Egg chasers World Cup

[Branston Pickle 4,150]

Not overly interested in Rugby (it’s sport so I’ll watch it!), but ha to be said France v the Kiwis is a pretty decent starting off point for the World Cup, far better than the ropey openers we get in football tournaments.

[Canary73 327]

It is one of the best sports to watch and France in a home World Cup will be dangerous. Pool B is the proverbial Group of Death... 

[Jason Shackell’s Limp Tack 134]

20 minutes ago, Canary73 said:

It is one of the best sports to watch and France in a home World Cup will be dangerous. Pool B is the proverbial Group of Death... 

Always interested to see which France turns up. On their day... 

[Capt. Pants 5,008]

Well the French certainly turned up for that one!

Decent first game although the All Blacks gave away a lot of penalties.

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 2,035]

2 hours ago, Canary73 said:

It is one of the best sports to watch and France in a home World Cup will be dangerous. Pool B is the proverbial Group of Death... 

Irs a terrible sport to watch....and an even worse one to play

The opposite of 'the beautiful game'

[Nuff Said 5,962]

9 minutes ago, GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary said:

Irs a terrible sport to watch....and an even worse one to play

The opposite of 'the beautiful game'

Each to their own. I only watch international rugby but that’s far more entertaining than international football.

[Capt. Pants 5,008]

3rd most watched sports event behind the World Cup and Olympics and most people don't understand the rules!

[All the Germans 1,239]

3 hours ago, Canary73 said:

It is one of the best sports to watch and France in a home World Cup will be dangerous. Pool B is the proverbial Group of Death... 

Agreed. I love Rugby and much more than football internationals. Not sure about group B being group of death - certainly the toughest, but not sure it's that extreme? Ireland clear favourites, South Africa second, Scotland just third favorurites, Romania and Tonga both trying not to be bottom?

1 hour ago, GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary said:

Irs a terrible sport to watch....and an even worse one to play

The opposite of 'the beautiful game'

You're wrong.

1 hour ago, Capt. Pants said:

3rd most watched sports event behind the World Cup and Olympics and most people don't understand the rules!

I played it for a few years (I wasn't very good) and still don't entirely understand the rules.

[wcorkcanary 4,784]

Easiest way for me to get a nap is to put Rugby on the Telly , could be  England v Ireland WC final and I'd be snoring inside 10 minutes.  Good luck to them that  enjoy it, it's a no from  me though. I find Rugby League more entertaining. 

[BroadstairsR 2,273]

7 hours ago, Capt. Pants said:

Well the French certainly turned up for that one!

Decent first game although the All Blacks gave away a lot of penalties.

I thought cricket was supposed to be the second most supported sport worldwide after football. It makes sense if you consider the popularity of it in India.

I suppose television audience numbers will be different.

[splendidrush 720]

8 hours ago, Capt. Pants said:

3rd most watched sports event behind the World Cup and Olympics and most people don't understand the rules!

....... it'll be overtaken by Women's football within 10 years.... 

 

Problem is, there are so few contenders in the sport that it's hardly a competition at all. 10th tournament, only 4 winners and, I think only 5 finalists. Both France and NZ will qualify for the knock outs...... that's when the tournament starts. 

[Wings of a Sparrow 1,708]

9 hours ago, Capt. Pants said:

3rd most watched sports event behind the World Cup and Olympics and most people don't understand the rules!

I play a little bit and I don't understand the rules 🤣

Great opener last night and the French know how to create an  atmosphere.

[Worthy Nigelton 1,301]

2 hours ago, BroadstairsR said:

I thought cricket was supposed to be the second most supported sport worldwide after football. It makes sense if you consider the popularity of it in India.

I suppose television audience numbers will be different.

It is. Capt Pants stat is not even slightly close to true. 

I'm not sure it even gets in the top 15.

Edited September 9, 2023 by Worthy Nigelton

[Worthy Nigelton 1,301]

Rugby fans are crap and I hate the media's portrayal of them being the good guys as opposed to football being the bad guys. No tribalism, no banter, no chants/songs bar Swing Low. It's all so middle class, privately educated and stale. 

