Rugby World Cup 2007

[Bouncer]

Bummer, I suppose soccer is more popular over there since the world cup and we certainly get NFL on sky sports here, abbeit quite summarised unless its the playoffs

soccer really isnt popular here either. they show some game on espn but nothing much. football, basketball, and baseball are the 3 big sports on American tv. hockey used to much more popular and still has a good fan base but nothing like the big 3.

[Scrumhalf]

Hey Bouncer, here is an article from ESPN on the Rugby World Cup. If you haven't watched international rugby, you are in for a treat. Watching the teams line up for the national anthems and watching the All Blacks doing the Haka (New Zealand Maori war dance) will send shivers down your spine. IMHO, there' no better spectacle in sports. Mark your calendar for the All Blacks vs. Italy on September 7 - hope they show it on cable TV and not just PPV.
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All Blacks, Les Bleus and Wallabies are the favorites

By Peter Lion
ESPN.com
Updated: August 27, 2007, 12:02 PM ET



Every four years rugby fans the world over focus on the Rugby World Cup, which this year will be held from Sept. 7 to Oct. 20 in France. Here's a quick look at what you need to know about this year's tournament.

The tournament

Twenty teams of 30 men each have qualified to play in the RWC. The eight teams that reached the quarterfinals in the last Rugby World Cup, in 2003 in Australia, automatically qualified this year (England, Australia, New Zealand, France, South Africa, Ireland, Scotland, Wales). The remaining 12 slots were filled through international play and qualifying games by Argentina, Canada, Fiji, Georgia, Italy, Japan, Namibia, Portugal, Romania, Samoa, Tonga and the U.S.

Teams will play in four round-robin pools; four points will be awarded for a win, two points for a draw. Further, teams will get one point for scoring four or more tries and one point for a loss by seven points or less. The top two teams in each pool will move on to the quarterfinals, which is also known as the knockout round.

All Blacks, Les Bleus and Wallabies are the favorites

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/...t&lid=tab3pos1

[Mr I]

Definately made that a fixture, yeah the Haka is no joke, they mean it and you see it once they start playing, ITS WAR!

[Scrumhalf]

Here are the matches that are going to be on regular Cable TV in the US on the Versus Channel:

9/9 3pm-5pm France vs. Argentina
9/10 5pm-7pm USA vs. England
9/13 5pm-7pm USA vs. Tonga
9/16 6pm-8pm England vs. S. Africa
9/23 6pm-8pm France vs. Ireland
9/24 6pm-8pm Scotland vs. New Zealand
9/27 5pm-7pm Samoa vs. USA


Don't miss the NZ All Blacks game on 9/24. It will be a sight to see...

[mindstar]

Man those are going to be some great games. England/SA and France/Ireland WOW!

[Scrumhalf]

And don't forget France vs. Argentina to kick it all off. Argentina is a tough tough team with a monster pack and always play with a lot of pride - they have had away wins against both France and England this year and I wouldn't be surprised if they pull off the upset.

[Mr I]

Nearly there boys

just a little teaser

Try and tell me there not serious, the new 2007 Haka

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Zvs4T4RU30

the old version

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rulZOE8bDa8

[Scrumhalf]

Like one of the comments said, if I was on the other side, after facing that, I'd just leave...lol... scary!

[Mr I]

And don't forget France vs. Argentina to kick it all off. Argentina is a tough tough team with a monster pack and always play with a lot of pride - they have had away wins against both France and England this year and I wouldn't be surprised if they pull off the upset.

I have to hand it to you, you know your shit I can't believe Argentina just beat France, thats really opened things up now!

Thats world cups for ya, full of upsets

[Scrumhalf]

I have to hand it to you, you know your shit I can't believe Argentina just beat France, thats really opened things up now!

Thats world cups for ya, full of upsets

Yep, got to love it!!!! Argentina is tough - they have a huge pack and play with the kind of pride and ferocity that does justice to their nickname. And Cotempomi is really experienced and good. And all this without any top flight regular competition like the Tri Nations or 5 Nations. If they get included in the Tri Nations like they want (probably won't happen), the'll get even better.

I think French players like Michalak are very overrated. They show flair in attack and are always dangerous but you've got to kick accurately, not have handling errors and do the little things in the world cup, otherwise you'll get your ass handed to you.

[redback]

Australia vs Japan tonight, dont really give japan much hope, should be entertaining tho

[Scrumhalf]

If the IRB is really serious about making real fish out of the minnows and want rugby to be a real world sport instead of being just a Commonwealth sport like it is today, they need to much more than they are doing right now. They need to aggressively set up academies in smaller nations that don't have a long rugby pedigree with an eye on the future. I think baseball is doing a much better job of this than rugby.

[Scrumhalf]

Hey Redback/Mr. Incredible, do you know of any radio stations online that carry live streaming audio of the matches, preferably in English? My French isn't good enough to follow fast live action.

[Mr I]

what the hell happened I didn't see any games after Kiwi Vs Italy?

I know England won but were USA good?

[Mr I]

Hey Redback/Mr. Incredible, do you know of any radio stations online that carry live streaming audio of the matches, preferably in English? My French isn't good enough to follow fast live action.

don't know for sure but type radio 5 live in, thats a BBC spin off channel dedicated to sport, AM 909 or 606 over here