England thrashed the most powerful nation in the world so yes got to be All Blacks against South Africa final
So...... is anyone else a Rugby fan and if so..... who's gonna win then??
my money's on the All Blacks!
England thrashed the most powerful nation in the world so yes got to be All Blacks against South Africa final
pfft england 28-10 america they need 2 work much harder they played so badly
I think it will be Australia again (which has probably dammed them).
Springboks
Australia will play the All Blacks in one semi final and South Africa v ? in the other semi. The All Blacks often implode in World cup competitions due to the immense pressure placed on them by the New Zealand public. Australia beat NZ and the Bok, The Bok beat Australia but not NZ in recent tri nations series. Whoever wins it will be a southern hemisphere team, bet my house on it.
Being an Aussie I would love to see the Wallabies to win the Webb Ellis Trophy and will be cheering them on from Down Under.
Don't really care, as long as the rugby is good.
So... you want Bill back do you?
Southern Hemisphere rugby is very much a running game with great ball handling skills and good use of the wings..... you guys also have the benefits of good weather! The Kiwis also have the benefit of the culture that surrounds Rugby Union. The kids play Touch Rugby after school, kids in Scotland play soccer if anything at all....
Whatever happens... I'm looking for good Rugby and Scotland to be tenacious and stick it out (no second half collapses this time!!!)
I'd never been into watching rugby before I moved here; I found the rugby union I watched tedious with lots of stops and tedious rucks/mauls where nothing much happened.
The dominant rugby code here is rugby league, and I reckon it's a much more interesting sport to watch. The action is much more continuous, with all the players capable of running with the ball. Aren't they trialling some new rules in rugby to open the play up a bit (and hence it comes closer to rugby league anyway).
No sure on your last comment about rugby becoming closer to rugby league. Although Rugby league is the dominant football code in Brisbane..................The Wallabies filled Suncorp stadium in Brisbane recently and claim Brisbane is their favourite place to play because of the crowd support.
Rugby league is the poor cousin to Rugby when it comes to the international game. Only Australia and NZ can compete at the highest level in League whereas Rugby has 9 countries (soccer has mucho). The new rules in Rugby are designed to open the game up and make it more flowing with less stoppages. It is in no way going to produce a hybrid game or be played like League.
Anyway, with a team like Qld Reds to follow I'd support a champion club like the Broncos (5 titles since 1988) and subject to salary cap rules, unlike the EPL which is dominated by 3 or 4 rich clubs with no one else getting a chance.
Everyone is entitled to a rant now and again so Im going to exercise mine whether anyone reads this or not
Its not often I lose my rag, so to speak, but now Im bloody annoyed. Im annoyed because there is so much coverage of a sport that I consider to be increadibly dull. Simply because it is backed up by moneyed people.
Rugby Union vs Rugby League
Years ago there was only 1 type of rugby in the UK. Over 100 years ago the decision was made by the powers that be to split the rules and ethos of the game and Rugby League was born.
Im not going to go into the rule differences. Thats what Wikipedia is for.
These days Rugby Union is considered by many to be the more technical of the two games. This is fine but what it culminates in is a sport with very little 'running rugby' and many stop-starts with kicks at goal and kicks to touch. In essence there is very little ACTION in Rugby Union compared to League.
As I write this there must have been half a dozen breaks in play with the constant kicks back and forth and then kicks to touch in the current game (not to mention the many many penalties- as a result of the technical
nature). This is common across union games.
I would ask anyone to count, in any 5 minute passage of 'play' in a union match, exactly how many times the play stops. Of course, even when play is on there is a lot of static play with not much going on.
Im not writing this as someone who doesnt understand it. I have been watching it on and off since childhood. In fact, if its on I WILL watch it - like tonight. I even played it for 2 years at school as we were not fit enough for League
I want to ask those who have at least a passing interest in Rugby to watch some Rugby League matches. I am confident you will see flowing, open rugby with a lot less pauses, dead play and passages of, well, nothingness. Im so conifdent in that I would go as far as to say I dont care which League match you watch. Any will do.
Im angry because Union takes centre stage because of the money behind it.
I agree with the previous comment about a lesser international presence in League but this is down to one thing and one thing only - Money.
I just hope that people dont see Rugby Union and form a blanket opinion of the sport of 'Rugby'. That would be such a shame.
I need to go and calm down.
(in fact, the current game has taken 1 minute and 10 seconds to get through 1 scrum )
Definitely a Broncos fan, and was gutted last weekend to see then annhilated by Melbourne. The Reds don't play at Ballymore anymore - a pity as it is only 5 minutes walk away from where I live. However the two State of Origin matches I went to were really good fun - following the Maroons of course!!
The Wallabies did not fill Suncorp recently - only 41,000 turned up for the Wallabies/Wales match, whilst 52,498 turned up for the State of Origin rugby league match ten days previously between Queensland and New South Wales (only 2 spare seats in the whole ground).
Now I have Setanta Sports for free on Virgin Media () I now watch the Aussie Rugby Leage, way more exciting and entertaining than any union I have seen for a long time. Saying that the last free flowing union I watched on a consistant basis has been from NZ /SA/Aus Tri-Nations tournament.
Don't expect a Northern Hemisphere team to win the Cup, it wil deffo be NZ or Sth Africa.
Interesting to see someone else to come to the same conclusion as me
So how do you think will win the season?? Must say that I don't want Melbourne to win - Manly or the Cowboys perhaps? (Don't worry; I won't spoil the excitement with the Cowboys/Bulldogs match kicking off in less than an hour)
This is True I remember one time they got a union player to play a game of rugby league and visa versa and by the end of it the union player was on the verge of passing out and the league player said the union game was "not as much fun"
I used to watch my brother play for Hayfield (Rugby League) down Manchester way and he was good the coach is the one that approached him and said "We what you to join us". That was over 11 years ago now but I remember sitting in the cold and mist cheering on Hayfield and there was never a dull game. Though when we moved to Scotland you could tell he missed rugby league and joined the school union team but didn't like it, not one bit.
League will be the one for me every time. Like you said it should be given a fair chance with union though we all know there would be no contest.
You know, I've just re-read my long post and started to feel ever so guilty.
Whenever I post a review or an opinion on anything I try and see it from both sides of the fence so to speak. I think it is quite clear that I was, lets say, a little agitated when I posted that
In reality, there will be people that like one or the other. I guess I just wanted to vent off a bit but, more importantly, just wanted to make the point that there are 2 different types of Rugby. A lot of people see whats on TV now and think that covers the sport of Rugby. I think that's what Im more annoyed at.
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