RWC Quarter Final: New Zealand Vs France; Sat Oct 17th 8pm

swiwi_

Just a few anecdotes on this game

1) Firstly, rugby is becoming quite international in its appeal. On the train into Cardiff I sat across from a few lads and lasses wearing Argentinian jerseys, living in Madrid. It was only after talking to them for about 15 minutes that we worked out they were actually Spanish, and not Argentinian at all. And then I sat down in my seat in the Millenium (great stadium)...next to 4 Dutch lads who were mad keen on rugby.

2) At the ground, you realise how good a player Fofana is. He runs absolutely beautiful lines, and like Darcy said in his article a few weeks back, he has the ability to change direction just at the moment of receiving the ball. A joy to watch, and a class apart from the rest of the French backs.

3) You also realise how much NZ play the game at speed and like a game of chess, ruthlessly seeking out weaknesses in the opposition defence. To beat NZ will require 80 minutes of absolute concentration. So far Argentina has done the best job, and probably only lost to NZ because of the firepower (notably SBW) off the bench.

irishbucsfan

I met a German couple who were supporting New Zealand while over at the world cup. As passionate and knowledgable about the ABs as any Kiwis I met!

Just highlights that we owe it to these people to actually make an effort to develop the sport in new countries. At some point the lip service needs to stop and a proper international structure needs to be adopted #deathtothe6nations #longliveENC

pickarooney

swiwi_ wrote: »

Just a few anecdotes on this game

1) Firstly, rugby is becoming quite international in its appeal. On the train into Cardiff I sat across from a few lads and lasses wearing Argentinian jerseys, living in Madrid. It was only after talking to them for about 15 minutes that we worked out they were actually Spanish, and not Argentinian at all. And then I sat down in my seat in the Millenium (great stadium)...next to 4 Dutch lads who were mad keen on rugby.

2) At the ground, you realise how good a player Fofana is. He runs absolutely beautiful lines, and like Darcy said in his article a few weeks back, he has the ability to change direction just at the moment of receiving the ball. A joy to watch, and a class apart from the rest of the French backs.

3) You also realise how much NZ play the game at speed and like a game of chess, ruthlessly seeking out weaknesses in the opposition defence. To beat NZ will require 80 minutes of absolute concentration. So far Argentina has done the best job, and probably only lost to NZ because of the firepower (notably SBW) off the bench.

Welcome back

CatFromHue

irishbucsfan wrote: »

I met a German couple who were supporting New Zealand while over at the world cup. As passionate and knowledgable about the ABs as any Kiwis I met!

Just highlights that we owe it to these people to actually make an effort to develop the sport in new countries. At some point the lip service needs to stop and a proper international structure needs to be adopted #deathtothe6nations #longliveENC

Not too surprising as when I was on a Working Holiday in NZ 80% of the people in all the hostels I stayed in where German, in one place it was only me and my mate who weren't in the whole hostel!

The Germans love NZ

OnTheCouch

swiwi_ wrote: »

Just a few anecdotes on this game

1) Firstly, rugby is becoming quite international in its appeal. On the train into Cardiff I sat across from a few lads and lasses wearing Argentinian jerseys, living in Madrid. It was only after talking to them for about 15 minutes that we worked out they were actually Spanish, and not Argentinian at all. And then I sat down in my seat in the Millenium (great stadium)...next to 4 Dutch lads who were mad keen on rugby.

I always wondered why Spain aren't stronger in rugby, especially in the North which is geographically right beside the main centre of interest in France. I have asked a few Spaniards about it and seemingly it's reasonably popular at university level but after that the interest level drops off a lot. They have of course qualified for a World Cup in 1999, but didn't put up a great show and although they put up respectable showings in the ERC Nations Cup and from what I can tell can sometimes get decent crowds for their home games (5-10 000 depending on the opposition), they'd still be a good bit behind say Georgia and Romania and a long way off the Six Nations standard.

