As a grammatical error fuelled funny it’s not quite up there with “Eats, shoots, and leaves” but it is snigger worthy, and missing comma aside, its stone dead accurate.
Rugby is indeed played by men[i], with odd shaped balls. Ovoid balls to be correct, not those perfectly round things you find in soccer, cricket, tennis, hockey, baseball, ping pong, marbles, bowling etc.
The joke itself is pretty old, so old the first time I encountered it was circa 1983, plastered via a bumper sticker on the rear of a Ford Cortina in the South Wales town I grew up in. I walked past that parked car on the way to school every morning for years, and so the risqué phrasing (for a ten-year-old balls was particularly dirty) became etched indelibly on my mind.
Wales, and South Wales in particular, is one of the traditional hotbeds of the game known as Rugby Union (not Rugby League mind, oh no. More on that later), so throughout my childhood I grew up in an environment where Rugby was the king of sports and everyone had an opinion on which of the Welsh greats was the better player, Barry John, Phil Bennett, Gareth Edwards, or JPR? Even as an adult after moving to England for work I was still surrounded by the spirit of Rugby, all the more so after England won the 2003 World Cup with the last kick of the tournament. Imagine the shame I felt as friends and colleagues who had never previously shown an iota of interest in the oval ball, gleefully and repeatedly informed me that it was the men in white, not the mighty Wales, who had at last conquered our cousins from the Southern Hemisphere and brought the trophy home to Britain.
Even when I again moved for work to Calcutta, I found there was a culture of Rugby in place, what with the charity side Jungle Crows run by long term ex-pat Paul Walsh, as well as long established local sides. A fond memory of my time in West Bengal is running the touchline at CCFC (Calcutta Cricket & Football Club) with my digital camera in hand, snapping away at a clash between Armenian College and La Martinere Old Boys. Not that I was that interested in the match, I was actually doing a favour for a female friend who had a crush on one of the Armenian full backs - my job was to get as many photos of the local hero as she could possibly fit on a USB stick. Not that Calcutta having strong Rugby connections should have been surprising given that the annual international clash between England and Scotland is known as the Calcutta Cup, with the two nations competing over some actual Indian wrought silverware since 1879.
So, having being spoilt by always living in Rugby worshipping parts of the World it came as a shock recently, after moving to the South of India, to have my enthusiastic bleating about the currently ongoing Rugby World Cup met by looks of blank incomprehension by the local populace. Matters came to a head last weekend when I sat down in my favourite multi-screen sports bar prepared to watch a marathon of World Cup group games, only to find that not one screen was showing the oval ball. Several frantic minutes later, in which my efforts to describe the game had descended into a game of charades where I only just restrained myself from actually rugby tackling the barman, Sony Ten 2 was located and I settled down finally to enjoy a tower of Kingfisher (hey it was a very long afternoon!). Due to the relatively early start (the World Cup matches are being played in Japan which is in a time zone three and half hours ahead of India), and the complete lack of local interest, I had the bar to myself for several hours. I can tell you, having your own personal beer wallah to bring you a fresh chilled glass every time you want to refill from the tower balanced precariously on your table is a luxury everybody should try at least once in your life.
With the Rugby World Cup set to continue until early November I thought it was a good idea then to rustle up a brief guide to Rugby for the uninitiated in India, South Asia, or anywhere for that matter. After all there's only so many times before explaining Rugby via charades gets me into real trouble.
What's this nonsense called Rugby all about then?
1. A Brief History of Time......errr sorry, Rugby.
Rugby was born of the same parentage as it's close sibling Football - Soccer that is, though the NFL, Aussie Rules Football, and Gaelic Football can all trace their lineage back to the same root. That's right, a game played by kicking a round ball along the floor has the same direct ancestry as a game wherein an oval ball is carried in the burly arms of the players.
So called 'Mob Football' was a rough and ready game played for many centuries in many countries. It became particularly popular in England during the Middle Ages when it was typically contested by rival villages and towns on festival days such as Shrove Tuesday or Christmas Day. The action would typically involve a rolling riot of men kicking and throwing an inflated pig bladder to a distant goal which was usually defined as a significant landmark (such as the local churchyard) in the opponent's manor.
There were no rules, and serious injuries were common, as a result many attempts were made by Kings, Queens, and Lord Mayors to ban the ‘sport’, all to no avail. By the Nineteenth Century the game had developed to a point where it was played regularly at the great British public schools (confusingly private schools in the United Kingdom are described as public schools - no I don’t understand it either) such as Harrow, Eton, Winchester, and a place called Rugby (gosh!).
