Rugby World Cup 2007

[Kiwi]

It's just under two weeks away from the start of the 6th Rugby World Cup being held in France this year. The tournament kicks off on the 7th of September, with Argentina taking on the hosts France in the opening game. There are a total of twenty teams competing, from heavyweights such as New Zealand and England to relative newcomers to the sport like Georgia and Portugal. Here in New Zealand the World Cup is easily the most popular sporting event in the country, and the anticipation for the tournament building pretty fast.

Is there anyone else out there gonna be watching the Cup?

 

[earthman92]

Ahh yes! My son and I will be watching it now. The Dish Network just put on Setanta Sports channel and it's looks like just about every match will be on. VS channel is also showing some of the matches. Doesn't look good for the Eagles,in their group is England, Tonga, W. Samoa, South Africa. We are rooting for the All Blacks though, my son is a big fan.

 

[Solomon Kane]

A great sport--I will be watching a match or two in the sports bars anyway.

 

[Angelcynn]

I can't wait for the Rugby world cup it's always very exciting and well supported. For me it's between New Zealand, South Africa and France. England, Australia and Ireland have an outside chance and also possibly Argentina who just keep getting better and better. Be nice to see USA put up a good fight against Tonga and W.Somoa as they have no chance of beating England or South Africa.

Being half English and half South African it's a difficult one for me. I don't know why but I've always liked watching South Africa more than England, I think it's because they are more exciting than England and the Afrikaaners continue to display their brute force and sporting excellence despite numbering no more than 3.5 million people. Having been to watch South Africa 5 times now and England not once I do feel more a South African supporter when it comes to rugby. I'm going to put £25 on them to win it!

 

[Bronk]

How can I watch this? I have Comcast Cable and they aren't even offering a pay per package for this. I guess I'll just have to watch a compilation of highlights on Versus.

 

[Kiwi]

I'm guessing there isn't going to be a lot of publicity for the World Cup over in the US at all. Its a bit of a shame that the Cup starts right at the same time as the NFL starts, because what little (if any) press it may have got will probably be gone.

 

[Matra1]

I'm guessing there isn't going to be a lot of publicity for the World Cup over in the US at all. Its a bit of a shame that the Cup starts right at the same time as the NFL starts, because what little (if any) press it may have got will probably be gone.

Another problem is that Setanta Sports - a new Irish-based subscription channel few people have - have bought up all the Canadian rights and, I believe, the US rights.

In Canada they are going to let a regular sports channel, that most people get, show any matches involving Canada. Setanta will show a lot of group stage matches, though not all of them live as English soccer takes priority, which we will have access to if we pay $14.99 per month extra on top of usual cable/satellite bill. However they will not be showing any live matches after the group stages. To see those live you have to purchase a separate Rugby WC package for $199 - plus tax, or pay for each individual match (I'm guessing around $15 a pop). In other words hardly anybody in Canada, and I suspect the USA, will have access to the matches unless their cable/sat providers have Setanta available AND one is willing to fork out large sums of money for the tournament, which is basically pay per view. The only people likely to see much of the rugby WC are expats at pubs and the small number of North Americans who are diehard fans and have plenty of spare cash.

Basically the IRB (if that's what it is still called) appear to have no interest in growing the game in North America. This is the complete opposite of what the soccer WC and Formula One organisers do: Their first priority is providing access to as many viewers as possible then they see the money roll in.

 

[backrow]

lol, your nick is Englishman and you never even been to England?

but yeah, South Africa all the way. love those big Afrikaans players dishing it out. as far as Kiwis go, you can't go wrong with Richie McCaw either.

 

[Angelcynn]

I was born in England and still live in England, but hopefully not for much longer.

 

[backrow]

I was born in England and still live in England, but hopefully not for much longer.

ah yes, i misread you. having been to WATCH SA 5 times... my bad

 

[Bronk]

the Cup starts right at the same time as the NFL starts

While some good Rugby is played, many Americans will be tuned into the bloated,crapfest that is the NFL.Edited by: Bronk

 

[Matra1]

A hard fought victory for Argentina over hosts France in the opening match. I enjoyed the match more than any other rugby match in recent years - not that I see much of the sport. But never count out the French. They've always blown hot and cold. The France v Ireland match will be crucial.

 

[Kiwi]

Awesome win by Argentina - they had a simple gameplan and their defence was outstanding. They had to make about double the tackles that France made and still didn't concede a try. Great upset and a great start to the world cup

 

[Iron]

great win for Argentina which shows how far they've come as a Rugby nation.it was great to see France start an almost all white team,with only one Black starter present which contrasts quite abit from the African dominated soccer teams they put out.

