One of my neighbours made the trip to Heathrow and said it was amazing. I watched the scenes as the team came off the plane at 5am on tv, and the hair on the back of my neck stood on end

Ok its just a game but boy what a game.

Also on the presentation, i was suprised by the lack of dignity the dignitories showed the Wallaby team. I thought Gregan's speech was fantastic and so soon after the defeat his words were befitting of a fine sportsman.

Each and everyone of those 30 starters and the number of replacements who played should be thanked for providing the rugby fraternity with an outstanding final. Six gruelling matches prior and the guys performed at an extremely high level.

I am proud to be English but im also proud of the way the Aussie people here in London have been so gracious.
And....2007 the cup stays here lol

Someone sent me this, I can't think why
You have to click on the picture to enlarge and read it.

Ren, your link did not work. That is probably lucky, because I guess it was something that takes the Michael out of us Aussies.

I wish people would feel sorry for us; after all, it is at least a month since we won a world title in something!

Ozzz, I do feel sorry for the Aussies, but saying that you haven't won a world title is a blatant lie !!

Who won the ICC Cricket World Cup crushing all the Indians ??

That was ages ago, Angi! We have got used to winning something every second week

Oh, well, I guess we will just have to be happy with the Davis Cup.

Quote:

---

Ren, your link did not work.

---

well it has Aussie and Wine (whine??) in the title, one can only imagine.

Don't panic, I have emailed it to Ozzzz. I expect he will like it so much he will get it to you all somehow.
I can't think why the link didnt work
Some Ozzy gremlins heard about it I reckon.

Ren, I believe the lnik didn't work because the image was stored along with your e-mail, which is, of course, private, and only visible to you! It would be disastrous if everyone could see anybody's e-mails just by typing something in their browser's address bar...

And like you, I'm pretty sure Ozzz will end up posting it here...to share his embarrassment with all the other Ozzies!

Quote:

---

I'm pretty sure Ozzz will end up posting it here

---

When Ozzz gets home from work in a few hours, he will consider it...

Bertho with hindsight and having watched it again on tape.
Australia lost the game because No's 1 to 8 were just not as good as the England Pack! (and thank goodness they'll be back playing for Leicester in a couple of weeks (9th in the table!) ). Some of the refereeing decisions of the second half were bizarre to say the least, How can ..... No I'm not going on.... it didn't spoil the game or affect the result apart from taking us too close to the lottery of drop-goal deciders (I was half hoping I wanted to see how that would work.Do you start with No1's then No2's or do you nominate or does the same player kick all the goals (in which case there would be no contest (LOL)) The two best teams in the competition in the final might be a debating point for some but they reached the final and both gave of their best. Boring, Boring England (not my view I hasten to add - for boring boring read expert at doing the right thing at the right time - catch and drive, get the position, SCORE!) beat "The new flamboyant Australians" (as they were described after the NZ game). Roles reversed from Twickenham when England tried to change their game to win and failed. This time they stuck to their game plan and won.

An aside from the Cup - here in Leicester this morning there were traffic jams galore caused by the Leicester Tigers training session - it was reported that all the Tigers England Players were reporting for duty. (don't know how many made it! Players or spectators that is - it was chaos and it was pouring down with rain!)

Like you I'd like to say thank you to everyone for keeping the thread more or less civilised - we all accept the England/Australia barracking (Now I understand the OZ meaning as well as the English! ) and it was nice to see new faces in the forum getting involved and perhaps one or two may have been converted to watch the game (RUGBY UNION)

PPS - Congratulations to The Aussies on their clean sweep in the League Tests - England managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in all three games

Referred without comment. Ren insisted that I post these.

Silly pic #1 and Silly pic #2

PS, thanks, George.

yeah ... great, thanks.

Hehe, love that first one.

Printed off and will be posted on the notice-board at work among the phillistine football(soccer) pictures (I'm the only one who enjoys the 15 (or 13) man game!)

Please see my post in Current Events

this american does not get rugby
I was watching the world championship last night
it was down under, right?
the wallaby's versus the roses?
what is England's nickname?

