Coss Posted September 9, 2011 Report Share Posted September 9, 2011 Well I'm not normally a sport mad fellow, but the America's Cup and Rugby at a high level do do it for me. As they're about to launch the Rugby World Cup on my doorstep today, I'll take an interest and taunt the rest of you rugby playing nations with a prediction. NZ and Aus in the Final with NZ the victor. (insert emoticon for the fingers and one for pants down and arse presented {americans this means mooning}) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coss Posted September 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobbledonk Posted September 9, 2011 Report Share Posted September 9, 2011 Those odds are hilarious - I think I'd be waiting to see how the first few rounds go before throwing money at NZ or the Wallabies. I guess punters are voting more with their hearts than usual, but you can guarantee that some serious money has been placed with bookies all over the Southern Hemisphere. I'm watching the NRL finals from tonite, but I wont be slashing my wrists over the outcome of any game in the next 4 weeks - thankfully. Back when I cared how my team went, it was an agonising time of year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coss Posted September 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2011 I just watched (yesterday) the opening ceremony of the Rugby World Cup. It was a wonderful celebration of all things Maori. Who are 15% of the population. Watching this you could be forgiven for thinking there were no white people in NZ. Indeed from the opening ceremony of the Rugby World Cup, it appears that NZ is exclusively Maori. I am not racist, I love all coloured women, but to see one of the most important demonstrations of NZ culture on the world stage as exclusively Maori, makes me question the Pakeha contribution to NZ society. Have at it, friends... My point I guess is - minorities are becoming more important than the majority. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coss Posted September 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2011 Standings as shown on the RWC site: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coss Posted September 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2011 For my 10 bahts worth - the South Africa - Wales and the Argentina - England matches, were close fought and the underdog nearly won in both of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobbledonk Posted September 12, 2011 Report Share Posted September 12, 2011 For my 10 bahts worth - the South Africa - Wales and the Argentina - England matches, were close fought and the underdog nearly won in both of them. Coss, personally I'm embarrassed when they have similar ceremonies in Oz, not because they have aboriginal dancers etc, but because they like to trot out the hokey 1950s version of what people in the cities think bush life must have been like. Forget that 80% of the population lives in 3 urban monstrosities on the eastern seaboard, lets give the rest of the world a glimpse of the people we'd like to be ..... Baz Luhrmann's 'Australia', anyone ? Getting back to the Rugby, I thought the Wallabies seemed quite rusty in the first half of the match against Italy, and I would have liked to see the Italian enthusiasm rewarded with a try. The scoreline wasnt, to my way of thinking, an accurate reflection of the match, but we'll take what we can get. At the start of the game, my sister asked me if Italy were any good at Rugby - by the end, she knew they were a long way from the novices one might assume a soccer-obsessed nation would be. They read some of the Aussie play quite well, culminating in an intercept - if the Wallabies make the same mistakes against the All Blacks or Springboks, they wont get off so easily. I was also disappointed by how quickly the media leapt on O'Connor as our 'prodigal son and saviour' - that can easily be the kiss of death for a player and a team. I'd be happier if the Wallabies were underdogs going into the big games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cosspital Posted September 13, 2011 Report Share Posted September 13, 2011 I saw that Wales SA game, very good showing by Wales. Same for Italy against the Wallabies. Some close fought matches will be had I think, the All blacks are not a shoe in, should be good matches from the 1/4 finals on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobbledonk Posted September 14, 2011 Report Share Posted September 14, 2011 I saw that Wales SA game, very good showing by Wales. Same for Italy against the Wallabies. Some close fought matches will be had I think, the All blacks are not a shoe in, should be good matches from the 1/4 finals on. I'm looking forward to the first major boilover - its always great to see an underdog (particularly a relative minnow in the game) beat the favorite in any sport, but thats much more the case when two teams only encounter one another once every 4 years. Most of the island nations play with such wonderful abandon, despite the fact that making a living from Rugby would be a fantasy unless they move to Oz/NZ etc to pursue a career. Its not that long ago that it was still an 'amateur' sport in Oz, but they get huge money (at anything above domestic club level) now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted September 16, 2011 Report Share Posted September 16, 2011 I went to a bar to see the USA v. Ireland match and later the SA v. Wales. Bored out of my mind. I respect it as a sport but its not my cup of tea. I went there to see if any hot Irish chicks were there as well as any SA chicks. Had to support Wales by a wee margin in that game since I have a Welsh last name. Didn't care if America won or lost against Ireland (America lost). I do support the All Blacks though and its not because I'm black (but it makes it convenient)...LOL...a former kiwi gf of mine is the reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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