Rugby Union World Cup 2003

woo! i've not really been thinking about it but give me a week and i'll be taking a fair bit more interest i think. my only current musings so far are that the focus and pressure on England as favourites and probably the best team in it may somehow be their undoing as can be the case. Maybe they peaked too soon when they beat Australia and New Zealand earlier this year? I have no idea, but I will be plesantly surprised if they do win it (beating Australia or NZ in the final surely).

I'm not a close follower but the general noise down here is that Australia aren't within a bulls roar of their 1999 standard and will be lucky to get through to the quarters.

NZ for certain.

someone in my office just said that nigeria are playing rumania in tasmania, and since v.few actual real local (non-rockist) fans of either team can make it, tasmania have designated odd-numbered b/dayed tasmanians as temporary nigerian fans, even-numbered ditto as ditto rumanian ditto

is this true? (if so, hurrah obv) (esp.if there is POST-MODERN CROWD TROUBLE!!)

Mark:

Unbelievably, correct as reported.

haha i am now rugby's no.1 fan of all time

Who won the cup in 1987, and who was runner up?

NZ won, France were runners up.

go the all blacks!

Mark

Its actually Namibia who are playing Romania in Tassy, but you are right about the odds & evens thing. Reports are that the game is almost a sell out.

mmmmmmmmm, rugby. i'm going to stick my neck out and say england should win [NB i am holding on to the largest piece of wood i can find when i say this]. however i fear:

a. some sort of janni de beer (sp?) style freakery like last time (ie 5 drop goals in one game)

b. that playing games at odd local times (8pm kick offs anyone?) will melt their branes

c. MIKE CATT PLAYING, although to be fair, the rest of the england team are so much better now, that the stupidly audacious stuff catt used to try 3 or 4 years ago would be much more likely to come off, back then we used to get the screaming heebie-jeebies every time he got the ball...

d. some drongo from georgia breaks jonnie wilkinson

e. england (and probably the rest of the northern hemisphere teams)being penalised to death for any minor infaction

First on the agenda I want to see Ireland beat Argentina, it'd be nice if O'Driscoll wasn't kept out of the games as consistently as he was in the 6 Nations. Especially since Murphy is injured.