To minimise the potential damage to their fee-paying pupils and to ensure that these posh institutions could play each other (bragging rights have always been important in the ‘old boys network’ as their former pupils are collectively known), the schools began to draw up codes of practice and worked together to standardise the various formats of ‘Football’ as the game was now known.
At Rugby public school players were expected to run with the ball rather than kick the ball along the floor and the school produced the first written rules of the game in 1845. Indeed, the often quoted (and probably apocryphal tale) is that a boy named William Webb-Ellis was the first miscreant to pick up the ball and scarper for the opposition goal line way back in 1823. Despite there being scant contemporaneous evidence to support the story (it was first raised in a letter to a newspaper much later in 1876) the World Cup trophy itself is named for Webb-Ellis in his honour. During this period many former pupils of the schools began to form football clubs to continue playing once they had left school and university.
In 1863 the Football Association was formed by a number of these clubs, mainly those that favoured the kicking of the ball, and thus they banned the handling of the same. A group of other clubs were outraged by the fact they would no longer be able to caress and fondle the ball and broke away declaring that they would follow the ‘Rugby Rules’. Thus football played by the Football Association became known as Association Football (AKA Soccer), and well you know where I’m headed with the other bit. The Rugby Football Union was officially formed by clubs favouring the ‘Rugby Football’ rules in 1871. The first international match between England and Scotland was also held that year. Wales and Ireland formed their own national sides soon after with the four teams collectively known as 'The Home Nations'.
Much like political movements and nascent political parties, the founders of Rugby weren't done splitting however. As Rugby grew in popularity more and more games began to be played and often players had to absent themselves from work to complete their commitments to their clubs. Rugby at this point was an amateur sport, and by golly no sir, no one wanted to be paid because being an amateur meant being unpaid, you played for the love of the game even if it meant losing a day’s wages. In 1892 a row broke out in the Rugby fraternity over alleged ‘professionalism’ by some of the Northern based English clubs who were compensating their players for missed hours of work.
The Northern clubs duly broke away and formed their own league, which was the first professional iteration of the game, eventually becoming known as….Rugby League.[ii] The amateur game became known as Rugby Union and incredibly remained amateur until 1995. Defectors from Rugby Union to the perceived evil of professionalism during this 103 year period faced harsh sanctions including a lifetime ban from playing the amateur game again (unless of course if you happened to be the saviour of your national side when for some reason exceptions were suddenly OK).
As with Football and Cricket the British Empire was largely responsible for the spread of the sport around the World, transported along with the sailors, soldiers, and clerks deployed across the dominions. The game quickly gaining popularity overseas and the first intercontinental matches took place in 1905 when a touring team from New Zealand visited Britain. This New Zealand touring team was tougher than expected and caused a sensation by performing their now obligatory haka[iii] in front of the opposition for the first time. In response to this Welsh player Teddy Morgan led the crowd in a rendition of 'Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau', the Welsh National Anthem before the tourists match in Wales. This was the first time a National Anthem was sung at the start of a sporting event.
In recent years teams from the Southern Hemisphere have dominated the international rugby scene, winning all but one of the Rugby World Cups to date. I'll deal with that in more detail later on, but first let's move onto something that will actually help you watch the game - the rules!
2. Da Rules.
Rugby Union simply described is a full contact sport [iv] played between two teams of fifteen players each, with odd shaped balls yes, the objective being to have scored more points than the opposition by the end of the game.
So then let’s get down to brass tacks, the nuts and bolts, the simple stuff.
The Basics
- Yes, each team is composed of fifteen players (that’s two more than Rugby League who went all Last Supper and decided on thirteen-a-side). Those fifteen players are split into eight 'Forwards', and seven 'Backs'.
- The game is played on a rectangular pitch which should be 144 metres long by 70 metres wide. The majority of the game play takes place in an area roughly 100 metres between the two goal lines (also known as try lines) which are located at either end of the pitch (see diagram opposite). Immediately behind the try line at either end of the pitch is an area known as the 'in-goal area' where attacking players will seek to gain points for their team by scoring a ‘Try’.
- In the middle of each goal line are placed H shaped goal posts, composed of two upright posts roughly 3.4 metres in length and placed 5.6 metres apart. The uprights are connected by a horizontal crossbar, placed 3 metres above the goal line.
