new rugby phrase

[chirpychirpy]

Following a very one-sided match, one of the pundits on itv's coverage of the rugby world cup last Saturday was saying something like 'to beat them was gret, but to nil them was incredible...' So nil is now a very apparently. Rugby union s already full of cringey phrases like 'it's a big ask'. Though I guess when describing Mike Tindall, 'a big arse' is accurate. How aware were you that nil is a verb?

[tommy-h]

Well I guess nullify would suit or ask someone else

[Quizmonster]

'Ask' has been used by some as a noun for the past millennium and is listed as such in Chambers Dictionary, which gives as an example, "a tough ask". Accordingly, I wouldn't say it's a "cringey phrase" from rugby.
I can't see anything very much wrong with 'nil' as a verb either. If people find it useful, they'll use it, and if they don't, they won't. This is what they do with any other word "novelty".

[Quizmonster]

As a matter of interest and for illustration, Chirpy, the word 'zero' first appeared in English as a noun early in the 17th century. It happily remained a noun for three hundred years, until - early in the 20th century - people started using it as a verb, as in 'to zero a gun' and later 'to zero in on something'.
Perhaps we are just seeing the start of the same process with 'nil', given that zero and nil are synonymous.

[pa___ul3]

it does make sense though, in football 'keepers "keep clean sheets", that's very much considered a normal term for not conceding but if you think about it it's a bit of a strange term to use.
'To nil them' is a much easier term to use than 'to beat them without conceding a single point', especially in rugby where you can stop them from scoring tries, but not necessarily penalties.
Let's just see if it catches on!