US beats Japan in rugby world cup

[buck]

Sorry guys, a bit off topic but you should know how well your team is doing even if you don't know what rugby is. (Its a bit like gridiron but tougher with only one person being able to be tackled at once and you can only pass the ball backwards, it goes continuously for 80 minutes except for half time) The US is a relative Minnow in rugby circles in a pool of countries which consists of England, Wales Scotland Ireland, Sth Africa, France and Italy Samoa, Japan, Fiji, various eastern European countries, Japan, Argentina and Australia and off course the mighty New Zealand.

Your next game is against France on Friday (probaly Thursday in your time) Best of luck!

[Frank Hagan]

Have a good friend who played Rugby in college; they used him for the "scrum" or something like that, which is a kind of face-off/jump off for the ball, according to him. Since he was small, they would pick him up at the shoulders and basically swing him into position to get the ball. Kind of a human sacrifice to get control, but it often worked.

Looks like a tough game to me. We should probably keep track of it; its one of the few sports that isn't ruined by professional (millionaire) athletes and greedy (millionaire) owners who have sucked the life out of the games!

[Simon]

Yep you'd have to say the All Blacks are equal favourites with England for the comp. Not much hope for the US against the French I'm afraid, who are guaranteed to finish on top of the table for their pool already.

There have been some pretty ridiculus scores when it comes to the minnows of the tournament, e.g. the Wallabies beat Namibia 143 to nil, where a typical score for closely matched sides would be 16 to 12. So if the US can come out with a try or two and keep the French under 50 they will be doing okay.

[buck]

Although the All Blacks could well be favourites to win and the English are on fine form right now. I wouldn't trust the Wallabies not to hang on to the cup. They have a remarkable talent for pipping people at the post and other teams negate them at their peril. We shall soon see.

Meanwhile I've enjoyed some of the 'Minnows' games. Romania played pretty well as did Canada and Samoa certainly gave England a fright.

[Simon]

Yeah Oz can't be written off yet. If we do get knocked off, I'll be backing NZ over the poms, bit of trans-Tasman solildarity ...

NZ not doing so well in the tri-nation one day series in India at the moment - all out for 92 in the 31st over. Mind you we got flogged by the Indians a couple of days ago. We've lost all our star bowlers ... sob. (seems we can still cope with Flemming and the boys though ... for the moment ... )

[Frank Hagan]

Wait a minute ... are you telling me the French ... the FRENCH ... are going to beat America at something?

Even though France was our first ally in our Revolution, we don't really like the French that much. Actually, they weren't our FIRST ally strictly speaking ... it was really the Dutch, but they were only in it for the money. Anyway, to have the French beat us ... well, no wonder we don't televise the matches here. :wink:

[Simon]

Wait a minute ... are you telling me the French ... the FRENCH ... are going to beat America at something?

Even though France was our first ally in our Revolution' date=' we don't really like the French that much. Actually, they weren't our FIRST ally strictly speaking ... it was really the Dutch, but they were only in it for the money. Anyway, to have the French beat us ... well, no wonder we don't televise the matches here. :wink:[/quote']

Hehe, the French haven't been given a very good run on the media over there from what I've heard - "freedom fries" and so forth. Politics aside, I kind of like them , a proud and fiercely patriotic people, not unlike the Americans themselves. Its the similarities between these peoples that seem to cause the problems, since both know that only one country can be "the" best, and sure as hell ain't the other one's country!

Of course there's so many political wedges between them now that it starts to get personal, and that's when the fireworks start ....

Seems to me that the US doesn't seriously compete in as many international sports a some countries, with the exception of the Olympics of course, why is that? Or maybe we just don't hear as much about it over here. Is the "World Series" in baseball actually a world series, or is it just US and Canada? I'd guess the French wouldn't have much chance against you in that!

[Johannah]

Argghhhh, the baseball thing again. A newspaper called "The World" was the original sponsor for a big baseball contest. The contestants in the top baseball teams come from all over North and South America and the Caribean with more coming along from Japan and South Korea. But they all play for teams in North American cities. I have a nephew who plays cricket in an active league in the Philadelphia area and Rugby is played as a club sport in many colleges and in adult leagues. You can find people involved in just about any sport at the amateur level. But the big interest goes to the North American games: baseball, football (the violent version), basketball and, to a lesser extent, ice hockey. There is quite a lot of interest in exporting those games rather than in focusing on competition in other world-wide games. Rather a theme in our society. In Olympic years, suddenly everything counts. Those of us raised properly know that only the Red Sox really matter.