- Scoring takes place by either crossing the goal line the opposing team is defending and grounding the ball in the in-goal area (known as scoring a 'Try'), or by kicking the ball through your opponent’s goal posts above the cross bar.
- A match is composed of two halves of forty minutes each with a short break in between. After the half time break the teams swap ends and attack the opposite end of the ground from the first half.
- The match is officiated by three officials, the match referee and his two assistant referees who patrol the touch line.
- Play generally follows a pattern where the ball is carried in the hand as a team tries to reach the opponents goal line, the defending team can try to tackle the ball carrying player to stop the attack and try to obtain the ball for themselves (known as a ‘turn over’).
- Play generally follows a pattern where the ball is carried in the hand as a team tries to reach the opponents goal line, the defending team can try to tackle the ball carrying player to stop the attack and try to obtain the ball for themselves (known as a ‘turn over’).
- Players can kick the ball forward or pass the ball to a teammate in order to progress play, however unlike in the NFL rugby players cannot pass the ball forward, the ball can only move hand to hand laterally or backwards.
- Remember this is a full contact sport, so tackling in Rugby involves grabbing your opponent with your arms anywhere below their neck. This can be done in a spectacular fashion.
A little more detail then
Scoring
So as mentioned above winning is achieved by outscoring your opponents, and scoring is achieved either by grounding the ball past the opposing team’s goal line, or by kicking the ball over the elevated bar in the middle of their goal posts. Unlike in football (soccer) a specific number of points is awarded for each method of scoring (in football a goal is a goal and has a value of well, ummm, one I suppose). So as I’m developing a taste for lists, let’s list the different methods of scoring and their points value.
- Try – this is the highest value method of scoring in rugby and for the most people the most exiting part of the game. To score a try an attacking player must cross his opponent’s goal line and ground the ball (that is touch down the ball) anywhere within the in-goal area behind the goal line. Ironically this is different from the NFL where scoring a touchdown occurs simply by crossing the goal line whilst maintaining control of the ball. Scoring a try carries a value of five points, which can be increased to seven points if the attacking team then ‘converts’ the try.
Where the ball is touched down has an impact on the following conversion attempt. The ball is placed for the conversion attempt in line with where the ball was grounded in the in-goal area.
This means that if the try was scored close to, or under, the goal posts, the kicking player will have a fairly easy kick in front of said posts.
However if the ball was grounded further out, say by the touchline (the outer edge of the playing area) for example, then the kick becomes more difficult due to the increased distance from the goal posts and the more acute angle. Theoretically the conversion kick can be taken from anywhere on the field as long its in line with where the ball was touched down.
However in practice the ball is usually placed on the five metre line (hey refer to that nice graphic of a rugby pitch I placed further up) as obviously the further away the ball is placed, the more difficult the kick. Any closer than the five metre line and the kicker won't be able to get enough elevation on the ball to clear the crossbar.
- Penalty - Just as in Football (Soccer) penalties are awarded to a team for an infringement of the rules by the opposition. Unlike in Football penalties can be awarded anywhere on the field and therefore don't always lead automatically to a scoring opportunity.
If however the penalty is given within reasonable distance of the opposition goalposts the attacking team will often opt to kick for goal. Though very similar to the conversion the penalty goal is worth three points, and many close games will be decided by this method as scoring via goal kicking allows you to put numbers on the scoreboard from much further out than the goal line.
- Drop Goal - Ah now we come to my favourite! The placement of the ball between the uprights posts and over the crossbar, this time though from open play.
It can be difficult enough to kick the ball between the posts from a placed kick such as a penalty or conversion where the ball is nestled safely on a stand and there are no opposition players rushing at you, but to kick the ball from your own hand whilst running toward onrushing defenders is an art like no other. The drop goal is again worth three points and is a useful tactic against a stubborn and disciplined defence that won't let you near their try line, or give away penalties for you to kick. Over the last few decades the drop goal fell out of favour given the difficulty of the skill, with many coaches concerned that a failed attempt simply gives hard won possession back to the opposition. A shame that if you ask me. The Welsh were once known as the arch exponents of the technique with the legendary Barry John the master of the skill. John scored eight drop goals for Wales in his relatively short career (he retired at just twenty seven), including two in a 22-6 win over the English in the 1971 Five Nations Championship. Coming into the 2019 World Cup Wales had scored just one in the last 35 internationals. The drop goal can be attempted from anywhere on the field, however in practice most attempts take place inside the twenty two metre line, more or less in front of the goal posts for obvious reasons - the example shown immediately below being a magnificent exception.