 

[Matra1]

Looks like the Americans put up a plucky performance against England. It ended 28-10 for England. If England play like this they'll struggle to beat Samoa.

 

[Kiwi]

The Americans put in a really gutsy effort against England. England dominated at the lineout and scrum, but their backs looked completely clueless. I would have loved to have seen a couple of athletes like Matt Giordano or Brian Leonard in that US backline, they would have made a big difference. Good signs for USA rugby however, if they keep developing the professional infrastructure in the US the Americans could become a very good team in a few years.

 

[Angelcynn]

Argentina is a great story for world rugby! Hopefully Canada and maybe USA will follow in their footsteps in years to come? As for England, well i've never liked their style of rugby and I'm so greatful for having my South African side as they tore apart a vicious and powerful Samoan side 59-7. Samoa could cause England a lot of trouble although I'm Wilkinson will almost certainly be back to play. Italy were very dissapointing against the NZ. My money is still on the Boks and Kiwi I'm guessing your moneys still on the Allblacks?

 

[Kiwi]

Yeah i'm still backing the AB's, everyone seems to giving them the "chokers" tag, but the reality is that since they beat France in 2004 they have been by far and away the best team in the world. Of course anything can happen on any given day, but when the All Blacks play to their potential there is nobody who can defeat them - I hope

.

 

[Matra1]

Time magazine is having a go at South Africa for not having enough blacks on their team

No Rainbow

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

why is it so essential that blacks get included in every damn thing, even when they aren't deserving of inclusion?!?


nobody is crying about all black teams where the white athlete is completely snubbed. and the only people who are pointing out the double standard (us here at Caste Football) are just crazy racists...


gah! i'm really starting to lose my cool...

 

[Angelcynn]

What a racially bias and frustrating article. It fails to mention the fact that a black South African rugby player is still yet to make an impact on the first team despite many attempts to do so. It Also fails to mention that the Springboks despite the lack of blacks are still second faveourites for the world cup, instead the article says 'they have a fair shot'.

The non white players who have made an impact in the first team are all mixed race (coloureds as they are known in SA, traditionaly from Eastern and Western Cape). These players are Breyton Paulse, Ricky Januarie, Ashwin Willemse, Guthro Steenkamp and Bryan Habana. Habana is in my view the best winger in world rugby, his dad is white his Mum mixed race and he went to some top schools hence he is very well spoken.

Something which South Africa has done in rugby is bring Quotas into the youth teams so that at least half are black and mixed race ragardless of talent and also their sevens team which is potentially one of the best but isn't because they always pick a majority 'black' squad, even though the two white players Stefan Basson and Maruis Schoeman are always performing so well.

FRUSTRATION and DISCRMINATION!

 

[Bronk]

I managed to see a bit of the Tonga-USA match (on Versus) before heading out to watch my son's football game. Americans were down two tries before they ever knew what hit them.

Anybody watch it and have an opinion?Edited by: Bronk

 

[Kiwi]

Final score was 25-15 to the Tongans. The US dominated territory and possession but they just couldn't finish off their opportunities. The US were just as good physically, and were probably a bit fitter than the Tongans, but they were inferior rugby players. Their decision-making, running lines and positional play was not as good as the Tongans, who knew what to do in pressure situations.

The problem for the US is that to me it seemed that they lacked the instinctive knowledge of the game. Rugby is huge in Tonga and i'll bet nearly every single player in their squad has been playing rugby since they could walk. I do think the US will get better though. By playing against quality opposition, they will learn a huge amount and will be a much better team by the end of the tournament

 

[Matra1]

Crikey. Ireland barely beat Georgia and struggled against Namibia (a mostly white team despite being African)! NZ slaughtered Italy. A Springbok team that wasn't playing particularly well (they didn't need to) defeats England 36-0. Argentian beat France in the opener. Though you can never count the French out it would be a miracle if a Six Nations country even made the final never mind won it.

 

[Bronk]

Kiwi, very good analysis. Rugby is a sport that many of us Americans discovered later in life (I was 19 when I first played Rugby and it took me awhile to learn the rules).

I completely agree that the American line and positional play were lacking and the passing was hesitant while the Tongans were very aggressive. It seemed the Tongans were a bit spotty on technical Rugby but the Americans could not take advantage of the breaks.

I will watch England play South Africa this afternoon.