At various points on the fforum I may have suggested that a game of rugby with only 13 men on one side was inferior to 15. After today's game in Wellington I now realise my error, given certain conditions...

1: They're still playing rugby union
2: They're only down to 13 men due to sin-binnings, 90 seconds apart
3: The oppposing team must fail to take any advantage from this situation
4: Indeed, must be shoved back all the way up the pitch despite looking certain to score a try
5: And must then concede a penalty, which is dispatched forthwith

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Great game, and yes, I know - the All Blacks should have won based on all the statistics, except for the rather vital one of 'points scored'. Although the try shouldn't have stood (the runner was never played onside by anyone behind the kicker) and there was a fair degree of tap-dancing on people's heads (hint: the ball isn't hairy).

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One question though - would Aussies rather see the All Blacks lose or England? Most Scots I talked to wanted England to get stuffed, but I have no idea if the same rivalry occurs between Oz and NZ...



PSD

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This is the work of an Italian narco-anarchic collective. Don't bother insulting them, they can't read English anyway.

Always preferred the 15 man game, but then maybe that was just because I liked listening to Bill McLaren instead. As for playing it!

Try Chapter Wing Three Quarter Elven in N3. It's nothing to do with rugby, but it was a Fforum in-joke.

I always preferred watching rugby to footy, though I never cared much about how many men were in each team. I just like watching all those big, muscular men, wearing shorts as they run around and grapple on a muddy field. Far more appealing than poncey,overpaid soccer players or those big girl's blouses who play American Football in armour and stop for a meeting every five minutes.

In response to PSD's query about whether Aussies would prefer to see England or Nz win: It would depend upon which country Australia were playing against at the time.

However, if the ONLY two teams playing were England and Nz, and the ONLY two choices were England and Nz, then your average Aussie couldn't care less because we know we can beat the pants off either one of them.

Answer your question? :)

Ha! What happened at Twickenham then? *scoff*



PSD

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This is the work of an Italian narco-anarchic collective. Don't bother insulting them, they can't read English anyway.

So we're going to count ONE game out of how many? Would you like me to remind you about what happened at Lords? Or the World Cup? Or anywhere else (apart from Twickenham) in the last five years?

and don't mention the soccer. I did but I think I got away with it!

I had a liking for American Football for a while, and when you look at the injuries they get and the way they get them, the armour becomes understandable. If you get caught in a scramble for the ball, you can get the kind of leg injuries that a horse would routinely be shot for.

I remember a really great quarterback (Young) getting his final concussion. This 16 stone exocet took him clean over at full pace, and Young's head hit the knee of one of his own team who was behind him running full tilt the other way. He looked so peaceful out cold it made your blood freeze. He never played another game.

Don't you just love winding up the antipodeans over any kind of sporting event? It's a rare treat, so we have to enjoy it. Good to see that the New Zealand press is being generous in defeat. "We don't like them, they don't like us and we really loathe the b******* this morning." ran one front page comment, although I like the compliment inherent in the following -

"[the pack] were simply giant gargoyles - raw-boned, cauliflower-eared monoliths that intimidated and unsettled. When they ran on to the field it was like watching a tribe of white orcs on steroids. Forget their hardness - has there ever been an uglier forward pack? Small children who stayed up late to watch the test will be wetting their beds for weeks.'



PSD

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This is the work of an Italian narco-anarchic collective. Don't bother insulting them, they can't read English anyway.

Oooh, Dave R, I remember that! We're football fans around here (AMERICAN FOOTBALL...the only REAL football <wink>) and that happening to Steve Young was NOTHING compared to what happened to Joe Theismann in 1985 or 86 (can't remember)

He was another quarterback and as he was scrambling backwards just slightly out of the pocket someone fell on his rear leg as someone else hit him from the side...compound fractures in his lower leg. Absolutely nasty - and a bit mesmerizing too...they showed it over and over and over again! They still show that anytime Theismann's name is brought up!

'Real' football as in it's played with the hands and a non-spherical object. As the name suggests. Get 'em to take off the comedy fat suits and play rugby, then we'll see how tough they are...

An agonising injury from football (you know, the version in which you use your 'foot' to kick a 'ball') can be seen here:

[www.360soccer.com]

Keep the kids away though, it's a bit graphic.



