Rugby Union
You will note that my title says Rugby Union and not just Rugby. To the uninitiated I would respectfully advise that there is Rugby Union and Rugby League. Two quite distinctly different games. Just as bit of history I would advise that Rugby Union came into being at Rugby College England and was seen as a game for the Upper Class. Later the working class decided they wanted their game and that was the creation of Rugby League. Now Rugby League is seen as the equal of Rugby Union and like Rugby Union it is played by many Nations throughout the world
What has prompted me to write this is to just make a comment about all the recent postings on Facebook. To those of you who browse through the daily postings I ask if you have noticed that lately every third or fourth posting seems to be about some team called the All Blacks or somebody in that team. How great a certain player is...How they have now achieved being the top team in the world for five years.....How they are the current World Champions.....How they are beating all teams they play at present.....How they will be such a force in the upcoming World Cup. Do you get sick of seeing all this over and over? A better question is... Do I get sick of seeing all this over and over? True answer....No way!!! I love it. I am a true blue Kiwi and like 90% of New Zealanders am so very proud of our Men in Black.
Why are we so proud of our All Blacks? For a number of reasons. Firstly because of their continued good performances and results against all nations. Their many good performances in the World Cup competition. Most of all we are proud of them because population must come into the equation We are even today under 5 million and when you take out women,children and non players it really is only a small pool that our All Blacks are picked from compared to the other major nations
Also we are proud because of the names of players that are recognised throughout the world. Names like George Nepia, Bob Scott, Don Clarke .and now the great McCaw. When I mention Don Clarke I have the memory of one particular game against England...Clarke was a magnificent goal kicker and in this game he actually scored all our points. In the next edition of the National paper the headline read, England 17 Don Clarke 18.
Having this chat about Rugby Union and the All Blacks has me obviously thinking about next years World Cup. Before starting on that I know you will be thinking that I am going to tell you that the All Blacks have won this competition more often than any other Nation. No that is in fact not the case. The competition has taken place 7 times with Australia. New Zealand and South Africa having won twice each and England once.
What are my thoughts on this upcoming World Cup.... You may be thinking that my thoughts are that it is almost a forgone conclusion that New Zealand will win but that is certainly not the case. I am fairly confident that we will make the final 4 but from there it is anyones guess. There a number of nations that, (in my opinion) have a serious chance of final victory.
To finish this I will just say that what ever happens this is a tournament that is truly loved and followed by Rugby Union fans worldwide.
My final words are as you would expect......Go the All Blacks.
Recent Comments
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Awesome post! see here for further enlightenment - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_national_rugby_union_team
The best winning record of ANY international sports team EVER. (seriously) - Anyone here find better?? (rhetorical question)... There ISN'T! The All Blacks are very special ;)
You mentioned crying. I will tell you one time I did. Semi final of World Cup Playing France which was known would be a victory and we were looking forward to Final against Australia. Lost to France
I second that. Go the All Blacks! Looking forward to the World Cup next year. It would be great to win one on foreign soil. But like you I think it will be a close competition.
I'm going with New Zealand v Wales & England v Ireland. Australia get knocked out of pool of death with Wales & England progressing (home advantage). South Africa get knocked out in QF because their pool is too easy and both England and Wales are match hardened.
Ireland beat France in the pool to top the pool and avoid NZ in the quarters (they beat France as a. they have a NZ coach :-) and b. my girlfriend is Irish so I'd better back them!).
This is risky though as it puts NZ against France in a quarter final in a Northern Hemisphere World Cup!
France, Australia & South Africa could certainly upset my predictions and Argentina are the wildcard to make the semis.
What's yours?
We are very different. I have not seen draw so do not know who will knock out who. Without that knowledge I will say NZ England Argentine and France. Tell me if some cant happen and I will redraw lol
sounds like you have a lot of passion for your team as do I of course I am talking about American football and my Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions all the best
With absolute respect I have to say I find it hard to compare the two games. Again respectfully All the padding?? The amount of stop time??? the changing defence and attack??? just being in touch down area to catch a brilliantly thrown ball???? So different.
yes you have to grow up with it in your blood and when you put on that uniform and play the game as I did as a child it becomes a part of you and believe me those pads do not stop the pain you feel when a 300 pound defensive tackle hits you as you are throwing that foot ball all the best
Yes the All Blacks are a great team Neil and they play with a lot of pride even though most of the players play for Australian teams (just saying) however having said that I do wish they make it to the final with Australia facing them.
When the time comes I will say a prayer for you Neil so you can recover quicker from the loss.
Great Post for a Kiwi always good to hear from you.
Take care and be well Neil
Your True blue Aussie mate.
Andre
Many thanks for your kind words. If you did enjoy take a visit to my site hospitalitycareerhints and enjoy my various entries under NZ My Homeland Regards Neil
Your site looks so professional. I'm sure you will have much success with that one. Thanks for the invite. I'll keep it tucked in my memory for future reference.
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In terms of your question re: 'final four'... I don't have one... as a Kiwi, I expect the AB's to win EVERY match they play and don't care who the opponents are - because I know we're capable of beating any team - and I am seriously depressed (and have literally cried) when we lose...