ThinkingGame says...

Hmm. You say hosts, and yeah, fair enough, you are hosting a tournament when your grounds are used, your publicity unit drums up the crowds etc. but not actually responsible for the accomodation of the opposition? Or their facilities? Or private internet use? In the spirit of the Churchill Cup and the mandate to encourage rugby where it is a minority sport these things should obviously have been provided by the RFU, but they had no obligation any more than the USA team were required to not make their own arrangements at their expense.

Wales prepped for the 03 World Cup by buddying up in caravans FFS.

And as for the laser pen and late hit incidents, the only way they move this game closer to 'soccer' is by spawning an outraged rumour mill to blow them out of any perspective. Late hits never seem to achieve anything other than giving the try scorer a handy member of the opposition to gloat over, and the ones that do damage are punished by a penalty restart, and occasionally yellow cards.

And kickers get good by nailing those kicks at school, you know the ones, uphill, in the snow, from out wide on the wrong side, with your uniform socks on and an unfriendly teacher nagging you to crack on and miss the last kick of the game so he can go get warm, the eyes of your classmates telling you if you make them lose you're in for an inconvenient week? Laser pens are probably as bad as that. Hard to tell, the article doesn't mention Lambie's percentage from the game.

Posted 03:50 30th June 2011

neckbones1 says...

No surprises with what happened to the USA, the old boys club have no intention of expanding the game beyond 5 or 6 super powers. The only way to solve this is to divide the world into federations and give each federation number of IRB votes depending on its player base / rugby interest. Surely Oceania (Fiji, Tonga Samoa) deserves one vote for the federation. North America deserves one vote. Asia deserves 1 or 2 votes. Spouth America one vote (Argentina). And the rest of the superpowers: NZ, England, Aus, Ireland, Wales, SA, France, Scotland (who would probably be thrashed by the oceanians at the 2011 world cup) get one vote each. Now the superpowers still have majority veto votes. But at least the game will expand faster than its current rate. At the moment, decisions that affect the entire game is made by 6 or so old boys club reps in a room in Dublin. And of course they will do what is best for their own unions. Its a tragedy that someone like McCaw can call himself a test player , when 80% of his tests are against only 3 countries. When was the last time the AB's played Samoa? And how do you expect Samoa or Argentina or Canada or Tonga to get better if you play them only once a decade. They don't care, because it is not in their interest to spread the game. Just keep playing the same countries, why not, the money is good, keep the game closed up. Short term financial losses have to be made to expand the game globally. Only 4 or 5 teams can win a world cup, so it shouldn't be called a world cup really. By the way, SBW should have been carded and banned for 4 weeks. Dangerous precedent. And to smile about it. The day this game is dominated by Christiano Ronaldo crybabies is the day the game is ruined.

Posted 12:59 28th June 2011

stevendb says...

SBW should have been cited and sanctioned.

That dive was up there with the type of behaviour seen on soccer fields around the world and needs to be stamped out before it becomes part of the game as it has in that sport.

Bryce Lawrence is a prancing little prima donna who was either inept or biased in this game not that I am suggesting for a second that the outcome would have been any different. He should be told that he is not the reason people watch the game.

Posted 10:50 28th June 2011

APV1 says...

Another article intended to inflame reaction... Ok. I'll bite:

RFU Hospitality - a disgrace. As an Englishman, I want the RFU to set the highest standards for themselves as an organisation, but also as hosts. They are having a shocking time recently and luckily they're not trying to organise a drinks party in a brewery, as they'd mess that up too! That said, when does "hospitality" end and "over-generous" begin? I think that wifi access and a training ground certainly count as hospitality, rather than over-generous - surely they're the basics now-a-days..?! Perhaps if it wasn't run with two eyes on the balance sheet and, perhaps, one on the balance sheet and another on other aspects, it would be a better place. Or should the IRB put a Hosting Guide together, stating what should and might not be included? Might be an option... At least then everyone knows what to expect as a minimum and any extras will be treated as a bonus.

A few "afters" over the tryline? Players will always try to get cheap shots in if they think they'll get away with it. Just like a flanker pushing the offside rule. Or a scrum-half feeding into the 2nd row. This has got to come from the top and be dealt with by the refs on the day, according to the Laws.

It's a shame they're in their current position and I hope it gets sorted out. NH rugby would be a poorer place without SF, as they certainly bring a lot of flair.

Lasers?! They should be identified and punished. If I were Lambie (I'd not be here, typing this, for a start!), I'd have the little sods arrested and charged. Way beyond the realms of sporting behaviour! And rugby has long been regarded as a bastion of good sportmanship amongst fans. This is a disgrace!

And it was great to see England in the Jr World Championship and, though it hurts to say it, Congratulations to the better team - Jr NZ!

Posted 12:15 27th June 2011