Rugby Union

When I said top 5 I meant top 5 in popularity.

Just look at the increased interest over previous years. Early test matches were lucky to get 10 000 people, while now Super 12 matches bring in 20-30 000 people. A couple of years ago in 2001 a new record for attendance at the Bledisloe match of Australia and New Zealand had just under 110 000 people, not to mention TV viewers who couldn't get tickets...

And about the rules, I don't think Oggy needed to know them. Just about the grass roots. But yes, you can't pass forward or tackle other players without the ball. The first will constitute a scrum with the non-offending team feeding in, the second can bring a penalty, sin bin (for professional offence) or even a penalty try (try awarded even though it wasn't scored, but was most likely to be scored if there was no infringement).

Oggy, if you're looking for penetration, look at countries where Rugby doesn't rate very highly. Argentina for example has a poor club base that players play in England allowing them to stay professional. It is very rare to have 'amateur' international teams now. And even though Argentinian players are based overseas, they still field a competitive team that even beat France (World Cup Runners up 1999) last year.

Another good thing about rugby is that anyone can play. That is a great difference between it and other sports. You can even look at American Football where most players have to be big and buff. In Rugby, you can be fat and rolly-polly weighing in at 120kg and still play (front row as a prop). Tall and skinny like a rake? Play in the second row. Fast - Winger/Fullback. Small - Halfback or Flyhalf.

Another history lesson is that Rugby developed from Soccer and according to legend, it was when a boy, called William Web Ellis, first picked up a soccer ball and ran with it. Hence the Rugby World Cup is called the William Web Ellis trophy (or 'Bill' as the Australians call it)

I'm just babbling now, but if anyone has any proper questions, I would more than glad to answer them...Stops me from babbling.
 
Originally posted by Wedge009
...I thought foosball was that table soccer game...
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It is, which is why I wondered if he made a typo. Soccer/foosball = same, just that one's "live" and the other is a miniature replica of of it, played largely by non-athletes.
 
Originally posted by StarLight
When I said top 5 I meant top 5 in popularity.
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Well, you know more about sport than I do, but to me swimming only seems to be popular in the Olympics (oh yeah, and in scorching summers :/), whereas rugby and cricket are always being played on TV.

Originally posted by StarLight
I'm just babbling now, but if anyone has any proper questions, I would more than glad to answer them...Stops me from babbling.
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Proper questions? Nah, you can keep babbling. ;)
 
Try me...I know offhand some random stats of matches including scores, point scorers, yellow/red cards etc.

Just for example, Wendell Sailor.

Queensland debut 2001 vs NSW at Ballymore
1st Super 12 try vs The Bulls 2002 at Ballymore (Bulls were the wooden spoon winners with no wins from 11 games). He also scored his second Super 12 try in that match. His third and fourth were scored against the Chiefs this year in Tarangua (is that how it is spelt?)
1st Wallaby try vs The New Zealand Maori 2002 at Subiaco Stadium, Perth (?)
1st Test try vs England 2002 at Twickenham.

The winger plays on the left wing (11) at Super 12 level, but played on the right (14) at Test level.
 
Say, what's the diff between rugby & "Australian Rules Football"?...

I don't have cable, but remember seeing it a couple times on someone else's TV: looks an awful lot like rugby to me.
 
The diffirence between Aussie Rules and Rugby? Well...

Instead of throwing, or passing the ball to each other, they generally handball (a skill which involves punching it out of your hands to other players) or kick it to each other.

The players are allowed to kick or pass the ball any which way, as the Essedon Bombers demonstrated in such poor sportsmanship, where during one Anzac Day match they kicked the ball backwards and forwards whenever they were in front rather than continue playing.

Games begin with a centre bounce, where the ruckman from each of the two teams run in to tip the ball to their players when the umpire bounces it.

The field is an oval, not the 100 yard rectangle of rugby, roccer and gridiron.

Instead of running for the end zone, they try amd kick it through the goals like in soccer. The four posts represent the goals, and they are not defended by a goalee like in soccer. Points are awarded for kicking the ball through, one point for the ball going through the outer posts and the ball is given to the other team, and six points for through the middle and they go back to centre bounce.

Instead of having scrums, contested tackles for the ball with no outcome and such are handled by a centre bounce where the incident occured.

If the ball goes out of bounds, the umpire throws it back in much the same as the centre bounce, where the players try and tip the ball to their teammates. Out on the full, the opposing team gets posession.

Despite the sport's long history of violence, the umpires are a lot more strict in Aussie Rules. In fact, even disbuting what they say will have players suspended.
 
Originally posted by Preacher
It is, which is why I wondered if he made a typo. Soccer/foosball = same, just that one's "live" and the other is a miniature replica of of it, played largely by non-athletes.
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If Soccer and Foosball were the same, I'd pay to watch Soccer. People standing in place and spinning around and around in order to hit balls would be really neat.
 
