Metres vs Yards

[DoubleD]

Commentators and pundits often mention yards rather than metres. Is there a reason for this? Have pitch dimensions ever been measured in yards?

[TheReaper]

Half a dozen of one, 6.56 of another. 

 

I don't know the answer but I always assumed the 22 metre line in union was due to converting 25 yards, although checking the math it appears to be closer to 23m.

On the flip side, I also thought that the 110 yard CFL field was due to converting a sensible 100m field into yards to better align with the neighbours. 

Curious to see if anyone has some good historical knowledge. 

[MZH]

I have no idea about metres and yards in terms of rugby league history, but the UK went to the metric system in the 60s, so it stands to reason that before that yards were probably the preferred measurement.

[Odsal Outlaw]

I’m sure I recall a tap 25 rather than a tap 20 after the ball ran dead due to it being yards rather than metres. I’d be pretty sure RL used to be yards. Not sure when it changed officially. 

[Griff]

Yes, of course everything used to be in yards before the Aussies stuck this crazy metric system on us.

[Oxford]

5 hours ago, DoubleD said:

Is there a reason for this?

Yes we never truly went over to the funny foreign measuring system.

[Griff]

2 hours ago, Oxford said:

Yes we never truly went over to the funny foreign measuring system.

Nobody ever does. I was watching a GAA game and one of the pundits was on about an area of the field "between the 21 and the 45".

That's the 21 yard line and the 45 metre line.

[Tommygilf]

Britain is moving to the metric system, inch by inch!

[David Shepherd]

Yards and Metres are pretty interchangeable, being roughly the same in distance. It's just our vernacular, you make yards going forward. Just like you drink a pint and never roughly 1/2 a litre of ale.

[Tommygilf]

3 minutes ago, David Shepherd said:

Yards and Metres are pretty interchangeable, being roughly the same in distance. It's just our vernacular, you make yards going forward. Just like you drink a pint and never roughly 1/2 a litre of ale.

And cold temperatures are reported in °C and heat in °F

[RBKnight]

3 minutes ago, David Shepherd said:

Yards and Metres are pretty interchangeable, being roughly the same in distance. It's just our vernacular, you make yards going forward. Just like you drink a pint and never roughly 1/2 a litre of ale.

If I was 68ml short though, I'd ask for a top-up

[Gomersall]

8 hours ago, Odsal Outlaw said:

I’m sure I recall a tap 25 rather than a tap 20 after the ball ran dead due to it being yards rather than metres. I’d be pretty sure RL used to be yards. Not sure when it changed officially. 

IIRC it used to be a tap 25 (Y) then it became a tap 22 (M) then  a tap 20 (M). 

[David Shepherd]

4 minutes ago, Tommygilf said:

And cold temperatures are reported in °C and heat in °F

I was at school when Celsius (nee Centigrade) had recently become a thing, I never really understood Fahrenheit so have always used C, but my parents generation and the media still do.

Weirdly, we were still taught pounds shillings and pence, despite decimalisation having occurred 7 or 8 years previously.

Edited May 5, 2023 by David Shepherd

[The Masked Poster]

Does anyone say "I'm going to the game in Hull, it's 85 Km down the M62" though? I don't imagine anyone over a certain age does and would be surprised if even someone aged 25 didn't say "it's X miles" or "my new car can do 110 miles per hour". 

Metric is the more logical system but certain things still hangover from the past. And let's not forget, America still use the imperial system. I have to have tools in both as I often go to US companies whose machines are all in imperial. 

[Gomersall]

13 minutes ago, The Masked Poster said:

Does anyone say "I'm going to the game in Hull, it's 85 Km down the M62" though? I don't imagine anyone over a certain age does and would be surprised if even someone aged 25 didn't say "it's X miles" or "my new car can do 110 miles per hour". 

Metric is the more logical system but certain things still hangover from the past. And let's not forget, America still use the imperial system. I have to have tools in both as I often go to US companies whose machines are all in imperial. 

