Rugby World Cup.

Ludwig II

Well-Known Member
This won't be of much interest to most on this site, but it's just started, and we've had not an upset the other day, but a seismic shock. South Africa, although an ageing side were still expected to beat Japan by a healthy margin.

Instead, Japan fought them tooth and nail down to the whistle, finally scoring a try with seconds left that put them 2 points in front of SA. I've never seen a sporting team so utterly shell shocked in my life. It went beyond the tiredness of defeat, and emerged into a new landscape of abject misery. I look forward to more from Japan, but I think the word's gone round now.
 
Like you said most here are probably college or NFL fans, one thing I noticed when watching rugby is those guys are in great shape. You don't see over weight guys at all.
 
From what I can gather, rugby is a mashup of American football, soccer, and a touch of the hockey attitude. Can't say that I've watched enough to know the rules.

However, I wear a rugby shirt now and again........... :D
 
Rugby has older roots than American football, so suggesting it is a mashup involving that is inaccurate; it is actually closer to the old inter village games of the Middle Ages.

Right now, 28 minutes of the 2nd half left, Scotland 17, Japan 10, and the Jocks are having to work for a living.
 
Final score 45-10, Japan's legs ran out of steam, having had insufficient time to recover from Saturday, and being faced with a totally fresh Scotland.

They still fought on, and even at the end were camped on Scotland's try line; it was the errors they made when tiredness hit that damaged them. Still, 10 days to go until Samoa, and Scotland have to face USA on Saturday carrying their own burden of fatigue and bruising. You never know........ ;)
 
Rugby has older roots than American football, so suggesting it is a mashup involving that is inaccurate; it is actually closer to the old inter village games of the Middle Ages.


No offense intended --- this is just how this neophyte perceived the action of the game. Don't get to see much of this game on the tellie here in this part of the world.
 
Rugby has two versions. Rugby Union was the original, supposedly played by amateurs, but there was a schism and the Rugby Football League was formed so players could be openly professional.

League has features you would find familiar perhaps in American, whether they were copied or are parallel evolutions I don't know.

Rugby Union also has 7 a side matches, which are less like warfare as there is more open space per player.
 
Scotland - USA today. The form book says Scotland to win, but they have a gift for sometimes snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. We shall see.
 
I've been dragged away, and come back to the television to find it is now 23 minutes of the 2nd half, and the score is 25-16 to Scotland.

Isn't life a pig, sometimes?
 
Final score,39-16 to Scotland. America did nothing much wrong, but a combination of fitness and experience from Scotland pushed them repeatedly backwards.
 
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