I just don't get it
what the heck is a try? is that like a touchdown?
and why do penalties result in kicks on the field goal?
and what is the point of a scrum?
here...why don't you take the ball
less bloodshed that way

the US is gonna have a Sevens tour in February next year

Lord, England are the Roses but theyd be better known in Rugby as the Lions I would have thought.
And a try is like a touchdown.

Of course Rugby is by far the better game over Gridiron but neither have anything on Rugby League.


( Them's fighting words!)

What the heck is a try? is that like a touchdown? – Yep, pretty much. But the ball has to be placed/grounded over the line, not just carried. This can sometimes be difficult when defenders are hanging off you.

Why do penalties result in kicks on the field goal? – They don’t have to be. If the team is in a position to kick for goal, they’ll often do so. It’s worth 3 points in union and 2 points in league. The other option is to improve your field position with a kick for touch and keep trying to get over the line for a 5 pointer.

What is the point of a scrum? – I live for my beloved scrums! In league, there is no point, perhaps to give the forwards a quick rest? In union it presents another contest for possession. The side with the better scrummaging skills and or weight can still win the ball when it’s the oppositions feed (this gives them the loosehead advantage – first strike of the ball). It also presents ‘clean’ ball to the backline, and is often the first stage of set pieces. Plus it gives guys with enormous necks and beer guts a defined position to play. The impact on a front rowers neck and shoulders during the engage sequence is approximately 2.5 tons. You really don’t want to have your spine bent or head out of position. There’s a ton of tactics you can use such as ‘screwing’ ‘drilling’ and ‘popping’ – all designed to shift weight forces around for different advantages.

Less bloodshed that way – When your own body is on the line it really does sort the men from the boys. All things are equal without the padding and helmets. Exploiting an opponent’s weakness or injury is a big part of league and union. A good fair hit under a player’s rib cage can see him go missing in action for the rest of the game if he isn’t made of stern stuff. If you think a player is carrying an injury or is a bit of a wimp, you’ll target the weakness. Padding and helmets would remove some of this element of the game. Union has resisted allowing much padding. Thin shoulder pads and padded head gear is about all. It’s up to the individual if he wants to wear anything; personally I hate wearing anything but boots, shorts and jersey.

And Wez... Wez, Wez, Wez.... what can I say? Poor old Bill's gonna be lonely. Maybe they can put him in the trophy cabinet at Lords to keep 'our' Ashes company seeing that you refuse to hand them over!

It's a pity I've only just discovered this forum, when it's all over. Copago, despite my having been a Balmain Junior, I also played junior Rugby for Dundas Valley. Thugby League pales in comparison to the game they play in heaven (duck). In reality, the only reason we Aussies are being so gracious, is because we don't have to cop any..... rubbish (I had to search for an apt word) from our friends across the ditch and George can keep taunting them for the next 4 years. Speaking of which:

Q. What do you do for a drowning New Zealand Rugby player?
A. Nothing. You could drag him to the top, but he'll choke
anyway.

You'll have to excuse me for being a bit of a Rugby Union thickee but, as newcomer to this fascinating game of brain and brawn, I've been trying to get to grips with some of the rules, too.

The lineout clearly has the same effect as a throw in for footie, to get the ball back into play from the sideline. I know that both teams must have the same number of players in their line and as it's the throwing team which has the advantage I presume that they decide on the length of the line, but is there a minimum and maximum? Tactically, what are the advantages or disadvantages of a longer or shorter lineout?

Onto the scrum. Is it actually a ruling that the same eight players must scrum down every time or is that purely tactical as these guys are the heavy mob? From the few games I've watched the ball always seems to get fed directly back to the chap who appeared to be the one who put the ball in in the first place, and even when the team in possesion is pushing forwards it's the same guy it eventually gets kicked out to. Once again, rules or tactics? Does the ball have to be played out through the back of the scrum and is the scrum half the only player allowed to pick up the ball?

The offside rule Try as I might, I can't make head nor tail of this baby!

Any explanations would be gratefully received.

