Rugby

over here, afl is footy, in sydney nrl is footy,

is the rugby in nz nicknamed 'footy'?

 

They call lots of games footy - but they're not played predominantly with feet like the real football.

 

I watched the final last year - best game of the season.

 

They never play here (melbourne) the cheap c**ts! unlike the crusaders, well done crusaders :D.

 

Bring Waikato to melb's there're alot of Chiefs fans here!

And for the life of me I've heard commentators say "that was the try of the year" and all the guy did was intercept the ball and run 80 metres to score! I'd suggest a few changes of rules, like you can head the ball and no touchy the ball with hands, stick some nets up under the posts and the introduction of corner kicks. Extend the game by 5 minutes a half and sort the substitution rule out. 15 minutes for halftime and reduction of players to 11 a side.

Thats a real game!

I just couldn't care less for the game. You'd get more intelligence interviewing a moose rather than a rugger player. Maaaaaaaaaaaate.

I agree with what you say about Phoenix's crowds, they need the general public ("uh, huh") to get behind them and not just the already converted.

Doesn't mean I have to cowtow to fans of other sports though. Oh, and golf and yachting are both crap too.

I did play get forced to play rugger once at Intermediate School but was asked to piss off when I spent the time on the field trying to head the ball at every opportunity.

I don't mind league or motorsport but football is number one, two, three, four and five in my sporting list of priorities. This Americas Cup thing is another thing I'm not interested in. I just hate TV1 or the media foisting this expectation that all NZers are behind the campaign or that 4 million plus kiwis are rooting for the All Blacks. Perhaps if the news media wasn't so over-bearing of coverage of rugby my attitude towards it would be a little more warming. 

Hell, if the govenment was going to support the All Whites next World Cup campaign to the tune of 30-odd million plus then I may be persuaded to change my mind but all I see is money poorly spent on a richmans sport that has no bearing on me. That money would have been better used funding a proper Herceptin programme. I'm sorry but I'm not one of your typical rugger/cricket lovin' kiwis. I prefer my sport to be such that it's of global importance, where you test yourself globally. I won't change my thinking until say Brazil wins the Rugger World Cup.

Cos the day they do is when rugger has finally won global acceptance.

*And before anyone mentions Wales;

1) when Swansea City were in the old first division under Toshack (late 70s-early80's) they were attracting bigger crowds to home games than any r*gby clubs were, and...

2) it's a principality, not a country (which is something I always go back to if my other arguments fall flat).

 

 

 

Agree with previous posts,  rugby is so overrated in NZ media.  Just look at www.stuff.co.nz the so called Commentary Box features 90% rugby posts.  The NZRFU made a joke out of the only good rugby competition by with drawing the so called elite players to pamper them and what happened,  when they went back to their teams they played poorly, no NZ teams in final.  I hope South Africa or Australia wins the Rugby world cup as they didnt try to cheat by pampering players.  The best training is on the park,  when the idiot rugby heads learn that then perhaps the All Blacks will become a winning team instead of a whinging team of chokers.  I went to one super 12 match a couple of years ago and the ball was in general play for a total of 14 minutes I was so bored.  I wont go to another rugby game. 

 

 Go the Phoenix

 

Also been to the Cake Tin and Eden Park to watch super 14 & Air NZ cup, but the crowd are like Man Utd supporters - there is no atmosphere unlike league football in the UK.

 

Lets hope we can whip up a fever wiv the Nix.