Of course in every country there's a direct correlation with the amount of interest and the media coverage. The latter is key to getting people interested and even making them aware rugby exists. I have travelled a lot around Europe and am always interested in the level of rugby in various countries, even if said country is fairly weak. I have noticed frequently in non-traditional countries, that although the national rugby team is relatively strong, let's say in the European third division (clearly not qualifying for a World Cup anytime soon, but decent enough) many people there will claim to your face that such a team doesn't even exist! Simply because there is scant or no coverage in the media and that's how people by and large find out about such things.

swiwi_

I read though that Eurosport (Germany) increased the number of games it showed because of higher than expected viewing figures. I expect with 7s at the Olympics and a few law changes in the pipeline to simplify and speed up things that interest in Europe will continue to increase.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

swiwi_ wrote: »

I read though that Eurosport (Germany) increased the number of games it showed because of higher than expected viewing figures. I expect with 7s at the Olympics and a few law changes in the pipeline to simplify and speed up things that interest in Europe will continue to increase.

I read an article about German rugby a few weeks ago and it mentioned the viewing figures thing. It also suggested that Germany suffers from being a one sport nation, everyone loves soccer and it's incredibly difficult for other sports to break through.

nehe milner skudder

swiwi_ wrote: »

Just a few anecdotes on this game

1) Firstly, rugby is becoming quite international in its appeal. On the train into Cardiff I sat across from a few lads and lasses wearing Argentinian jerseys, living in Madrid. It was only after talking to them for about 15 minutes that we worked out they were actually Spanish, and not Argentinian at all. And then I sat down in my seat in the Millenium (great stadium)...next to 4 Dutch lads who were mad keen on rugby.

2) At the ground, you realise how good a player Fofana is. He runs absolutely beautiful lines, and like Darcy said in his article a few weeks back, he has the ability to change direction just at the moment of receiving the ball. A joy to watch, and a class apart from the rest of the French backs.

3) You also realise how much NZ play the game at speed and like a game of chess, ruthlessly seeking out weaknesses in the opposition defence. To beat NZ will require 80 minutes of absolute concentration. So far Argentina has done the best job, and probably only lost to NZ because of the firepower (notably SBW) off the bench.

a crying shame he is surrounded by what he is. he has power and finesse in equal measure. ill never forget his try against england.

nehe milner skudder

swiwi_ wrote: »

Just a few anecdotes on this game

1) Firstly, rugby is becoming quite international in its appeal. On the train into Cardiff I sat across from a few lads and lasses wearing Argentinian jerseys, living in Madrid. It was only after talking to them for about 15 minutes that we worked out they were actually Spanish, and not Argentinian at all. And then I sat down in my seat in the Millenium (great stadium)...next to 4 Dutch lads who were mad keen on rugby.

2) At the ground, you realise how good a player Fofana is. He runs absolutely beautiful lines, and like Darcy said in his article a few weeks back, he has the ability to change direction just at the moment of receiving the ball. A joy to watch, and a class apart from the rest of the French backs.

3) You also realise how much NZ play the game at speed and like a game of chess, ruthlessly seeking out weaknesses in the opposition defence. To beat NZ will require 80 minutes of absolute concentration. So far Argentina has done the best job, and probably only lost to NZ because of the firepower (notably SBW) off the bench.

and two allblacks in the bin

nehe milner skudder

nehe milner skudder wrote: »

He scored a hat trick against Ireland on his debut

and buried rob kearney

iroced

OnTheCouch wrote: »

I always wondered why Spain aren't stronger in rugby, especially in the North which is geographically right beside the main centre of interest in France. I have asked a few Spaniards about it and seemingly it's reasonably popular at university level but after that the interest level drops off a lot. They have of course qualified for a World Cup in 1999, but didn't put up a great show and although they put up respectable showings in the ERC Nations Cup and from what I can tell can sometimes get decent crowds for their home games (5-10 000 depending on the opposition), they'd still be a good bit behind say Georgia and Romania and a long way off the Six Nations standard.

Of course in every country there's a direct correlation with the amount of interest and the media coverage. The latter is key to getting people interested and even making them aware rugby exists. I have travelled a lot around Europe and am always interested in the level of rugby in various countries, even if said country is fairly weak. I have noticed frequently in non-traditional countries, that although the national rugby team is relatively strong, let's say in the European third division (clearly not qualifying for a World Cup anytime soon, but decent enough) many people there will claim to your face that such a team doesn't even exist! Simply because there is scant or no coverage in the media and that's how people by and large find out about such things.

The problem for the development of rugby in Spain is the 2 regions where it has the most potential to take deep root in are Basque Country & Catalonia.

