The guys in South Africa have actually been going for a bit longer than a
year (roughly a decade), but the point about coaching is valid.

A mate of mine who saw Denmark vs SA in Geelong noted that the Danes
were playing well, but "old-fashioned", more like 80s-style footy. The same
can be said for the Irish. The Lions in comparison were playing under similar
tactics to modern AFL sides.

I didn't get a chance to ask him what specifically he was referring to, but
there might be a bit to that.

Sounds like a few of us are onto the same idea then - I'm planning on doing a bit of a think piece about rule interpretation and playing styles once the dust settles on the Cup. There's definitely a divergence and is in part the cause of a lot of dissatisfaction with umpiring.

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Brett Northey - Co-founder and Chief Editor of WFN