Re: Depressing.... : Sun Nov 12, 2017 6:31 pm  

roopy wrote:

What killed it was no competition.
The first 3 or 4 times we won were great. after that, it didn't seem worth the effort.

Well that's the AB's buggered then isn't it

Re: Depressing.... : Sun Nov 12, 2017 7:13 pm  

Having watched Australian touring sides since the early 1960s my thoughts are that whilst they have typically been better athletes than their UK equivalents it's changes to the game which have increasingly allowed them to utilise this to their advantage. For example playing on mud patches in the middle of a UK winter played in our favour. The days of contested scrums and lumbering forwards also favoured us. Finally the introduction of multiple high definition cameras has seen the end of the brutal physopath type of forward which was also a great leveller.

Re: Depressing.... : Mon Nov 13, 2017 12:09 am  

Agree silver - international RL exposes gaps in quality far more than RU. The muddy pitches may have gone from RU, but the ability to play a forward oriented game and starve the opposition of possession means a team with relatively poor backs can beat one with much better backs. Can you imagine the All Blacks backs vs any northern hemisphere team at RL? Wouldn't even be close.

The problem is the Kangaroos are that much better than England, but in RL there's no way to hide the gulf in class. Oddly enough I do give us half a chance in this WC, if NZ can turn the Aussies over. They were looking really good until half time vs Tonga, and they genuinely have a chance vs Aus. Whilst on paper NZ are better than England, we don't have the same mental block with them - most of our players have played and beaten them before.

Re: Depressing.... : Mon Nov 13, 2017 12:18 am  

BrisbaneRhino wrote:

but in RL there's no way to hide the gulf in class.

If the "best side" always won then we'd have a very boring sport.......2008 and the Kiwis had no right to win the game but they did.

Re: Depressing.... : Mon Nov 13, 2017 3:08 am  

Call Me God wrote:

Well that's the AB's buggered then isn't it

Kiwis just like to be good at something - anything will do.
If the warriors ever win the NRL they won't shut up about it for 40 years or so.

Re: Depressing.... : Mon Nov 13, 2017 10:44 am  

I'm in Aus right now for the WC and it went pretty well in Perth yesterday, stadium was the right size so that just under 15k was a good crowd. Commentators here think it's all about TV: audiences for this have been strong, but it is at the expense of any midweek games. For us, for instance, this means we move on each time after just one match and wait until the following weekend for the next one.

However, despite the doom and gloom on here, there is one clear, logical reason why the NRL should embrace international RL with a renewed passion: they are in a bitter fight with AFL (Aussie Rules) for sporting dominance. the one thing AFL CANNOT offer is international matches. They used to try some 'hybrid' games against Gaelic football teams but even that was weird. International sport is always the biggest game in town and the NRL could win this fight for good if it encouraged it more.

Re: Depressing.... : Mon Nov 13, 2017 12:04 pm  

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/ ... -australia

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/ ... -australia

Re: Depressing.... : Mon Nov 13, 2017 6:23 pm  

Australia isn't "obsessed by NRL". That makes it sound like it's football in England, which it isn't. I was critical of the Aussies for not selling out the England match, because if they can't sell out WC matches against England and NZ in stadiums that are less than 30000 capacity, then there's something wrong. But I think bashing the Aussies for not falling in love with the tournament itself is just ridiculous. I can understand why overall they rate and like the NRL or SOO more than the World Cup. That doesn't mean they don't want to win the WC or that they won't be interested in the semi final and final. I'm sure those games will have good attendances and good TV viewing figures. Let's be honest, a lot about the WC is contrived. Wales, Scotland and Ireland teams that barely contain anyone who has an accent from any of those countries. They're joke teams and it's no surprise that there's very little interest in watching them or supporting them.

Re: Depressing.... : Mon Nov 13, 2017 7:04 pm  

roopy wrote:

Kiwis just like to be good at something - anything will do.
If the warriors ever win the NRL they won't shut up about it for 40 years or so.

The Kiwis are generally a nation that punch well above their weight in most sports....they're currently handing the Aussies their butts on the Basketball court, they own the bloodyslow cup, they are the #2 ranked RL side, they just held the #10 ranked FIFA side to a goalless draw, they have the americas cup, are pretty good at rowing, rally driving, the world endurance car title including le mans......

as for the Warriors......every comp needs their own version of Warrington. Next year it'll be us......

Re: Depressing.... : Tue Nov 14, 2017 7:49 am  

Call Me God wrote:

The Kiwis are generally a nation that punch well above their weight in most sports....they're currently handing the Aussies their butts on the Basketball court, they own the bloodyslow cup, they are the #2 ranked RL side, they just held the #10 ranked FIFA side to a goalless draw, they have the americas cup, are pretty good at rowing, rally driving, the world endurance car title including le mans......

as for the Warriors......every comp needs their own version of Warrington. Next year it'll be us......

They are nowhere near being as good as us at Basketball, don't confuse the NZ breakers, a club side for the "Tall Blacks" their national team