[Frank Hagan]

Hehe' date=' the French haven't been given a very good run on the media over there from what I've heard - "freedom fries" and so forth. Politics aside, I kind of like them , a proud and fiercely patriotic people, not unlike the Americans themselves. Its the similarities between these peoples that seem to cause the problems, since both know that only one country can be "the" best, and sure as hell ain't the other one's country!

[/quote']

Its mostly tongue in cheek, you know. Its the last group we can make disparaging remarks about with our high level of political correctness. Most Americans who have been to Paris are struck by how incredibly rude "the French" are, but my daughter lived in Ireland for a year and was friends with a French couple. They told her the Parisians were rude to EVERYONE, including them! Made us feel better.

We are convinced "the world" hates us, as the only international coverage we get in the media is slanted toward statements about us. And those are mostly negative, because that's what's news (you won't see a headline over here that says something like "Poland Supports US!" but you will see "France Opposed to US".) So its refreshing to travel and be surprised when people treat you nicely.

Seems to me that the US doesn't seriously compete in as many international sports a some countries' date=' with the exception of the Olympics of course, why is that? Or maybe we just don't hear as much about it over here. Is the "World Series" in baseball actually a world series, or is it just US and Canada? I'd guess the French wouldn't have much chance against you in that! [/quote']

We don't. Part of it is that everything else is highly commercialized, with million dollar sponsorships and all the attention that brings. IMHO, baseball, football and basketball are all characticures of the sports they used to be, and I don't follow any of them any more. I'm no longer a sports guy at all (unless you consider sailing a sport ... and I guess it is!)

The Olympics here also have a commercial element ... lots of hype for the individual athelete, then if they get the Gold, its big endorsements and commercials until you're sick of the person.

[Tom Holder]

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[thebob]

Argghhhh, the baseball thing again. A newspaper called "The World" was the original sponsor for a big baseball contest. The contestants in the top baseball teams come from all over North and South America and the Caribean with more coming along from Japan and South Korea.

The New York World newspaper sponsorship is an urban legend it never happened. The series was originally intended to be a world tournament that would include other countries as the sport became more popular.

In Japan the winners of the Central League and the Pacific League compete in "The Japan World Series".

It is similar to "The Open" golf tournament which is often erroneously referred to as "The British Open".

[thebob]

Unfortunately most of the world does hate you - not you as an individual - but the greater you-ess-ay. I have many friends all over the world' date=' including the US, and almost to a person, your foriegn policy appears to be "yer either with us or agin us, an' iffen yer agin us, we'll get around to blowing you up sooner or later". While there are great humanitarians in the United States, as a political entity, your track record is less than stellar.

I think this is all caused by a lack of backyard boat building. If more people around the world would put saw to wood, or in my case, dream about it, the world would be a better place.

[Frank Hagan]

Well, the foreign policy thing is tricky, because we are so powerful. Its too easy to take on other problems, or perceived problems, and act on them. If we pull back, we hear we are being "isolationists". If we act, we are the belligerent bully. Its worse, I think, in the last 40 years rather than the last 80, because up until the 1940s we were a second rate power. No one pays much attention to the French today, yet I think their foreign policy is at least as belligerent with their incursions into African countries.

I doubt I will travel to other countries beyond perhaps England someday, and perhaps Germany (if I decide to do a "roots trip"). Too much risk in traveling to countries that hate you, and I wish my fellow Americans would realize it too. But, it is nice to meet folks from other countries who can separate their hatred of America from their courtesy to strangers, even Americans.

[Fintan Murphy]

Don't mind your foreign policy ......

One point, one lousy point. :twisted:

That's what Ireland were beaten by on Saturday by Australia.

If only that drop goal had hit home, we wouldn't be playing France next week.

Ah well,

[buck]

Fintan I do sympathise, that was a very close game, The Irish played out of their skin. (Oh that last drop kick!) Keith Wood is such a fantastic player! Rugby at its best. Likewise the Welsh/Allblack, Fiji/Scotland games and the Samoa/England game were brilliant. Go the underdog I say. It makes for a great world cup!

AS for you Frank,how about running for office! America needs you!

[Simon]

Don't mind your foreign policy ......

One point' date=' one lousy point. :twisted:

That's what Ireland were beaten by on Saturday by Australia.

If only that drop goal had hit home, we wouldn't be playing France next week.

Ah well,[/quote']

8)

Yep, you guys put on a hell of a good show, I thought you played better than us for most of the game. Did you catch the International Rules match as well? There really should be a decider for that one.

[Frank Hagan]

Don't mind your foreign policy ......

One point' date=' one lousy point. :twisted:

That's what Ireland were beaten by on Saturday by Australia.

