It's Rugby world Cup time again

[johnr]

Being hosted by England this time.

Our lot seem to be doing OK thus far. Their 1st game was against Argentina. We won, but the Argies were certainly no push overs.  The All Blacks gave them a standing ovation as the Argies left the field.

Wonder of wonders Japan, normally thought of as rugby minnows, actually beat South Africa! A magnificent achievement, beyond belief almost.

[Pancake]

There have been some good matches. Argentina held up well for quite a long time against the All Blacks but they got tired and started to make a lot of errors. Wales England was a cracker of a match.

[ITSec]

EAT YOUR DEAD!!! 

[Lannis]

One thing I've noticed is that there are no Women on these teams.

Why is that?   Are the leagues merely sexist misogynists?    Are they just discriminating based on gender?   Are there no rules to assure diversity based on sex?    I've heard (especially on this very experienced and broad-based list) that there are some very strong and tough women around, fully capable of physical equality with men.   Why are none of them chosen for these teams?   

There's a term for it when teams CLAIM to be "equal opportunity" but the fact of the matter is that no women are ever chosen.    In business, that's a clear signal that discrimination is happening and being blamed on something else, even if hidden.   Why is it allowed to go on?    There are men of every race, religious creed, color, national origin .... why are women so blatantly and completely excluded?

I'm not watching any more Rugby World Cup matches until this blatant bigotry and degradation of women is addressed, I can tell you .... 

Lannis

[Clancy]

Wonder if the All Blacks will ever win a World Cup.....

[Clancy]

........without home ground advantage? 

[balvenie]

Wonder of wonders Japan, normally thought of as rugby minnows, actually beat South Africa! A magnificent achievement, beyond belief almost.

One of those "black swan" events and their coach was a bloke that Oz got rid of

[Kiwi_Roy]

One thing I've noticed is that there are no Women on these teams.
 

If they were good enough they would be

Lot's of women play rugby

Ok Lannis, I know you are gust trying to wind us up 

[ITSec]

If they were good enough they would be

Lot's of women play rugby

Ok Lannis, I know you are gust trying to wind us up 

I wonder if he's seen some of those Sheilas... 

[LowRyter]

Rugby?  Is that what they call Soccer?   


Rugby?  I am clueless.   

 

Is Hope Solo playing?

[johnr]

I wonder if he's seen some of those Sheilas... 

Scary as hell!

[johnr]

One of those "black swan" events and their coach was a bloke that Oz got rid of

Yeah. He's a Kiwi isn't he?

[Lannis]

Did you watch any world rugby before you found out that no women were playing ? Somehow I don't think they are gonna fold up the tent due to your lack of interest 

  Dusty

No, obviously not ....

[oldbike54]

No, obviously not ....

 Kind of like my dislike of American beer , since my annual consumption is less than one gallon , don't think the brewers are worried 

  Dusty

[Yukonica]

As a Canadian I salute rugby as part of my Commonwealth heritage and as the gentleman's game. Great Sport. Wish we could play it. On Ice.
Should ever we beat Anyone (even Bangladesh) at this game I'll celebrate by cracking a Kokanee to wash-back some maple poutine then burp 'eh!' and cuddle back into my flannel jammies.
Sports played outside of north america really should consider our time zones.

[FreshEgg]

WTF, Lannis?

Rugby is one of the fastest growing sports in America - exactly because of the participation of Women. Having played both American Football and Rugby I'd opine that the later is a tougher game. You don't have to sprint your guts out, and tackle, and ruck and scrum  for 80 minutes. Rugby players also know how to tackle, as opposed to spearing people with your helmets. Indeed, the (superbowl) Seahawks, here in Seattle, are trying to teach the rugby tackle to their players.

Ask the next hairy 240 pound rugby forward you meet what he thinks of women's rugby. Chances are you will get an enthusiastic and positive response. This RESPECT is part of the Culture of Rugby and it is International. Women are just as brave as men on the Rugby pitch. An analogy might be found in motorcycle racing, where even the slowest club racer is waaaaaaaay faster than anyone on the street. In that context, nobody gives a shit about gender.

[not-fishing]

Go All Black.

I have a thing for big men and clubs, maybe it's a Once were Warriors thing.

[Yukonica]

Go All Black.

"S" ~ All Blacks
I'm sure there are Kiwi's leaving the shore in rafts; just to find you. They are pretty keen on their team.

[tris]

There have been some good matches. Argentina held up well for quite a long time against the All Blacks but they got tired and started to make a lot of errors. Wales England was a cracker of a match.

