carborundum
User avatar
Setanta
Lord Chancellor
Posts: 5127
Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2005 10:27 am
Location: Switzerland

Re: Balls

Post by Setanta »

Ungh...painful reading.
From the rolling glens of Antrim through the hills of Donegal we will stand and shout for Ulster as we win both scrum and maul from the lovely lakes of Fermanagh tae the shores of ould Lough Gall we will scream and shout for Ulster as we beat them one and all!
User avatar
Cap'n Grumpy
Rí­ na Cúige Uladh
Posts: 15647
Joined: Thu Aug 14, 2008 4:21 pm
Location: second barrier up, at the half-way line ... or is the third?

Re: Balls

Post by Cap'n Grumpy »

cables wrote:The pressure of all balls at the start of play must be - 65.71-68.75 kilopascals, or 0.67-0.70 kilograms per square centimetre, or 9.5-10.0 lbs per square inch.

How does the referee check that?
Don't know about rugby ("We know", I hear you cry), but in (association) football, the ball must be of a certain specification/certification/standard (i.e. FIFA Approved, FIFA Inspected or International Match Standard) which means that at the correct pressure, it will be of a certain circumference (27-28inches).

I know of some referees who checked balls before a match with a bit of string tied off to make a circle of exactly 28". Assuming the ball was marked with the appropriate standard, if it didn't fit through it, it was too big (over inflated); and if it passed through with a pinch of more than half an inch (doubled-up, remember), it was too small (under inflated). If it wasn't marked as being of the correct standard, it shouldn't be used. (At the standard I refereed at, you were sometimes lucky to have ANY ball and were grateful for just about anything).

Perhaps the same can be done with a rugby ball, but with checks in two dimensions.
I'm not arguing -
I'm just explaining why I'm right
User avatar
cables
Lord Chancellor
Posts: 8487
Joined: Sat Jun 11, 2005 1:40 am

Re: Balls

Post by cables »

The pressure of all balls at the start of play must be
I said to a fellow MB'er at Ravenhill on Saturday - "I cannot believe they are taking this seriously." "I thought the reference to Hillary (Mrs B. Clinton) and the supporter called Jock would have been clues enough!"

:scratch:
Illegitimi Non Carborundum
User avatar
Cap'n Grumpy
Rí­ na Cúige Uladh
Posts: 15647
Joined: Thu Aug 14, 2008 4:21 pm
Location: second barrier up, at the half-way line ... or is the third?

Re: Balls

Post by Cap'n Grumpy »

I have only just come across this thread tonight, and yes I spotted the references to Hillary (with your Monica ..... sorry, Monicker to it) and Mr Strap, "down under", "bush", etc, but tried to ignore them. For a man of your standing, it is unbecoming. Whether you care to admit it or not, it IS a serious subject, and I tried to give it a serious answer, albeit talking round objects rather than more not-quite-cigar shaped ones. The footy guys really DO wrap string around theirs!!!

Changing tack, slightly, does anyone know the best way of keeping them in tip-top condition? - should they be hung in a bag at particular temperature, and what affect does placing them in a box have on them?
I'm not arguing -
I'm just explaining why I'm right
User avatar
pwrmoore
Rí­ na Cúige Uladh
Posts: 11885
Joined: Sat Jun 11, 2005 8:51 am
Location: East Belfast

Re: Balls

Post by pwrmoore »

Cap'n Grumpy wrote: and what effect does placing them in a box have on them?
Fixed that for you grumps. For best results I would recommend not putting them in a box, but occasionally resting them in close proximity to one may be found to be beneficial.
Paul.

C'mon Ulsterrrrrrrrr! :red:
User avatar
cables
Lord Chancellor
Posts: 8487
Joined: Sat Jun 11, 2005 1:40 am

Re: Balls

Post by cables »

Whether you care to admit it or not
Is that a kick in the .....?

:scratch:
Illegitimi Non Carborundum
User avatar
browner
Lord Chancellor
Posts: 8670
Joined: Sun Jun 12, 2005 10:38 pm
Location: Globe Vienna crashed and burned...Giant TCR SL2 rising from the ashes.

Re: Balls

Post by browner »

For best results I would recommend not putting them in a box, but occasionally resting them in close proximity to one may be found to be beneficial.
Ref....er....ee!

For the record i prefer them in a bag.
Stand up for PICU R.V.H.
User avatar
Cap'n Grumpy
Rí­ na Cúige Uladh
Posts: 15647
Joined: Thu Aug 14, 2008 4:21 pm
Location: second barrier up, at the half-way line ... or is the third?

Re: Balls

Post by Cap'n Grumpy »

cables wrote:
Whether you care to admit it or not
Is that a kick in the .....?
No, It's just me talking .......! :oops:
pwrmoore wrote:
Cap'n Grumpy wrote: and what effect does placing them in a box have on them?
Fixed that for you grumps. For best results I would recommend not putting them in a box, but occasionally resting them in close proximity to one may be found to be beneficial.
Cheers Paul :salut: STAND UP for the Ulsterwomen :cheers:
I'm not arguing -
I'm just explaining why I'm right
Post Reply