What I forgot something? Oh yes, that's right - The Penalty Try - rarer even than the Drop Goal. In Rugby Union the match referee may award a try to the attacking team if he deems there to have been sufficient misconduct by the defending team to the extent that it prevented a certain try being scored. This rule is open to a lot of interpretation and tends not to be invoked to readily, referees being more likely to grant penalties for infractions. If a penalty try is awarded under Rugby Union rules seven points are automatically awarded to the attacking side.
So we now know the various methods of scoring, but how do sides get themselves into scoring positions, and how do you defend attacks?
Attacking & Defending
It's worth stopping before we get stuck into the nitty gritty of attacking & defending a key difference between football and rugby. In football much of the attacking play is carried out by the forwards who tend to be nimble and fleet of foot, whilst the defending is carried out by the rugged centre backs and full backs behind them. In rugby this is completely reversed, with the backs being the flair players upon which much of the attacking expectation is placed, whilst the forwards are less mobile juggernauts who are expected to grind down opposition attacks and win the ball back.
Attacking
Well as already mentioned above, forward passing is not allowed in Rugby, so how do you move the ball forward?
This is done in three main ways, running with the ball (and offloading to team mates via lateral passes), kicking, and through a maul.
Kicking
Any player may kick the ball forward in Rugby, however the art of strategic kicking for territory is mostly left to the backs.
Typically a full back will receive the ball deep in their own territory and, if not minded to run with the ball, will either attempt to kick into touch deep in opposition territory or will kick the ball forward and up in a high arc and give chase.
When attempting to kick for touch, the kicker will aim to bounce the ball in field at least once before the ball bounces over the touch line and out of touch. If done correctly the kicker will force a set piece known as a Lineout deep into opposition territory. This offers the attacking side an opportunity to put pressure on the opposing team, potentially creating an attacking opportunity in the opposition half. We'll look at the lineout in more detail under Set Pieces below.
If the kicker chooses to kick the ball up in a high arc and give chase then this is known as an 'Up and Under'. The idea being that the kicker will move the ball forward more quickly than by running it, and will either recover the ball himself, or will at least put pressure on any opposition player who has recovered the ball with the aim of forcing a turnover.
In practice teams are set up to defend kicks and you may well see a passage of play where kicks are readily traded for a couple of minutes between opposing backs seeking to gain the upper hand.
Kicking is usually the responsibility of the Full Backs if picking up the ball deep in their own territory, or the Fly Half if the ball is in midfield (the Fly Half and his/her partner the Scrum Half are akin to the Quarter back in the NFL or the Midfield Playmaker in Soccer and are responsible for sparking much of the attacking play).
Running With the Ball
This is considered by most folks to be the most exciting part of the game of Rugby with players, often the backs, demonstrating silky running and passing moves.
Players will move forward with the ball in hand looking to exploit any gap in the line of defenders ahead of them, with the aim of breaking through the defensive line. If they cannot find a gap they may look for a killer pass with the aim of creating an overload (an area where there are more attackers than defenders) so that they can overwhelm the defence and break on through. The attacking line will always be at a slight angle as players try to remain slightly behind the ball carrying player to avoid the possibility of a forward pass occurring.
So, having being spoilt by always living in Rugby worshipping parts of the World it came as a shock recently, after moving to the South of India, to have my enthusiastic bleating about the currently ongoing Rugby World Cup met by looks of blank incomprehension by the local populace. Matters came to a head last weekend when I sat down in my favourite multi-screen sports bar prepared to watch a marathon of World Cup group games, only to find that not one screen was showing the oval ball. Several frantic minutes later, in which my efforts to describe the game had descended into a game of charades where I only just restrained myself from actually rugby tackling the barman, Sony Ten 2 was located and I settled down finally to enjoy a tower of Kingfisher (hey it was a very long afternoon!).Due to the relatively early start (the World Cup matches are being played in Japan which is in a time zone three and half hours ahead of India), and the complete lack of local interest, I had the bar to myself for several hours. I can tell you, having your own personal beer wallah to bring you a fresh chilled glass every time you want to refill from the tower balanced precariously on your table is a luxury everybody should try at least once in your life.
If the ball carrier was brought to ground initially but held onto the ball, a similar situation known as a Ruck occur. Here attacking forwards will rush to the ball carrier and try to shield him on floor from defending forwards who will try to strip the ball from him. The ball carrier will try to release ball to a teammate who will then try to pass the ball to waiting back to continue the attack.
