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Post by drtaf on Oct 23, 2019 17:47:38 GMT -7
Not sure if any of you are fans of Rugby Union but you should be cos its the only other game besides hockey where players knock the crap out of each other then shake hands and have a pint afterwards!! My team Wales are still in it and are now in the Semifinals. If you think Hockey is important to Canadians, you have no idea how important rugby is to the Welsh and how important winning would be! Maybe only rivaled by the NZ All Blacks (who will be prohibitive favs to retain their crown). It's been a great tournament in Japan with the hosts taking their game to another level and providing the biggest upsets in the round robin. Interesting fact, the Japan vs Scotland game had the most viewers of any TV show in history of Japanese television (yes, even more than their weird game shows) with over 60 million viewers! I'll be glued to the TV sunday watching Wales vs Soouth Africa Spring Boks, should be a good one!
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Post by happyhappy on Oct 23, 2019 18:06:34 GMT -7
I don't follow Rugby at all, but I recently moved and had the wrong Sports package on the tele (fixed now, nothing missing( and ended up watching a couple games (or parts of), one being a Japan upset. Found myself fascinated though don't understand the sport at all. Hardcore shat, must be a ton of head injuries. Giant Brutes and fans galore screaming in masses. Bizarre. It's like everyone gets a roid shot upon admission lol. Crazy, entertaining for sure. I'd last about 12 seconds and be dead. Running with the bulls.
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Post by drtaf on Oct 23, 2019 23:53:14 GMT -7
It's definitely physical, but for the most part, because of the lack of padding and protective equipment, most players respect each others health and safety, if only because you're as likely to get hurt tackling as the the one being tackled. Can't help think a lot of the head injury problems with hockey and NFL are caused by bulletproof equipment that destroy the opposition on contact. Funny story, I grew up playing rugby and was pretty good. When I moved to Edmonton in the eighties, there was a rugby team called the Druids who asked if I'd like to join them. I did and played one game and quit. I scored 3 tries, but only because whenever I got the ball, I ran in fear of my life, cos the guys here played rugby like it was CFL/NFL and tried going for the head every chance they got, despite the fact they weren't wearing a helmet. I figured if I kept playing I'd be maimed for life. So for entertainment, I turned to watching some team called the Oilers play hockey and boy were they entertaining!! Got totally hooked and have been a fan ever since!!
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Post by fogolin2 on Oct 24, 2019 6:47:24 GMT -7
It's definitely physical, but for the most part, because of the lack of padding and protective equipment, most players respect each others health and safety, if only because you're as likely to get hurt tackling as the the one being tackled. Can't help think a lot of the head injury problems with hockey and NFL are caused by bulletproof equipment that destroy the opposition on contact. Funny story, I grew up playing rugby and was pretty good. When I moved to Edmonton in the eighties, there was a rugby team called the Druids who asked if I'd like to join them. I did and played one game and quit. I scored 3 tries, but only because whenever I got the ball, I ran in fear of my life, cos the guys here played rugby like it was CFL/NFL and tried going for the head every chance they got, despite the fact they weren't wearing a helmet. I figured if I kept playing I'd be maimed for life. So for entertainment, I turned to watching some team called the Oilers play hockey and boy were they entertaining!! Got totally hooked and have been a fan ever since!! I love watching rugby, but I don't really know it too well. I spent a fair bit of time around the Clan in Edmonton in the late 80s early 90s. A great friend of mine played for them, and the whole family was in to it so it was a lot of fun to be around the clubhouse and the games. You're right, there is nothing like the culture of rugby. It's really great. I loved how the Canadians carried themselves in Japan. A more competitive team would be great, but they represented Canada extremely well. From helping clean up after the typhoon, to going into the opponents room to apologize after being red carded for a dangerous tackle. Really proud of our boys. Looking forward to the semis and finals. I'll pull for Wales!!
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Post by drtaf on Nov 2, 2019 23:09:56 GMT -7
Well its over and although I come from the UK originally, I'm really glad South Africa won, (Not just because the welsh hate the english:-) When you hear what some of those SA players had to go through growing up in the townships like their Captain etc., and knowing there's still real world problems in that country, you have to be inspired. Wales gave a real good account of themselves in the semi against them and might have even won with a good bounce here or there? Knew they had nothing left to give in the consolation game against All blacks and was expecting it to be one-sided and it was. Amazing sportsmanship and kinship shown at the end and yes Fog, the CDN boys can definitely hold there heads high for what they did to help out the people impacted by the Typhoon and they were definitely in the toughest group. I'm not sure how much press they got in Canada as I'm in OZ atm, but they definitely got a lot of kudos over on this side of the pacific. Great ambassadors! Now back to Hockey!!
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