Oct 8th, 2007 | Satire, Test Rugby, RWC 2007 | 26 Comments
At a joint press conference today, the New Zealand and Australian Rugby Unions announced that they have withdrawn from future World Cup competition as a protest to the current format which encourages complacency by pestering the teams with pointless fixtures against developing rugby nations.
‘Crushing teams like Italy, Scotland and Portugal by as much as 95 points puts too much pressure on our boys,’ said Andy Leslie, President of the NZRU. ‘When we finally get some opposition, the performance anxiety is too great and we buckle beneath it…who wouldn’t,’ he continued. → continue reading
Oct 4th, 2007 | Test Rugby | 15 Comments
Since the Professional Era of rugby began in earnest in 1995, the laws of rugby have not changed much beyond technical clarification and small ‘tweaks’ to increase player safety. Two obvious exceptions are (i) lifting in the lineout and (ii) television match officials for confirming trys. However, these have not had much much long-term impact on how the game is played primarily since line-outs and touch-downs constitute only a minor component of any rugby match.
However, new rules currently called the ‘Stellenbosch’ Experimental Laws are set to change that by legalizing many common law infractions at the break-down where much of the match is spent. → continue reading
Oct 4th, 2007 | Test Rugby, RWC 2007 | 18 Comments
And then there were 8. The quarter-finals of the 2007 RWC are set to kick off in a few days and to be honest, the match-ups are quite interesting. Even if you are a die-hard All Black fan, I think the fixtures are going to captivate rugby enthusiasts of all persuasions. → continue reading
Oct 4th, 2007 | Test Rugby, RWC 2007 | 1 Comment
“Nothing left but the crying” is probably the sentiment for many Irish, Welsh, Italians and Tongans this week as the pool stages end and the 3rd place finishers head back and start thinking about either retirement or the 2011 RWC in New Zealand. For a World Cup that was supposed to be a predictable spectacle by the ‘top-tier’ teams, the so-called ‘minnows’ flexed their might (and their hearts) and produced more flair and excitement than the championship favorites like France and the SANZAR nations. Here is how it breaks down pool-by-pool. → continue reading
Sep 28th, 2007 | Test Rugby, RWC 2007 | 31 Comments
Has anyone other than me noticed what has happened to the All Blacks in the last 8 years? Aside from hardly ever losing and absolutely destroying even good teams, the All Blacks have spun completely out of control with their image and mysitque. This year’s Rugby World Cup has already seen the All Blacks demolish all of their opponents so far, albeit in a very week pool and all signs point to an inevitable victory for the storied All Blacks. But as in past years, the All Blacks will fall again.
The problem with the All Blacks is that their team has become Americanized as I like to call it. That is the team has lost sight of what the game of rugby is about and have turned it into more of a them against the world conquest. This team is so far ahead of other rugby teams in the world that it almost seems as if they’re a different race of people. I mean have you seen the size and speed of these guys, it’s disturbing at the very least. I often wonder if the pressure of being the best in the world has driven many of them to do steroids. I read an article recently about one of their players who had to stop working out his biceps because he was having trouble wrapping up people for tackles!!
The pressure has become so great for the All Blacks that several players have been quoted saying they don’t even enjoy playing for the All Blacks because it’s too much. Too much pressure, too much hype, too much of everything. → continue reading
