Tedious and Predictable - Rugby bites back

Tedious and Predictable - Rugby bites back

Unfortunately its some of our own football fans fuelling this with some of their own over the top comments on talkback and in print.

Crowds were dropping in rugby JD until this years NPC which was the most popular for years.The rugby unions response drop 4 teams from the competition.Maybe there are some closet football fans on the board. 

Oddly though the final in arguably rugbys biggest stronghold. Chrstchurch was attented by just 13000. I know theyre renovating but im pretty sure they could fir more than that, so 12k was all that WANTED to go. Go football go..

I note that a lot of the latest talk from the AB's camp is suddenly about the desire  to play more exciting rugby  and whinging about refs  re-setting  the scrums and making the game even duller! Kiwi Jambo2009-11-18 09:59:23

This is a media beat-up. Mostly people have been positive.Anyway,  I don't think comparisons are helpfu l e.g.'' my last boyfriend had an unsually large penis, oh,  but yours is cute too'' 

There is an article in the Herald along the same lines from Leggat.

I agree with some of the comments on the article, seems like most people are happy for both codes to co-exist it is the media who are trying to make a story out of it. However I also think there are football people with a pretty serious chip on their shoulder about treatment at the hands of rugby people who haven't behaved wonderfully this week.

Rugby Stooge. 

 I had a good time last week watching a 120 kg (est) rugby player match up against some 13 year old footballers in a friendly 7 aside.  He was in flat shoes on wet clover so it was a tough job.  Good guy though.

Leighton Smith called us "wimps" on Monday. 

Leighton Smith -  not quoting one of the world's great philosophers there buddy.

I can't stand rugby but I can't see the point of continually comparing football to it. It certainly doesn't do football any favour.

Yeah, I have my suspicions about Leighton Smith and his passion for Real Men.

Currently in the middle of this very discussion on The Silver Fern.
http://www.daimenhutchison.com/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=61493

Some of the posters on there seem to think that every team in Europe would give the All Whites a hiding, but most at least are enjoying this success.

There are a few comments around... on the no8.co.nz facebook page they was a comment "was there a soccer game on", and people asking why the FIFA World Cup was such a big deal, because the All Blacks make it to all of them (blissfully ignoring the fact you don't need to actually qualify for the RWC unless you're like Namibia)...

So the sentiment is there, but the media are playing it up because it sells copy. And selling copy is what journos are all about.

Comments from Ricki Herbert and Winton Rufer I can understand. But coming purely from a journalist, I'd take with a grain of salt.

Having said that, it's definitely not worth getting into a lengthy debate anywhere, as it will only give the rugby heads an excuse to deflect from how badly the All Blacks are playing.

Lonegunmen2009-11-18 21:42:53

I saw this coming as soon as they chucked the random comments from a fan (and the rugby convert) into their story straight after we won. And after they misquoted Fallon. It really is quite a clever way to keep rugby on top (for the media,I like rugby too,but am sick of it being in the media so much etc. )

Yeah but thats wrong also that all players get classed the same as some of them dicks.Its like saying because feverish is a drunk and HN loves pies that all YF are the same.

Oh hold that might be right aye.

Keith Quinn's a convert http://tvnz.co.nz/football-news/quinn-all-white-glory-black-rugby-3151889/

Yeah Keith has spoken kindly about attending Phoenix games in the past as well.

Mind you Keith Quinn wasn't just a rugby nut, there were many sports he was interested in as well. I think he has an open mind to it and accordingly has enjoyed his Phoenix experiences.

If the ABs didn't win all the time Rugby would have no place here. Fact.

Well no, I can't really be assed explaining the history of the game here back into the 1800's but it is a bit  of a chicken egg thing. The 1905 team we sent away was successful because Rugby was strong here.

They dont any more in fact  since the game went professional they havnt done  a particularly good job of that.Or should i say in the games that count.
ballane2009-11-18 22:48:57

I just get the feeling that in some cases the journos love bulding this thing up so that they can knock it down - Football is not going to overtake Rugby any time soon, these guys are clever and they know that so it's pretty mischevious to suggest it.

If I see that icing on the cake tin pun one more time... I'm going to get even more exasperated...

Lonegunmen can (and regularly does) do better than that in the pun-demonium thread.

they can never explain them either. almost like they get together and ask each other if they're keen on going in on a 15th of a r*pe charge!!!

I love League but god they really are meatheads at the end of the day. not many can actually converse properly in an interview.

He had the Good Morning stint with Macbeth in which he mentioned the previous nix game (vs Perf) that he's been to.

This is a seriously good article by Quinn - I recall one of those spitting image type programmes showing Quinn asleep in his room covered in rugby paraphenalia. Both a dig and a compliment to his obsessive but in depth knowledge of rugby. But this article is very well reasoned.

There'd still be a large local club status and everything, but you can't tell me mainstream NZ would care. I do get what you mean tho.

Guess it depends how you define 'care'. A lot of people id imagine would be contantly disappointed,then get over it. You could say the same for the AWs though,this time theyre ecstatic for a short while,then get on with their lives. 'Mainstream NZ' is more of a bandwagon,yet more people consistently go to rugby games than football,its more in our culture to do so.