PSD

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This is the work of an Italian narco-anarchic collective. Don't bother insulting them, they can't read English anyway.

AAC - Glad you mentioned Joe Theismann, always wondered what had happened to him 'cause of the namecheck on The Simpsons, where Homer is watching a video called 'Football's Greatest Injuries'.

Rugby Union is the only televised sport I watch, but in the dim and distant past I was into American football, for some really important reasons :)

1. It was a massive craze to watch NFL games when they first started showing them on Channel Four.

2. The teams had such great names! I gave a year's worth of support to the L.A Raiders on that basis, and then switched to the Washington Redskins for some reason.

3. It seemed more fun than supporting Aston Villa at the time.

I dunno how true this is (but since Australia comes up in a good light it must be Gospel :) ) but there's a story about an Australian Rules Football team going to the US to play grid iron against one of the American teams. The Yanks wore all the gear, the Aussies went out in shorts and singlets (as they do). The Yanks were bashed around and several had to be carted off the field & the Aussies won the game.

As I said, it must be true coz Aussies never lie.








Well, not much.

*singing*

"S*** on the Villa, s*** on the Villa tonight..."



PSD

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This is the work of an Italian narco-anarchic collective. Don't bother insulting them, they can't read English anyway.

EEK! PSD!! I'm not easily grossed out, but I have to say *THAT* pretty much did it!! Holy crap! Poor guy...

PSD- we're just trying to lull you into a false sense of security before the world cup. (and look how well it worked)
would however like to point out that your boys/gargoyles/orcs have been together for a whole season and only beat our pinup boys/greek gods by two points.

That two point thingummy is the good old type of statistics that have been likened to a drunken man leaning on a lampost - more for support than illumination....



PSD

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This is the work of an Italian narco-anarchic collective. Don't bother insulting them, they can't read English anyway.

Holy Cow! I just looked at the 360soccer website at PSD's suggestion. that should give me nightmares for the next week! I'm virtually speechless. And that doesn't happen very often.

Hi AAC, another favourite was two linemen from the St Louis Rams diving to make a tackle and impacting head to head full tilt from opposite directions, in the last few minutes of (I think) the superbowl the Rams actually won. No serious injuries (I think). The guy who torpedoed Young joined the Rams, didn't he; name escapes me.

Beg your pardon, the appearance from this side of the Atlantic is that if life is accurately represented by the names of gridiron players, no one in the good old US of A has a sensible name. But then it probably looks very similar in the reverse direction.

Who then are the franchise of your choice? I like the Rams (which is a coincidence as I was brought up in Derby where the 'soccer' team are known as the Rams - although I'm not sure they're known as a soccer team anymore!) but it gets very frustrating post season lately.

Seems to me the salary cap has completely changed the game. No one can buy up a fully functional team any more for passing purposes; the element of control has gone from the game as a result. Is that what it looks like from over there? Director@DoubleRainbow.Co.Uk, or we'll bore the pants off everyone ---. When does the seasn start again?

Funny sort of apology to Jon

I remember watching that Joe Theismann injury - I still wince when I think of it - your leg is not supposed to bend that way (or in that place for that matter - eeuuurgh).

Oh, let's bore the pants off of everyone! It's fun!

I'm personally currently a Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan...not because they won the Super Bowl...I've liked them because of their coach, Jon Grudin. He's amazing! And he looks like that Chucky doll from the horror movie "Child's Play"...he makes GREAT faces! And he's an amazing coach.

My hubby is a stalwart New England Patriots fan and it was a good thing they won the Super Bowl last year...now he'll shut up about how unfairly they've been treated. LOL

The Washington Redskins are the local team, but I haven't really liked them since their quarterback Mark Rypien (whose sister was a friend of mine from back home in Washington State-and he was a hometown hero) got traded. They've had QB probs ever since.

And I do agree that some of the names get pretty crazy. But you have to understand something about African-American naming rules....there are none. They make up their names and as for last names, many of them are combination of parents and grandparents names. It's interesting! Where else but America, would there be twin sons named Tiki and Ronde (pronounced Ron-day) Barber? Oh and then there's Tebucky Jones and Je'Rod Cherry.

I think the salary cap has probably hindered the teams quite a bit, however I think the top players are WAY overpaid and have basically priced themselves out of having a good team.

Training camp starts in July and I think the exhibition games start up in late August. They'll be in full swing by October.