If only that drop goal had hit home, we wouldn't be playing France next week.

Ah well,[/quote']

Well, I certainly didn't see any hatred while I was in Ireland ... just lots of pretty friendly people. So my one excusion to a EU country was uneventful.

The Aussies also like cricket, so go figure. Tough rugby players and ... well, what adjective would you use for cricket players?

I'll be rooting for the Irish against the French, of course.

[Fintan Murphy]

Well' date=' I certainly didn't see any hatred while I was in Ireland ... just lots of pretty friendly people. So my one excusion to a EU country was uneventful.

quote']

Who are you calling PRETTY! :shock:

[tdrown]

I spent much of August in Rennes and Saint Suliac in Brittany. France with a family that my family knows because they sent thier daughter here for 3 weeks 10 years ago with an exchange program. I would charecterise my stay there as more hospitable than hateful. I think knowing people there (their son stayed with us last August, before all the tension between our countries), knowing a few cultural differences, and speaking a little of the language certainly helps how a person is recieved.

proud and fiercely patriotic people,

while I might call them proud (especially Parisians, who are often arrogant, at least I've heard that, I only spent a few days in Paris), I would not call them fiercely patriotic. Just an observation. Incidently, I met a college student who spent a semester of school an Austrailia and loved it (he had the habit, when he spoke english, which he did excellently, to call everyone 'mate'). He found people there knew the French national anthem better than him, maybe because of the Olympics (he went to the Olympics with his family, then with the university more recently). Debating politics is a sport there, for example, the best selling book there is called France is Falling, things that might seem radicle views here, are more commonplace there. I actually got to do some sailing there. The section of France, Brittany, is very nautical, and is actually celtic (there is an ancient language there, Breton, which is similar to Cornish, which is a bit like Welsh. Its name in French, Bretagne, actaully means Briton, as many Grosbrittaners left the island when it was invaded by the Algos and the Saxons after the fall of Rome). For much of my stay I was in a very old stone home in a small fishing village on a bay on a tidal section of the Rance River. 100 years ago the town was filled with fishermen who would take their dories on large ships to off of the grand banks. There were a bunch of dories in the water, one was over 100 years old. The father of the mother of the family I stayed with is actaully the foremost dory expert in France, and he has a book of the plans of an old large sailing fishing ship that used to be all over the french coast, two groups have built these acording to the plans and they are availible for tours and chartering. Here is one boat built off of his book: http://www.lacancalaise.com/LaBisquine/photographies.htm . There are a number of marine and other sites and museums I went to that people on this site might find interesting. The 'musee de la marine' at Trocadero in Paris was facinating. There was an exibit on figureheads there when I went. It has a ton of paintings, models, and artifacts. The gift shop actaully had reprintings of my friend's grandfather's book. I also saw the visitors center of the first (and only? I know not.) tidal power dam, near St. Malo. It has one of the highest tides, after the Bay of Fundy. I also saw a few other places of interest, such as the Museum of Cider, the Bayeux tapistry, and the Normany landing beaches. There are large amount of nice nauticle shops in St. Malo (home port of Jasques Cartier and other famous explorers) with brass things, models, figures, other things. I certainly went at an interesting time (I had planned on going over a year ago, before things got sticky), the political situation (although not at its height), the heat (the french government reported over 10,000 deaths!), and I missed the great power outage (my parents, my grandmother and aunt from the midwest, and my sister were moving my sister into Queens, NY on that day, Allentown wasn't hit though). I enjoyed my trip and would go again, the food and drink don't really compair to microwaved chicken all week, the only antiamericanism I saw really was some grafiti and I saw more anti-french grafiti than that (there is a small seperatist movement in Brittany).

The 'World Series' in baseball is between the American League and the National League. It was called the World Series before there were professional Canadian teams I believe.

The USA lost to France on Friday. An article I read about the game online said that we are now tied with Japan in our overall record (I guess we had to beat them to tie them?!) I knew cricket was popular in Commonwealth Countries, but I didn't realise that Rugby was such an international sport. At least there's pleanty of other international championships we can hope to win, like Olympic basketball.

Americans do certainly have to be careful and aware of the prejudaces people hold against them while traveling abroad. I haven't really experianced it, but I've heard stories, and yes, a lot of them are about Paris.

[Simon]

while I might call them proud (especially Parisians' date=' who are often arrogant, at least I've heard that, I only spent a few days in Paris), I would not call them fiercely patriotic. [/quote']

Its the fierce patriotism that often comes across as arrogance, especially when away from one's own country. Anyway, sweeping generalisations are unfair ... in general.