Watching Race Across the World and it surprised me that Canada use metric whereas the States use imperial. That must get confusing for drivers crossing the border.

[gingerjon]

4 minutes ago, Gomersall said:

Watching Race Across the World and it surprised me that Canada use metric whereas the States use imperial. That must get confusing for drivers crossing the border.

Genuine sign apparently:

 

[Hull Kingston Bronco]

9 hours ago, TheReaper said:

Half a dozen of one, 6.56 of another. 

 

I don't know the answer but I always assumed the 22 metre line in union was due to converting 25 yards, although checking the math it appears to be closer to 23m.

On the flip side, I also thought that the 110 yard CFL field was due to converting a sensible 100m field into yards to better align with the neighbours. 

Curious to see if anyone has some good historical knowledge. 

Union changed it's 25 yard line to 22 metres in the 70's (the French have always had more power in the IRB hence why it went early)

[David Shepherd]

1 hour ago, The Masked Poster said:

Does anyone say "I'm going to the game in Hull, it's 85 Km down the M62" though? I don't imagine anyone over a certain age does and would be surprised if even someone aged 25 didn't say "it's X miles" or "my new car can do 110 miles per hour". 

Metric is the more logical system but certain things still hangover from the past. And let's not forget, America still use the imperial system. I have to have tools in both as I often go to US companies whose machines are all in imperial. 

My kids all use miles and pints (and feet and inches for height).  Everything else is in that funny new forrin system.

 

Edited May 5, 2023 by David Shepherd

[BadlyOverdrawnBoy]

The Aussies changed to metric in 1970, yet the commentators still say things like "Dominic Young is six foot seven."

[David Shepherd]

1 hour ago, Gomersall said:

Watching Race Across the World and it surprised me that Canada use metric whereas the States use imperial. That must get confusing for drivers crossing the border.

IIRC, they serve ale in pints in some pubs.

[David Shepherd]

3 minutes ago, BadlyOverdrawnBoy said:

The Aussies changed to metric in 1970, yet the commentators still say things like "Dominic Young is six foot seven."

I think feet and inches for someone's height are pretty standard throughout the Anglosphere.

[Saint Toppy]

1 hour ago, The Masked Poster said:

Does anyone say "I'm going to the game in Hull, it's 85 Km down the M62" though? I don't imagine anyone over a certain age does and would be surprised if even someone aged 25 didn't say "it's X miles" or "my new car can do 110 miles per hour". 

Metric is the more logical system but certain things still hangover from the past. And let's not forget, America still use the imperial system. I have to have tools in both as I often go to US companies whose machines are all in imperial. 

Even though the UK officially has switched to metric its still illegal to use use metric on almost all road signs on the UK road network without a legal exemption order, hence why speed limits are still in MPH and destination distances still in miles. There are some exceptions for signs like height & weight restrictions which can be displayed in both metric & imperial due to the risk of damage from foreign lorry drivers who don't understand the imperial system. The cost of switching will be in the £Bn's so there's no chance of it changing anytime soon.

[The Art of Hand and Foot]

Never hear commentators say "he's making the hard metres" , always hard yards. And fans, when a prop pushes forward with three defenders on his back "good yards" . Good metres sounds a bit, well you know, not right.

[The Masked Poster]

22 minutes ago, BadlyOverdrawnBoy said:

The Aussies changed to metric in 1970, yet the commentators still say things like "Dominic Young is six foot seven."

I stand to be corrected here but as I recall (many many years ago in college) I remember being told that the UK officially turned metric in 1967. Obviously no-one used it for a few years but supposedly we were 'officially' then. 

Money was the first 'metric' change that people had to get used to I suppose. 

[The Masked Poster]

24 minutes ago, David Shepherd said:

I think feet and inches for someone's height are pretty standard throughout the Anglosphere.

I well remember the chant at various places like football etc "6'2" dressed in blue, he must be a f***** screw". These things would never have worked in metric.