Also, in my experience rugby players are the biggest bullies out there. Horrible, most of them. I've found boxing gyms to be much friendlier than rugby teams.

Edited September 9, 2023 by Worthy Nigelton

[RugbyCanary 106]

10 hours ago, Capt. Pants said:

3rd most watched sports event behind the World Cup and Olympics and most people don't understand the rules!

Ive been playing rugby for 35+yrs......I still don't know the rules!! 🤣

[Capt. Pants 5,008]

1 hour ago, Worthy Nigelton said:

It is. Capt Pants stat is not even slightly close to true. 

I'm not sure it even gets in the top 15.

Just going by what they said on 5 Live. I didn't take in how they qualified it, may have been from UK perspective.

Here's another view of popularity

https://www.roadtrips.com/blog/the-most-watched-sporting-events-in-the-world/

[keelansgrandad 6,680]

There is a thread for this on non football.

1 hour ago, Worthy Nigelton said:

Rugby fans are crap and I hate the media's portrayal of them being the good guys as opposed to football being the bad guys. No tribalism, no banter, no chants/songs bar Swing Low. It's all so middle class, privately educated and stale. 

Also, in my experience rugby players are the biggest bullies out there. Horrible, most of them. I've found boxing gyms to be much friendlier than rugby teams.

I am a rugby fan and going to a game this afteroon at 2pm as Camborne take on Redruth, three miles apart, for the first time in National League Rugby. Even though I live in Redruth, I support Camborne as we did their catering for six years.

This isn't England v Argentina with a load of toffs drinking Bollingers from the back of their Range Rovers. Its local lads as is the crowd and there will be plenty of drinking and banter. And after the game there will be more drinking and banter and the players will mix with us. And there won't be a crowd singing songs they copied off others. In fact the supporters of both teams might sing the same song together. And they certainly won't be segregated. The only fights may be on the pitch.

And tomorrow evening I will be watching a son of Camborne, Sam Matevesi playing for Fiji. His dad moved to Camborne in the early 80s after playing for Fiji in thi country.

And while fotball and NCFC will always be number one, I thoroughly enjoy rugby (apart from the dross England are supplying at the moment) and the confrontational aspect of it. Of course rugby players can be bullies. In most cases when you are playing, you have to dominate your oponent physically. And I always argue with rugby followers who call footballers girls and rugby players men. Its a stupid thing to say and has nothing to do with it.

And last nights game was as intriguing as it was good. Having lived in NZ, I know how important the game is there. When I went there in the early 70s, they were changing to the new dollar notes and wanted suggestions of who to put on them. Not rutherford who split the atom or Hillary who climbed Everest. No, it was suggested for Colin Meads, Brian Lochore Fergie McCormick. Its beyond religion.out there. Far worse than football in this country.

[Worthy Nigelton 1,301]

53 minutes ago, Capt. Pants said:

Just going by what they said on 5 Live. I didn't take in how they qualified it, may have been from UK perspective.

Here's another view of popularity

https://www.roadtrips.com/blog/the-most-watched-sporting-events-in-the-world/

Yeah I guess it depends how you measure it but cricket is definitely right up there (I'm not a fan of cricket either in fairness!).

[dylanisabaddog 6,143]

2 hours ago, Worthy Nigelton said:

Rugby fans are crap and I hate the media's portrayal of them being the good guys as opposed to football being the bad guys. No tribalism, no banter, no chants/songs bar Swing Low. It's all so middle class, privately educated and stale. 

Also, in my experience rugby players are the biggest bullies out there. Horrible, most of them. I've found boxing gyms to be much friendlier than rugby teams.

I went to Twickenham to watch England play Ireland. The game was exciting but most of the people around me appeared drunk and the racist, sexist and homophobic abuse was awful. It was a different sort of horrible to England playing football at Wembley. I wouldn't be keen on visiting either venue again, Norwich City excepted. 

I've just returned from a week's holiday with a big group of people one of whom was a Rugby fan. A very decent person who also likes football and laughs when he hears rugby fans talk about footballers cheating and diving. He is of the view that 70% of points in international rugby are gained as a direct result of the players being caught cheating. I don't know if that's accurate but watching the game last night made me think it had a ring of truth to it. 

