Rugby World Cup

[Gav]

Well it's underway down in NZ. I see there's a US team. Is anyone watching?

[fdad]

Well it's underway down in NZ. I see there's a US team. Is anyone watching?

Nope.

[Gav]

Nope.

Well thanks for that completely insightful and pointless response.

[Nick]

Nope.

This.

[Empty Wallet]

Wow, Canada beats Tonga. Major upset.

The Tonga NZ haka competition was spectacular.

As to watching it, not a game I like. However, see lots of highlights on the news.

[ChristopheK]

I do follow it.
I want to see France- Canada next Sunday and also France-All Blacks the other week-end.

[crquack]

Scots had a scare against Romania. Wales had a controversial loss against the Boks. I wonder why they did not look at that penalty on the TMO. If it counted that would have been some upset.

The All Blacks do not look as solid as one expected. Neither do the Boks.

Go Canada!

[Gav]

Canada FTW? Ay?

Scotland aren't a great team at the moment. They've got potential but I honestly don't think they're that great. The rule of thumb is that if Dan Parks is on the field we're doomed.

There's a definite problem with kicking at the moment. I don't buy the ball story as those balls have been in circulation for a year - and new balls are ALWAYS blamed when things go wrong. There's clearly something up though.

[crquack]

First big upset today. I thougth the Irish were good for it.

Has there been a drop in the Souternh Hemisphere standards or is the Northern Hemisphere getting better? The Welsh were unlucky to lose to the Boks.

The France-NZ match looks even more interesting now.

[ChristopheK]

I am also looking forward the game France vs All Blacks next Saturday...

[Empty Wallet]

Oh no, controversy at the rugby:

Bagpipes ban at World Cup puts the wind up Scots fans


http://sport.scotsman.com/rugby-worl...Cup.6838643.jp




THE Scottish Government has intervened after rugby fans were hit with a bagpipe ban at the World Cup in New Zealand.

Officials have reportedly outlawed bagpipes from stadiums amid fears they could distract Scotland's opponents.

[crquack]

Are vuvuzelas permitted?

Lookig at the Scots' performance so far they need their opponents distracted as much as possible. Particularly with Argentina and England coming up.

[Gav]

Oh no, controversy at the rugby:

Bagpipes ban at World Cup puts the wind up Scots fans


http://sport.scotsman.com/rugby-worl...Cup.6838643.jp




THE Scottish Government has intervened after rugby fans were hit with a bagpipe ban at the World Cup in New Zealand.

Officials have reportedly outlawed bagpipes from stadiums amid fears they could distract Scotland's opponents.

Yeah, bit of a head scratcher this one.

[Empty Wallet]

One sometimes wonders about the competitiveness of teams in these tournaments. It is rather like the cricket world cup, with some countries with no hope at all.

[D'Art]

It's the same in most sports - look at ours for example. Let's face it, most of the winners are going to come from Europe (and even then only certain parts of it), Eastern Asia, or the US. Almost no hope of a Northern European, South American, Oceanic, African or Middle Eastern person winning anything soon (usual terms and conditions apply, yadda yadda...)

[crquack]

Agree the RWC is a bit of a yawn.

1) To make up numbers and pretend that world is truly represented teams like Namibia are included which have no chance of winning and cannot even compete respectably. Nobody wants to watch 60-90 point blow outs (sorry, USA!)

2) The pool stage takes almost 4 weeks to complete. In that time there are perhaps 6-7 matches of any interest (i.e. those that decide 1st and 2nd in the group - those that decide participation in the quarter-finals are even rarer). It is much more difficult to bring off an upset in rugby than, say, in soccer. These tend to happen in the elimination round where the standards of the teams are much closer.

3) The nature of the sport, much like fencing, does not make it much of a spectator sport unless you are an enthusiast and perhaps played the game yourself. The law interpretations and infringements are often so arcane that even the referees have difficulty being consistent (watch how they call scrum collapses for instance).

Don't get me wrong, I love watching rugby and FWIW I think it is now a better game than it was 40 years ago. However, the annual Tri-Nation series provides more meaningful entertainment than the first 4 weeks of RWC.

That said, I hope we do not have another power cut tonight - I would hate to miss the NZ-France match!

[Empty Wallet]

Okay, I am trying. Weird try to France at 75 minutes, but the instant reply from NZ was something.

Now I will turn to something interesting, perhaps cartoons.

[crquack]

The natural order of things is intact so far. I am still a bit concerned about how the All Blacks lose concentration in the second half. They did the same things against Tonga. So far they have got away with it.

[ChristopheK]

Does somebody else see Wales - South Africa as a final?

[Empty Wallet]

Hard to see South Africa beating both Australia and New Zealand to make the final.