Ok anyone watching the rugby??

My bets on an England.. New Zeland final..

Thoughts??

Well, my thoughts as an American are this: I wish we had more exposure to rugby here in the states. One channel here airs a match about once a month. Rugby is a great game, I only wish I could view it more often.

I don't think it will happen for a while though, as soccer (the most popular game in the world) still doesn't get much air time here.

Ah, the game in which one person runs with the ball and everybody else tries to flatten him......

Can you tell I'm not sports minded at all?

OOPS!!! I forgot the difference in language. I meant to say football (which we call soccer), as in world cup and Pele.

Oh dear,, didnt get much intrest there!!!

The USA have a rugby team, i think they play tomorrow..Monday..

I have to say though American football does seem boring, they stop every 30seconds for a chat about it, the game must go on all day.
Big F1 fan myself

Paul you saying that American football is boring would be blasphemy to most Americans!!! I can understand your perspective, but I myself love it. I have season tickets to the local college team and look very much forward to the games. I can see your point though, it does move a bit slow.

I find myself watching more hockey than anything these days, especially with the addition of European players in the NHL. The European style seems to be more focused on speed, agility and grace and less focused on senseless brutality, which is a great step forward. I say keep sending your players across the Atlantic...we need them!

Well there PaulC,
It would be rude not to post a reply here, considering that I come from Rugby-mad New Zealand!.
We are all behind our All Blacks team and although we do have a few injury worries, I reckon that, we might actually have a chance of winning the Webb-Ellis trophy this time, we nearly got there last time, but the French beat us in the semi-finals.
Australia are looking a wee bit lack-lustre at the moment, but this will soon change as the competition hots up.
I'd like to see a UK-NZ final though, it would be a really hard fought game too, which is what Rugby is all about!.
I played Rugby all through my school years and for a couple of years after, but it eventually took a sideline to Cricket, the sport that I really enjoy (watching these days!).

OK, I'll stir this pot. AS AN AMERICAN - if they were playing football in my backyard, I'd only go out to tell 'em to get off the grass - BOOORING. And yes, I did play in High School, could never figure out WHY those chumps were sitting in the stands, heck, I only came for the after game fights

Rugby - that's the game where you get equal enjoyment from punching yourself in the mouth, while a good friend knees your groin, right? Whoooweee, who wouldn't like that.

Now as for soccer. That appears to be every bit as exciting as tennis. Lemme see, they're down there, no, they're up here... don't get no better than that, every bit as exciting as golf on TV. At least when Gerald Ford played, SOMEONE was gonna get hurt. (for those of you who ain't 'merican, Ford was one of our clutzier Presidents, hit a lot of spectators in the pursuit)

Guess you could say I'm not a sports fan, but just could not help putting in my 2 cents in.

Many British males seem to be obsessed with soccer, but to me it's just a bunch of guys kicking a ball around a muddy field. What's to get excited about?

I'm sure we must have some ECN members who remember Bob Newhart's wonderful comedy sketches. I have a track on a 1960 album titled "Nobody Will Ever Play Baseball," depicting what might have happened in trying to sell the game to a modern marketing man.

"You have a new game? How many couples?

Well, that's against you for a start. The average game is maybe two or three couples, they come over to the house, get a little smashed and......

Oh you can't play it in the house, huh? Well, that's against you too..."

Paul,
I have a few records that were my mothers.
First Family - a spoof on the Kennedys and Camelot (taboo after 11/63)

and Andy Griffith's "What it was, was Football"

Hilarious. I'll post a joke I got today along the same lines tomorrow, it's on my e-mail at work. Lotsa people did not know Andy started out as comic whilst matriculating at UNC.

I'm not much of a footy (soccer) fan, but the rugby is much better to watch.
I didn't get much of my paperwork done this morning, watching the Scotland v USA game. As a Scotsman the result was good for us, but I don't think we'll be so happy after we play France on Saturday.
Ryan,
If you're interested in the Rugby World Cup www.itv.com/rwc has info on all the games, they are the UK tv broadcasters of the RWC.

George,
I don't think I've heard that one.

When I think of Andy Griffith my mind automatically starts wandering down Main St. in Mayberry!
www.tvland.com/shows/griffith/index.jhtml

OK guys, I said I'd post this joke, I'm just a bit late:

A guy took his blonde girlfriend to her first football game. They had great seats right behind the bench. After the game, he asked her how she liked the experience.

"Oh, I really liked it," she said, "especially the really tight pants and all of the big muscles, but I just couldn't understand why they were killing each other for 25 cents."

Dumbfounded, her date asked, "What on earth do you mean?"

"Well, I saw them flip a coin and one team got it and then for the rest of the game, all they kept screaming was: "Get the quarter back! Get the quarter back!"

Oh Dear..........

Hey Paul(C),
I see that the England boys got a bit of a fright from the Samoans last week.
Just been reading the paper and here is a little piece that caught my eye, from Australia.

looks like the trophy has our name on it already... hopefully..

yep the English do like a small drink now and then,, just like the Aussies.

i see the all blacks struggled against wales for a bit,,

Trumpy's comments on Samoa reminded me of incident back in the early 1990's. Monday morning at work after Western Samoa had thoroughly trounced a once mighty Wales - remember those days ?

My Welsh colleague sporting a long face looked at me and said "Thank God it wasn't the *whole* of Samoa!"

Well PaulC,
It's coming down to 2 games in the next 24 hours, to decide who is going to play in the Final.
It could go either way and I am not even going to think about picking winners from either games.
[There are plenty of other ways that I can make a fool of myself!.]
All I can say is, Go the All Blacks and go England!!!.

Oh well, that's the end of that for us (NZ).
Wouldn't have thought that we would go down like that to Australia, but that's just the way that things are, eh!.

Plenty of practice in foul native weather seems to have favoured the English. Well done lads. Sorry it's not you and us Mike.

Hutch,
Real good to see the English have a win over the Aussies!.
The Commentators were saying over here, last night that this is the first time that the English have won the Webb-Ellis trophy, is this true?.
I bet that there are some hung over people around the UK today (and in Australia!!).

First time for the northern hemisphere Mike!

I was in situ the first time, when South Africa took it - with Mandela in the rugby shirt and the low flying 747 over Ellis Park - that was pretty awesome too.

what a game..

had me on the edge of my seat

better luck next time Aus

It's still just a bunch of guys chasing a ball around a muddy field to me. Nothing to get the slightest bit excited about!

I was in an office working on a software update yesterday morning, and the game was on TV in the corner. Every so often there'd be some yell that made me jump. I think the guys thought I was mad for being more interested in my Pascal compiler than in the game.

Each to his own.....

Well I'm certainly glad that the World Cup is all over.
Our TVOne over here has had the rights to all the games and they have taken to the whole thing like a rabid dog.
Endless hours of "analysis" (boring talk by Commentators and so-called experts), replays of "highlights", just so that you can hear the Commentators words!.
Bring on the Cricket Season I say, at least the whole thing is on Sky, and thier Commentators don't waffle on like there is no tommorrow, they're paid to Commentate, not bore you to pieces!.