If a maul collapses and there is no sign of the ball being released, or similarly if there is no sign of the ball being released from a ruck, the referee may call for a set piece known as a Scrum as a safer way of determining possession. Scrums will be detailed below in Set Pieces.
Set Pieces
The Lineout - If the ball is played out of touch and off the field a lineout is awarded against the team that last touched the ball (the exception being if the ball was kicked out directly from a penalty, in which case the kicking team is awarded the lineout). Forwards from both sides line up at a right angle to the touch line with a metre gap between the opposing lines. A player from the side granted the lineout will throw the ball up in the air through the gap between the opposing lines and back into play. Players from both lines will jump in the air attempting to catch the ball, and then offload it to their waiting backs. Players can be lifted by their teammates in order to help them catch the ball, once the ball is caught the lucky player cannot be tackled until his feet are firmly back on the ground.
The Scrum - Ah the most recognisable aspect of Rugby apart from the ball itself, where grown men hunker down, grab each other by the shorts (amongst other things), and poke each other in the eye.
A scrum is awarded typically following a knock on (an accidental dropping of the ball forward), a forward pass, following an offside decision, or if the referee deems it impossible for the ball to be played out from a ruck or a maul. The side who have been deemed to have been infringed against are granted the 'put in' which effectively gives them control of the scrum. The scrum was invented to create a safer and fairer way to determine possession. Though certainly safer than a prolonged ruck or uncontrolled maul, a scrum itself still quite rough (as I can attest from my own playing days), and at amateur level there have been a number of cases over the years of broken necks resulting from improperly set scrums.
In setting a scrum each side provides eight of their forwards, who line up in three distinct rows. The front row consists of three of the shorter but heavier set forwards with two Prop Forwards bracing on either side of the Hooker. The Hooker has a crucial role and is expected to hook the ball with his leg towards the back of the scrum once it has been put in by the Scrum Half (a back, and the only one directly involved with the Scrum).
The second row of the scrum is comprised of two Lock Forwards (these are the largest of the forwards and are often the ones jumping in the lineout) in the middle, and two Flankers (the most mobile of the forwards, expected to be able to run, tackle, and pass equally well) one on either end of the row. This is the engine room of the scrum, providing most of the drive.
In the back row on his or her own, directly behind the locks, stands the No.8. The No.8 is the link between Forwards and Backs and will look to receive the ball as it is hacked back through the scrum from the Hooker, before peeling away from the rear of the second row and off loading the ball to one of the backs (usually either the Fly Half or the Scrum Half).
If one side is weaker than the other, or if the side is not sufficiently skilled in scrummage, then the scrum may collapse with a penalty usually being awarded against the offending side.
If the attacking side is significantly stronger than the other it may be able to drive the scrum forward before the ball is released to the backs in a similar manner to the maul. In this way they maybe able to gain significant territory or even drive for the try line before the scrum collapses.
If the defending side is significantly stronger than the other they maybe able to turn the scrum around 180 degrees or more and gain a turnover of the ball before the scrum collapses.
Defending
Actually we covered a lot regarding defending as we've gone through the basics and the attacking portions of this piece.The main aim of a defending side is to cause what are known as Breakdowns either by contesting possession at rucks and maul, or by tackling a ball carrying player. Here we will concentrate on the two aspects of defensive work which I believe make up good defence, Tackling, and Discipline.
Tackling
Tackling, as mentioned before, is what essentially makes Rugby a full contact sport. Only a player carrying the ball may be tackled, taking an opponent out off of the ball is, needless to say, an offence.
To tackle an opponent a player must bring said opponent to the ground whilst holding them using only the arms. Use of the legs or feet to tackle is prohibited, as are shoulder charges and leading with the forearm.
A player cannot be tackled above the shoulders as this is considered dangerous play, similarly a 'spear tackle' where the ball carrier is lifted off of his feet and dumped back down onto his head, neck, or back.
A well timed tackle however can halt an attack in it's tracks and alter the momentum of an attack.
Rugby is often a war of attrition and making timely, legal tackles, can wear an opposition attack down overtime.
Bad tackling however can result in injury to the opposition and immediate penalties against the defending side.
Discipline
Discipline is a key skill in Rugby defence. A strong defence can help you prevent the opposition score tries against you, however if you are constantly giving away penalties in your own half, you may well suffer death by a thousand kicks as your opponent puts penalty kick after penalty kick through your goal posts.