Edited September 9, 2023 by dylanisabaddog

[Feedthewolf 5,885]

4 minutes ago, dylanisabaddog said:

I went to Twickenham to watch England play Ireland. The game was exciting but most of the people around me appeared drunk and the racist, sexist and homophobic abuse was awful. It was a different sort of horrible to England playing football at Wembley. I wouldn't be keen on visiting either venue again, Norwich City excepted. 

That's interesting, as I've never heard anything like that at Twickenham. Admittedly I've only been three times, but they were all very enjoyable experiences.

I find rugby crowds much friendlier and safer places to be than football crowds. Mrs Wolf and I are off to France in a couple of weeks to watch games in Toulouse, Lyon and Lille – absolutely cannot wait. In my experience, anyone who starts acting up in a rugby crowd is immediately put in their place by the people around them.

[Worthy Nigelton 1,301]

32 minutes ago, keelansgrandad said:

There is a thread for this on non football.

I am a rugby fan and going to a game this afteroon at 2pm as Camborne take on Redruth, three miles apart, for the first time in National League Rugby. Even though I live in Redruth, I support Camborne as we did their catering for six years.

This isn't England v Argentina with a load of toffs drinking Bollingers from the back of their Range Rovers. Its local lads as is the crowd and there will be plenty of drinking and banter. And after the game there will be more drinking and banter and the players will mix with us. And there won't be a crowd singing songs they copied off others. In fact the supporters of both teams might sing the same song together. And they certainly won't be segregated. The only fights may be on the pitch.

And tomorrow evening I will be watching a son of Camborne, Sam Matevesi playing for Fiji. His dad moved to Camborne in the early 80s after playing for Fiji in thi country.

And while fotball and NCFC will always be number one, I thoroughly enjoy rugby (apart from the dross England are supplying at the moment) and the confrontational aspect of it. Of course rugby players can be bullies. In most cases when you are playing, you have to dominate your oponent physically. And I always argue with rugby followers who call footballers girls and rugby players men. Its a stupid thing to say and has nothing to do with it.

And last nights game was as intriguing as it was good. Having lived in NZ, I know how important the game is there. When I went there in the early 70s, they were changing to the new dollar notes and wanted suggestions of who to put on them. Not rutherford who split the atom or Hillary who climbed Everest. No, it was suggested for Colin Meads, Brian Lochore Fergie McCormick. Its beyond religion.out there. Far worse than football in this country.

I'm sure you are right and your experience is generally a positive one, but mine is very much not a positive one. I used to drink in a pub where a well known local rugby team used to drink after a game on Saturdays and they were total pigs. Absolute scum. I've boxed as a kid and been to many big fights down the years and never seen that sort of behaviour amongst the most deprived, aggressive sport and sports fans there are. I also lived with a lad who used to play rugby and he was the same - cheated on his girlfriend all the time and got lippy after three pints, starting fights left, right and centre. He was rubbish at fighting though so normally got sparked out.

[Faded Jaded Semi Plastic SOB 1,223]

I was cheering France on last night, they did not have to open their Pool games against NZ but chose to, I wonder if it will bite them on the **** in the final (Smiley Face)...............

[The Bristol Nest 597]

Living in Bristol I have tried to teach my kids that to like something you don't have to dislike something else. I avoid love and hate. Rugby fans seem more likely to struggle with this concept.

Maybe it's an insecurity issue about the relative size of the sports.

 

[Faded Jaded Semi Plastic SOB 1,223]

6 minutes ago, Worthy Nigelton said:

I'm sure you are right and your experience is generally a positive one, but mine is very much not a positive one. I used to drink in a pub where a well known local rugby team used to drink after a game on Saturdays and they were total pigs. Absolute scum. I've boxed as a kid and been to many big fights down the years and never seen that sort of behaviour amongst the most deprived, aggressive sport and sports fans there are. I also lived with a lad who used to play rugby and he was the same - cheated on his girlfriend all the time and got lippy after three pints, starting fights left, right and centre. He was rubbish at fighting though so normally got sparked out.