It sure was ...... but we could do without the Aussies next

Still, somewhat curiously IMO the bookies have England to top the pool as of this morning - hey ho - watch this space

[Lannis]

WTF, Lannis?

Rugby is one of the fastest growing sports in America - exactly because of the participation of Women. Having played both American Football and Rugby I'd opine that the later is a tougher game. You don't have to sprint your guts out, and tackle, and ruck and scrum  for 80 minutes. Rugby players also know how to tackle, as opposed to spearing people with your helmets. Indeed, the (superbowl) Seahawks, here in Seattle, are trying to teach the rugby tackle to their players.

Ask the next hairy 240 pound rugby forward you meet what he thinks of women's rugby. Chances are you will get an enthusiastic and positive response. This RESPECT is part of the Culture of Rugby and it is International. Women are just as brave as men on the Rugby pitch. An analogy might be found in motorcycle racing, where even the slowest club racer is waaaaaaaay faster than anyone on the street. In that context, nobody gives a shit about gender.

Well, you sort of missed the context of what I was saying.   I'm fully in support of everything you said here.

On another thread, the one related to a woman on a long motorcycle trip,  I was praising the abilities of women to compete directly with men in many areas, and could find no reason why, in many sports and endeavors, that a woman shouldn't be the World Champion in areas that play to their strengths.   Or that a woman could easily outride a man on a motorcycle journey, and actually gave some examples.

But I said that there are some areas where a woman cannot play head-to-head with men.   I used the military as one of those, where women are being "placed" into combat positions in order to meet "diversity" targets in the sociology laboratory that the military has become.

I note, however, that in world- or national-level competitions, such as Rugby football, Association Football, NFL football, tennis, bicycling, golf, baseball, etc, there are NO women competing at that level with men.   None.

And that is NOT because the teams or leagues are gender-bigoted, or intolerant of women, or anything else, and it is not because women are not tough and can't endure.    It is that way because the team's goal is to WIN, and to WIN they have to competitively select the people that can get the job done.    If the team doesn't WIN, they're gone.

Unfortunately, the modern military isn't that way.   In this country, they're explicitly being set up to FAIL in the name of diversity and feel-good.   If, someday, we are fighting for our lives and HAVE to win, then we'll cut all that crap out and do what we have to do to win.

But the Rugby teams competing at the world level ALREADY have to win, and so they select their teams accordingly.    And that means men.    People hate to hear that, and want to assign some sort of "-phobe" word to it, but on a discussion board, well ....

Lannis

[LowRyter]

Lannis- our military is deliberately set up to fail in the name of diversity? 

All derived from Rugby jokes?  Sometime you really go out of your way to be a horse's ass. 

[Lannis]

Lannis- our military is deliberately set up to fail in the name of diversity? 

All derived from Rugby jokes?  Sometime you really go out of your way to be a horse's ass.

When there's no good answer to the argument, calling the other guy a "horse's ass" is a tried-and-true technique.

It's a good substitute for "Dang, he's right, I don't know what to say so I'll just do a quick insult".

Thanks!!   

And now, in your honor and in the greatest Rugby traditions, we'll all link arms and sing "Shoot the Boot" to you .....

Lannis

[LowRyter]

no argument Lannis when it's self evident. 

[Nick]

Holy Shit!!!!
How TF did a Rugby World Cup post turn into a US Military post?
Can we please get back on topic?

[LowRyter]

Holy Shit!!!!
How TF did a Rugby World Cup post turn into a US Military post?
Can we please get back on topic?

my point exactly.

[Lannis]

my point exactly.

Good point.  It's not like Wild Guzzi allows any off-topic stuff.   It's made for Guzzi Motorcycles, so Rugby World Cup fits right in there.

What was I thinking?   

[Loftness]

I'm very frustrated that I can't watch any games until the NBC coverage picks up in the last couple rounds. 

[PJPR01]

These teams are pretty impressive.  By pure luck when we lived in Argentina, some of the All Blacks were staying at the same hotel.  I think they had a friendly match with the Argentina team in Mar del Plata that weekend.  These dudes are monsters!!

[johnr]

Well our next game is against Georgia and I'm a tad worried about it. I think the ABs are taking Georgia a bit lightly, and it's when we do that, that we might lose. The ABs always perform better if they think they are up against it.

The USA team plays South Africa next. It's a big ask, the South Afs are scary good.

[johnr]

Well the ABs won their game, but it was a scrapie effort.  They will have to up their game if they want to progress in the competition.

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