Originally posted by Preacher
Say, what's the diff between rugby & "Australian Rules Football"?
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There is a huge difference, as Phil has already outlined. Strangely enough, it seems to be much less popular than rugby [in Australia], but maybe that's just because it's mostly played in the state of Victoria (New South Wales and Queensland really love their "State of Origin" Rugby League matches. :)). I'd personally prefer to play Aussie Rules to rugby, not that I'm much good at either.
 
Originally posted by Phillip Tanaka
The field is an oval, not the 100 yard rectangle of rugby, roccer and gridiron.
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Are you Australian Phil? I can't tell.
a) you know a lot about AFL while
b) yards? YARDS???

So, yeh. I'm undecided. Can't tell.

I think that AFL actually originated from Victoria as a rival sport to rugby. One of the main reasons appears to be the more flat ground in Melbourne than in Sydney. The smaller spaces in Sydney encouraged Rugby whilst deterring AFL. On one of the early tours in 1888-89 by the New Zealand Natives side in fact played 13 games of Victorian Rules (as it was called).

Originally posted by Wedge009
I'd personally prefer to play Aussie Rules to rugby
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To play either sport you've got to be willing to take a bit of a knock. Why not go with Rugby when size isn't a deterant. I reckon you might be able to slot in at Inside Centre or Fly Half, depending on your kicking ability - which isn't too bad, except for your left foot kicking. Gotta be proficient in both to play at Fly Half.
 
My coach always said that if I ever kicked the ball, he'd break both my legs :(

360 spinning at foosball is cheating
 
Originally posted by StarLight
Are you Australian Phil? I can't tell.
a) you know a lot about AFL while
b) yards? YARDS???

So, yeh. I'm undecided. Can't tell.
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I was born and bred in Australia, and am actually Belgium and Austrian I think. The yards I was referring to was in referrence to the size of an American gridiron field. A football oval, I think, is something like 200 metres, because they have what's known as a 50 metre boundry outside the goals, I think for the forwards and defending backs, so we don't see someone like Wayne Carey (a full forward with Adelade) contesting marks and such to goal. In the pre season Wizard Cup, they experimented with a rule that goals kicked from outside 50 metres are worth 9 points rather than 6.
 
Hey, another Aussie. :) With all the talk from you about Spirit and anime in general, I thought you were Japanese. :eek:

Originally posted by StarLight
...depending on your kicking ability - which isn't too bad, except for your left foot kicking.
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Thanks... I think. (I'm not ambi...footrous? ;)) Given a choice of any football, I think I'd play soccer instead. Or even better, have the lot lumped together! The few times we played Gaelic football in high school PE were probably my best times in a subject I really didn't enjoy. I'd still rather play tennis. :)
 
Hi guys,
thanx for your views on rugby union in your home countries, keep the info coming, its all useful, even if you don't play the game and just watch it on the telly.
Thanks again, Angela

p.s. I borrowed Ians login
 
Cool a Union thread!:D

Rugby rocks! I've only two seaons in college but they were great, especially the second season when I figured the game out a bit better.

Hornet's tip for this weekends Super 12, Waratah's over Reds by ten, at least.

Anyone from Aus know who's wining the Sydney comp at the moment?

(Waratahs are the New South Wales team in Aus, the Reds are Queansland team here also)
 
The Shute Shield only kicks off this weekend...

I'm tipping the Waratahs to get their first Super 12 victory over the Reds as well this year. I think I would have gone for them last year, if Nathan Grey hadn't been injured. Besides, the Reds never beat NSW last year - it was Chris Latham who did. It was Chris Latham vs the rest of the Super 12 teams...how many times did that guy save the Reds' arses? Once against NSW, then twice agains the South African teams!

BTW, my tip only comes if Burkey, McRae and Rogers are playing
 
The Queansland Chris Latham team!

Forward pack 8 forwards named Chris Latham

Back Line 6 players named Chris Latham, one named Wendell Sailor

Reserve bench five more Chris Latham

Coach, Chris Latham


Yeah Burke will play this weekend (he'd need to be dead and buried tens years to stop him!), Rogers rounds it out and with McRea in there (long with Mat Dunning!:D ) Its a sure thing!

hmmm cept for the Latham Factor.

And as long as we don't go to sleep in the last twenty mins like last week!
 
Come on the 'Tahs!

BTW, I think Nick Stiles is just jealous of Matt 'Interecept King' Dunning, Brendan 'Canno/Maximus' Cannon and Al 'My firm designed this house' Baxter.

NSW HAVE to win this game, considering their line up vs QLD. Not to mention that Flately and Latham are still in doubt for the game. Atkinson and Sharpe are definitely out.

Get the tight five working well, building up well, then let Whits spread it wide going to Tuquiri and Staniforth. It's a pity Staniforth hasn't scored any tries so far, after his 9 try romp last year. That guy is a gun, and really hasn't shone this year.
 
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