You should not generalise, you experience is your experience and you have every right to feel the way you do. However to redress the balance my niece's husband has played rugby for years, he is teetotal and the nicest bloke you could ever wish to meet, equally I worked with blokes who played rugby, two of them were very big units, but again they were both genuinely nice blokes............

[The Bristol Nest 597]

Re the group of death: Scotland are possibly better than any of Australia, England or Wales but will probably not progress.

[Worthy Nigelton 1,301]

46 minutes ago, Faded Jaded Semi Plastic SOB said:

You should not generalise, you experience is your experience and you have every right to feel the way you do. However to redress the balance my niece's husband has played rugby for years, he is teetotal and the nicest bloke you could ever wish to meet, equally I worked with blokes who played rugby, two of them were very big units, but again they were both genuinely nice blokes............

I didn't generalise. I said it was my experience and acknowledged that KG's was a positive one. I couldn't have generalised any less. I'm sure there are rugby players who are nice lads, but in my experience a higher percentage of them than is usual in the general public are not.

Edited September 9, 2023 by Worthy Nigelton

[All the Germans 1,239]

51 minutes ago, Feedthewolf said:

That's interesting, as I've never heard anything like that at Twickenham. Admittedly I've only been three times, but they were all very enjoyable experiences.

I find rugby crowds much friendlier and safer places to be than football crowds. Mrs Wolf and I are off to France in a couple of weeks to watch games in Toulouse, Lyon and Lille – absolutely cannot wait. In my experience, anyone who starts acting up in a rugby crowd is immediately put in their place by the people around them.

I've also been to Twickenham a couple of times, it was always thoroughly enjoyable. Whilst trying to find my entrance, I got lost and and walked into the media area and walked right next to Shane Williams, Lawrence Dallaglio and Martin Bayfield. I have never in my life seen someone as huge as Bayfield, I'm not sure if it was because he was next to Bayfield (but he was also next to Williams!) but I was also a little shocked that Dallaglio wasn't as big as I had expected.

[shefcanary 2,955]

6 hours ago, wcorkcanary said:

Easiest way for me to get a nap is to put Rugby on the Telly , could be  England v Ireland WC final and I'd be snoring inside 10 minutes.  Good luck to them that  enjoy it, it's a no from  me though. I find Rugby League more entertaining. 

Sorry but no! RL is like a game of draughts. First my go, then your go, then my go until one team makes a mistake. And the team that gains from that mistake generally cruises to victory (I say generally, yes sometimes there is the odd comeback but the teams with a clever captain are very rarely troubled once they get their heads in front, it becomes a procession). Whereas RU, at least their is a bit more randomness about it. I tend to fall asleep during RL, RU I find more exciting.

[keelansgrandad 6,680]

8 hours ago, Worthy Nigelton said:

I'm sure you are right and your experience is generally a positive one, but mine is very much not a positive one. I used to drink in a pub where a well known local rugby team used to drink after a game on Saturdays and they were total pigs. Absolute scum. I've boxed as a kid and been to many big fights down the years and never seen that sort of behaviour amongst the most deprived, aggressive sport and sports fans there are. I also lived with a lad who used to play rugby and he was the same - cheated on his girlfriend all the time and got lippy after three pints, starting fights left, right and centre. He was rubbish at fighting though so normally got sparked out.

Just for information. Camborne 36 Redruth 29. The Cherries put one over on the Reds. Sun shining. Three beer tents apart from the clubhouse. Couple of thousand watching. Winners all round.

[cornish sam 1,040]

9 hours ago, Capt. Pants said:

Just going by what they said on 5 Live. I didn't take in how they qualified it, may have been from UK perspective.

Here's another view of popularity

https://www.roadtrips.com/blog/the-most-watched-sporting-events-in-the-world/

Which is absolute ****. 3.5b viewers for the tour de France? Pull the other one. The article they link to doesn't even mention anything about audience or viewing figures...

Would be amazed if union is the second most watched sport (or whatever the claim was) though....