You’ll have to forgive me here, I’m a bit whacked after a xmas party, but I’ll give these questions a go…

You are correct re the line out. The throwing team has the advantage of picking the number of players who participate. If the opposition doesn’t match the numbers then it’s a penalty. Lineouts are a very important phase of the game. It only requires two players to perform a line out. That’s what’s called a quick line out. It’s usually the winger and a fullback, but they must use the original ball that’s been kicked. With a set lineout, the throwing/attacking side decides the numbers. Normally if it’s a short line, a player will drop back and the scrum half will go to the fly half position to create an overlap. A regular lineout will soak in all 8 forwards and give the back line a clean 7 versus 7 opportunity. There a 9 regular calls for a full line out and many variations. I’ll break it down by a 2, 4, and 6 jump. A basic set of calls might be QLD NSW VIC. Q Ball goes to the two jumper moving forward to the one position. L ball is a bullet straight up into the breadbasket. D is a fade, one step forward, 3 steps back jump. 4 and 6 jumper’s go by the same rules. If a thrower calls “5,89, England- 32, Wales – 28” the key letter is the ‘W’ therefore it’s a 4 jumpers ball fading back into a 5 position. Say the call was “25 innocent bottles of beer” the key letter is ‘I’ therefore it’s a 6 ball straight up. There’s also keywords that represent a crash ball through the line at various positions or for the jumper to two hand the catch and a driving maul to form etc. Most good teams will have 3 or 4 sets of jump calls, which all mean the same thing, just in case a opposing team picks the calls.

Izzi, onto the scrum. There are a few rules worth noting. Due to the mount of deaths from in-experienced props that got their necks cracked, they made a rule that if you have to field an inexperienced prop, the scrum cannot be contested. Therefore the side feeding the scrum will win it. There’s half the weight applied to a contested scrum. In some competitions, if you can’t put a contestable scrum up, then you forfeit the game. Safety is very much paramount. Those laws govern the tight three, props and hooker. With the back 5 (locks, breakaways, number 8) change what you want. A common tactic is to replace number 8 with a blindside winger and leave him to run crash ball into the centers, make the overlap etc. Apart from the tight 3, anyone can pack in the scrum though it’s not recommended.

In a regulation scrum, the scrum half feeds the ball and retrieves it. He can kick or pass, it depends on the field position. He can give it to the fly half to kick or pass, it depends on the abilities of all concerned. The number 8 can also pick the ball up from the back of the scrum, once it’s clear, and crash it up on the fringe.

Once a ruck (ball on the ground) or a maul (off the ground) has been formed, both attacking players and defensive players must be behind the last players feet on either side of the ruck or maul. The attacking side with ball in control will set themselves up to 30 meters deep to give themselves room for set pieces.

Hope this helps…. Need sleep,

Dave

That certainly does help, thanks Bertho, I really appreciate the trouble you've taken to try and simplify it for me. I wish I could say that it all makes perfect sense. Most of it does, but I'll definitely look out for some of those tactical plays and perhaps all will become clear once I can pick out some of the moves in a game.

So, who's going to tackle the offside rules?

I'll have a go at it and when Bertho has gotten over his hangover he can correct me.

Basically you have to be behind the kicker. If a player kicks the ball then any of the kicking team players in front of him can not go for the ball whether it be in the open or in the oppositions hands (so going for a tackle). And the same at the kickoff, all the teammates of the player kicking off must be behind him.

The offside rule is simple - if you are in front of the ball (ie nearer the opponents goal than the ball) and you are not the player in possession of the ball then you are offside. Being offside is not an automatic penalty, players can stand still and have no active part in the play (that's why you see them put their hands on their heads) or they can be played on-side by the last player to touch the ball going past them on the field (the reason why kickers race forward after a kick)
The offside law is Rule 24 of the Union Code (I would have given the IRB's actual law but the site is down a version can be read here http://www.uidaho.edu/clubs/womens_rugby/RugbyRoot/rugby/Rules/LawBook/contents.html

Cheers for that guys! Copago, the way that you've put It seems to be far more straightforward than it actually came across in the games.

In that fantastic final the ref was blowing up for all sorts of infringements which didn't seem to make much sense to me, so I thought there were rules I had yet to grasp. Was that just "Wicked Watson's" own interpretation of the rules then??