If this keeps up, I’m switching to badminton
Mon, Jun 22, 2009, Posted by Vic Drover 
Although I have long been a strong supporter of the professional era of rugby, there are disadvantages that come with the territory.
For example, as the sport moves forward with dizzying pace in countries where rugby has gone professional, the gap over ‘amateur’ countries grows ever wider.
We can also lament the draw of players from around the globe to the lucrative French rugby market, thus draining many countries (including New Zealand and Western Europe) of their top talent.
But these are just the growing pangs of the globilization of rugby.
What really burns my balls is when rugby players and fans start to look a lot more like the hooligans of football (a.k.a. soccer).
After the 2007 World Cup, Doug Howlett (New Zealand) went on a massive bender, resulting in vandalism outside the team hotel and an arrest by local authorities.
Then there was the sex scandle by Topsy Ojo and Mike Brown, members of the 2008 English squad who toured New Zealand in 2008.
And finally today we find out that France centre Mathieu Bastareaud has been attacked near his Wellington hotel following the New Zealand defeat of France on Saturday.
What the hell is wrong with you folks, and why are all these things related to one country! New Zealand is hosting the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Do we now have to worry about a player getting killed if the hosts don’t win the Web Ellis?
Maybe I’d better find another sport to follow. I wonder who the ‘bad boys of badminton’ are.
Tags: France, New Zealand
Stop being such a sussy, all sports have their incidents. Remember
when someone jumped out of the stands at a tennis event and STABBED
Monica Seles? And that was tennis. Houliganism is in every sport.
You shouldn’t be that surprised that New Zealand is tied to much of
these incidents. Think about it, it’s New Zealand. The native
Maori’s back in the day would eat the people they’d kill in battle
to “absorb” them. Be grateful that the people of New Zealand didn’t
fry up a few Frenchmen for dinner that night.
Rugby is elegant and a gentleman’s game. The hooligans are
idiots…pure and simple. My heart goes out to Mathieu and his
mates. May they all feel the love of rugby fans worldwide in his
recovery.Bless ‘em.
Agreed Sharon. Don't mind Josh, he's received one-too-many high-tackles.
Just saw this article about New Zealand prop Keith Murdoch. Seems the there was a bit of hooliganism well before the professional era
The professional era may bring some different dynamics into the
game but it also allows new unions to spring up everywhere. Next
week the Philippines will be playing Iran for the Asian
Championship 3rd Division, something that never would have happened
before professionalism. We just need to keep it moving.
while i’m sure you’ll see this eventually:
http://www.scrum.com/france/rugby/story/98804.html what the hell is
wrong with people?
LOL. Guess I'd better move this post to the satire category