The best defensive sides are those that are strong and patient. With the adrenaline flowing amongst the din of battle it's easy to get carried away and commit a high tackle, or to try to grab the ball off the opposition from an off-side position, but controlling those tendencies under pressure is a common feature of the great sides.
So what are the sanctions that an undisciplined side risks?
Penalties - we've already said a fair bit about these. Penalties can be given for dangerous play but are most often given for technical indiscretions, such as being offside (crossing the invisible 'gain line' between the two sides), collapsing the scrum, not releasing the ball on the floor, preventing an opponent from releasing the ball on the floor and so on.
Yellow Card - dangerous play such as a high tackle above the shoulder is usually rewarded with a yellow card for the offending player, who then has to spend ten minutes off the pitch sitting on the sidelines in what is known as the 'Sin Bin'. Being a player down for ten minutes can really disadvantage a team, and in a close game this disadvantage could make all the difference.
Red Card - if being down a player down for ten minutes is a disadvantage, imagine the uphill task created by being a player down for the rest of the match. This is the situation Wales found themselves in the 2011 World Cup Semi-Final versus France. Coming into the game in excellent form Wales had an excellent chance to make the Final for the first time. However with the first half barely eighteen minutes old, the Welsh Captain (and arguably star player) was sent off for a 'spear tackle' on French Winger (Back) Vincent Clerc. The Welsh fought hard with only fourteen men for the rest of the match and lost narrowly by a single point, missing with a penalty in the final seconds. The loss was even harder to take when France themselves only lost narrowly by a single point to favourites New Zealand in the Final. A sense that poor discipline had cost Wales its best shot at the World Cup was hard to shake.
3. The World Cup.
Finally then some notes on the World Cup to round off what has become something of an essay.
Unlike the Football World Cup which dates back to the 1930s, the first Rugby World Cup took place as recently as 1987.
-played every four years, always in an odd year.
-administered by World Rugby, the international governing body for the game.
-first tournament took place in 1987, held jointly by New Zealand and Australia, with New Zealand beating France 29-9 in the inaugural final.
-New Zealand have won the title three times to date, Australia and South Africa twice apiece, with England the sole winners from the Northern Hemisphere after winning the 2003 edition in Australia (they triumphed against the hosts themselves in a final won by a drop goal scored with just 20 seconds left on the clock - brilliant I hate to admit).
- France, poor old France, have been the beaten finalists on three separate occasions, with Australia and England also losing two apiece (but at least they also won).
-The current holders are New Zealand after beating Australia 34-17 in the 2015 final.
-This year's edition began on the 20th September with the final scheduled for the 2nd November.
-Twenty teams are taking part, split into four groups (or pools) of five teams each. The teams will play one match against each of the other sides within it's pool. The top two teams of each pool after the group matches are completed will face off in the quarter finals.
Going into this year's tournament it looks too close to call, three times winners New Zealand can never be ruled out and look in imperious form in the group stage.
Ireland were the top ranked side in the World (according to World Rugby's point system), but lost in the group stages to hosts Japan.
Wales previously were the top ranked side following a run of nineteen consecutive victories spanning eighteen months, but lost a couple of warm up games prior to the World Cup and are notoriously prone to injuries at World Cups.
England look strong going into the tournament, and like Ireland and Wales, posses a potent mix of sparkling offence and resolute defence - however they are prone to lapses of concentration.
Likewise Australia look incisive when attacking, but are prone to indiscipline particularly when it come to high tackles.
France can be amazing one minute with dazzling attacking play seemingly blowing their opponents away before suffering a crisis of confidence and letting the same opposition claw their way right back into the game.
It's basically to close to call, which should make it the best tournament yet, but don't rule the hosts out - they narrowly failed to make it out of the group stage last time, and have just beaten Ireland in the group stage...could be a major shock this time around!
FIN
Recommended other reading>
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2003/oct/06/rugbyworldcup2003.rugbyunion6
[i] Yes, Rugby is played by Women too, has been for many years, and they’re pretty darn good too. I just didn’t want to mess up the narrative flow of the paragraph, I was on a roll. Forgive me.
[ii] Those Victorians were very literal, weren’t they? For example, the Football Association plays Association Football, where’s the imagination? Why not Grassball, or Flashball or something?
[iii]Explain the Haka man, well here it is in all it's glory..
[iv] Association Football (Soccer) is also a full contact sport, however I wonder how Rivaldo who once collapsed in agony after being hit in the thigh by a (shock! horror!) football would cope with being tackled by Sebastien Chabal for example?