Can anyone explain the England "Swing Low.." thing? I can't think of anything less appropriate than an old American slave song representing a rugby team.
Swing Low has been a drinking song at rugby clubs (and army messes) for years & years. It's accompanied by a whole heap of obscene gestures
Hey Craig, just wondering who you aussies hate the most out of England and New Zealand? Would you rather that the Kiwis won the rugby world cup instead of England?
Personally I would rather England win than NZ. By a quick straw poll in the office it seems most feel the same. Reason being, for me, that Aust & NZ have a pretty big rivalry in rugby - Aust have never really played England much - especially here as they only ever toured as the British Lions. Also, England is bigger than us, has way more players than us, so it's not as bad as being beaten by a smaller country. The other reason one of the guys gave was that this way Aust still leads in the number of World Cups won - if NZ had won they would be level with us on 2. Bottom line though is that rugby is still a pretty minor sport in Australia, and the WC will be quickly forgotton by most people outside NSW & Queensland.
I must say the more and more I see of the NZ Haka, the more I say those guys deserve a quick shot to the nuts. It is one of the most obnoxious, provoking and stupid things I have ever had the misfortune of seeing. Just because it's a cultural thing for the native people the Maoris does not make it a good thing. Clearly it is a dance prior to going into battle. You almost half expect the players to either spit or urinate on their opponents at the end of the dance.
I love the haka. It is great to retain some tradition in these horrible times of professionalism. Has to be remembered that not only is it a war challenge, it is also a sign of respect for your opponent.
Craig it looked to me like the fans in Stadium Australia were either extremely quiet or there were many English fans in attendence. Question, it was noted in your earlier post that Rugby is not popular outside of New South Wales and Queensland, how can this be considering Australia's success in the sport? Could you elaborate?
There were a lot of English there - prebooked tickets, plus picked up a lot from NZ'ers offloading them. In Australia there are 4 football codes: Soccer is national, but is really only popular at the amateur participant level - the "professional" national league is a bit of a joke. Rugby Union is played a bit in all states, but is only a major sport in NSW & Qld - most people in other states would never have seen a game played and wouldn't know the rules. In fact many don't realise that rugby league & rugby union are different games. Union was very much a distant 2nd to League until the 1980's. The club competition is very poorly supported & attended. The Super12 has helped the sport develop. Rugby League is the major football code in NSW & Qld, with growing interest in Victoria. Australian Rules is national, but is the major sport in Victoria, Tasmania, Western Australia & South Australia, with a pretty strong presence in southern NSW and growing interest in the rest NSW & Qld. Brisbane has won the last 3 premierships. Why? Basically historical reasons. When the sports were evolving in the 19th century Australia wasn't a country, it was 6 independent colonies all of whom did their own thing. Aussie Rules was developed in Victoria and exported to the southern states, while rugby union took hold in the northern states. When league broke away from union it took over (helped by WWI when union suspended play, and lost a lot of young men).