Rugby World Cup

[Nick1984 10]

Rugby world cup is going to start soon in France. Anybody on these forums follow rugby (and yes I mean union not that league gaff that barbarians play)?

 

For those of you in the US used to NFL its kind of similar to NFL except the guys don't wear armour and helmets

 

I'm hoping Australia does well but the All Blacks (New Zealand) will probabbly kill us. As it's in France, they have a real great chance of winning.

 

Can't wait till it starts! For those of you who have never seen an All Black Haka before a match i've posted a link. Our sheep shagging brothers across the Tasman do look pretty cool when they do this!

 

[Guest cooter]

Is it similar to Aussie Rules Football or something?

[notouch 10]

Rugby is the origin of that girly shoulder pad game that Americans call football (but everyone else calls American football). It's the number one game in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France and South Africa and is either number 1 or 2 in Australia, New Zealand and England. Italy are also getting better as are a number of other countries.

[brownsfan019 17]

Rugby is the origin of that girly shoulder pad game that Americans call football (but everyone else calls American football). It's the number one game in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France and South Africa and is either number 1 or 2 in Australia, New Zealand and England. Italy are also getting better as are a number of other countries.

 

So what you are saying is notouch is that a bunch of little countries with drunks enjoy rugby?

 

Meanwhile the entire US supports football, our much better version of course.

 

:lol:

[Guest cooter]

 

Meanwhile the entire US supports football, our much better version of course.

 

:lol:

 

Gridiron football, as played in the US (and Canada) is for widely perceived in other parts of the free world as a game for wimps and pansies.

 

Real men don't need helmets and pads to play rough and hard.

 

After all, there's a reason NFL Europe went under.

[brownsfan019 17]

Do Rugby players make fat cash like NFL players do or is it more for the love of the sport?

[Nick1984 10]

Rugby is a tougher physical game than NFL football cause of the lack of physical protection via pads and helmets but the game isn't played in the same way either. Rugby flows along however NFL stops and starts all the time with incomplete plays etc holding things up. I see NFL more like a game of Chess between the coaches who try to outsmart eachother with various plays.

 

I guess the money that NFL players make is due to the relative popularity of the sport within its domestic sphere as compared to other sports. You can't compare the money NFL players make with those who play real football (or soccer if you prefer). David Beckham got paid $36 million just to sign with LA Galaxy. Hes making about $1.5 miliion a week to stay with them as well.

 

Cooter: Rugby is really different from our AFL (Australian Rules Football). Aussie rules is popular here in Victoria (my state), South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

 

AFL is is also a running game played with a smaller oval ball. Some complicated rules which I wont go into now lol. Best thing about the game is seeing a spectacular mark being taken (catching the ball while in flight to get a free uncontested kick), or some of the big hits taken (no protection worn either) I've uploaded a cpl of youtube videos of some of the AFL's best marks and hits hope you like

 

[notouch 10]

[brownsfan019 17]

I was just wondering in terms of the NFL and Soccer, how do rugby players compare in their salaries? I mean, is this all they do b/c they can afford it like the NFL and Soccer or is it a labor of love, which requires working as well to pay the bills? Can one live off a rugby player's income alone?

 

I'm just curious, that's all.

[Nick1984 10]

Yea you can here in Australia as well as in NZ. League players as well as Union players can make farily lucritive deals. The better known players will get yearly salaries of 500k or more plus sponsorship deals etc. It doesn't compare with an AFL player, a football/soccer player in a major league, or an NFL player but they still make enough professionally to make a decent living.

 

In Australia, most of our team also have degrees in various fields so they can continue a career after they can't keep on playing.

 

Edit: What did you think of the AFL clips?

[Guest cooter]

Awesome clips, Nick. Thanks for posting them.

[Nick1984 10]

No probs I've generally found lots of people like the game after they've seen it played a few times. Some of those marks are awesome, they get so much height!

[notouch 10]

Brownsfan, they play in stadiums in front of 80,000 spectators and in spite of what you may think France and the UK are not small countries full of drunks. Well not small countries anyway.

 

The superstars of rugby earn a hell of a lot more than 500,000. Rugby is bigger in France that football is i.e. bigger than Zidane, Henry etc (you do know who they are don't you?) Here's a short clip by the captains of the England football and rugby teams (Beckham and Wilkinson) comparing their kicking skills.

 

[Blu-Ray 10]

Nick

 

Just wondered if you'd seen this lately;)

 

(obviously we haven't got a cat in hell's chance this time around)

 

[brownsfan019 17]

Nick - those clips are cool. Granted, I know nothing about the sport, but it was fun to watch!!

[Nick1984 10]

Nick

 

Just wondered if you'd seen this lately;)

 

(obviously we haven't got a cat in hell's chance this time around)

 

 

Oh yea I remember that. I was at a pub watching that (hard to believe that was 4 years ago now lol). There were 4 Pommies there cheering along and when Wilkinson booted that the whole pub went silent except for these four blokes. Needless to say, they weren't the most popular guys in the place haha. I reckon the Frenchies have a good chance this year.

[brownsfan019 17]

You foreign guys talk funny. :err:

 

Just kiddin!

[Nick1984 10]

Lol I had these guys come to Melbourne down from Pittsburg (spelling?) and they loooved our accents. They kept on asking us to say things like "can't" because to them it sound like a part of the female anatomy hehe.

 

BTW: A Pom is what we call the English. Pommie Bastard is often used in relation to English people when they beat us at anything (rare though that is). To any Englishman reading this....see you at the Ashes!

[Blu-Ray 10]

To any Englishman reading this....see you at the Ashes!

 

I remember the 2005 Ashes hehe ! But somehow mysteriously can't remember the last ashes............. and NO....don't remind me;)

[Nick1984 10]

Hehe ok deal I wont remind you of 2006 but I will remind you of this:

 

 

Ball of the century

[Blu-Ray 10]

Yes Nick you're right, he's an absolute legend.

[james_gsx 16]

I remember being in New Zealand I met some former All Blacks (I think thats the name) players and they did that chant they do - it was pretty sweet. I've always liked following rugby it's an interesting sport.

[Nick1984 10]

I went for a walk this morning and at the local ground they were playing rugby. We have a large NZ population down in my suburn and before the match started they did the Haka as well. Its a great spectacle to watch in real life. There's different variations on it as well. It is part of a ritual war dance performed by the Maori tribes. Those Maori's are big guys!

 

I heard a joke once about which country would be the hardest to invade. The answer was New Zealand cause the whole country is full of bouncers hehe.