Potential because these 2 regions

1. culturally, historically & linguistically spread between France & Spain,
2. have their French part being important historical and proud places of rugby,
3. are rich and populated enough,
4. have good sports infrastructures.

Problematic because these 2 regions are beyond mad for football.
Real Sociedad & Athletic Bilbao are "religions" there.
And on the other side of the Pyrenees, Barça is maybe the most powerful club in the World with teams that are amongst the most competitive in football, basket-ball, handball, etc... Rugby's not really there. USAP are trying for several years now to gather with their powerful Spanish neighbour but it doesn't really take off.

I'm not saying it will never happen but I feel they missed the train. Current timing is not great with the economical crisis still deeply present in Spain. And both Basque clubs (Biarritz & Bayonne) & USAP are now in ProD2. This won't help the growth in interest.


I think if there was a real strong interest, Barça would have implemented something more serious when USAP was champion in 2009 (and they had Dan Carter to advertise for it !!!) and runner-up in 2010. As I said previously, USAP tried, played HCup & Top14 games in Montjuic but what now? It rather looks like a couple of "coups" than a real association between USAP & Barça (which was some kinda dream for the French CatalanS at some point ).

accidentprone1

nehe milner skudder wrote: »

and buried rob kearney

Who did Kearney think he'd fool with that dummy? The only person outside him is the linesman.

Leinster13

iroced wrote: »

The problem for the development of rugby in Spain is the 2 regions where it has the most potential to take deep root in are Basque Country & Catalonia.

Potential because these 2 regions

1. culturally, historically & linguistically spread between France & Spain,
2. have their French part being important historical and proud places of rugby,
3. are rich and populated enough,
4. have good sports infrastructures.

Problematic because these 2 regions are beyond mad for football.
Real Sociedad & Athletic Bilbao are "religions" there.
And on the other side of the Pyrenees, Barça is maybe the most powerful club in the World with teams that are amongst the most competitive in football, basket-ball, handball, etc... Rugby's not really there. USAP are trying for several years now to gather with their powerful Spanish neighbour but it doesn't really take off.

I'm not saying it will never happen but I feel they missed the train. Current timing is not great with the economical crisis still deeply present in Spain. And both Basque clubs (Biarritz & Bayonne) & USAP are now in ProD2. This won't help the growth in interest.


I think if there was a real strong interest, Barça would have implemented something more serious when USAP was champion in 2009 (and they had Dan Carter to advertise for it !!!) and runner-up in 2010. As I said previously, USAP tried, played HCup & Top14 games in Montjuic but what now? It rather looks like a couple of "coups" than a real association between USAP & Barça (which was some kinda dream for the French CatalanS at some point ).

Rugby is starting to take off on Spain. I've lived in Madrid for more than 20 years and train my son's under 16 team. When he started at 6 and up till about five years' ago numbers weren't great in the club or in any of the clubs in Madrid. In the last few years there are more and more kids playing the game - we now have 60 kids at under 16 (which is 2 years together, u15 and u16). One of the problem is that no schools play rugby, it is all in the clubs, so if you want to play the game you have to make an effort to get to a rugby club when it is just easier to play soccer or basketball in school. A lot of the time the kids who end up playing rugby are the kids who don't do well at sport in school, so may not be very coordinated or athletic, which doesn't help the general level.

Spain has invested quite heavily in 7s and the women are doing very well - I think the women's 7s team beat Ireland recently in a tournament. The División de Honor (first division for men's teams) is largely amateur, although some of the clubs (notably in Valladolid) are paying players - quite a few foreigners in some teams. Spain's national team is a bit behind Georgia and Rumania in the B Six Nations, they sometimes might get a win at home against them. Although Spanish rugby is improving, it's not like the other countries are standing still, so unless there is a huge change in numbers, I reckon they will probably stay more or less where they are.

One annoying thing about Spaniards who follow rugby is that they all tend to support Argentina as if it were there own team. I have a terrible time at the club trying to explain to everyone that it is a different country. Slagging was a bit fierce after last weekend too...

efb

efb wrote: »

Waiting on Pizza in Risca, my god that was some performance from NZ!!!
A joy to watch!


Aus NZ final anyone??

boom!