Speaking as someone who has overcome his privileged upbringing

and embarced what has become the proletarian game, I find it sad to see all this class envy this morning.

Rugby is a f**king good game, end of. Like top football it requires mega-fitness, though unlike football it also caters for varying body types, so you get broad-chested bastards who can bench press 300lbs as well as the skinny whippet types. The fact that there are two different types of players (muscly forwards and speedy backs) doing two very different jobs mean you get great variety of skills on display - not only sprinting and throwing the ball around, but also fixed bayonet close range scrapping. The tactics are infinitely variable (whoever said the contrary below just doesn't know anything about the game at all, sorry).

I think the thing I like most about rugby is the honesty of the players about fouls. There is no diving in rugby, basically. OK there are a few notorious exceptions (Colin Meads diving out of the line-out for NZ against Wales in the 70s to get a penalty to win the match spring to mind) but you just don't get the routine, day in, day out, diving and whinging and faking and complaining and trying to get the other bloke booked or sent off that happens all the bloody time in football. I think it's part of the macho culture - they spend all their time trying to pretend they AREN'T hurt, rather than pretending that they ARE hurt. So you just don't get lilttle tossers like Cristiano Ronaldo.

And I like the fact that there is no swearing at the ref or abusing him for his decision or trying to get him to change his mind. Anyone doing what Rooney does every single match without penalty would be sent off and probably get a 3-5 match ban as well. This could be related to the 10 metre penalty for disputing the decision. Remember the 2003 final? When that tosser of a South African ref gave the Ozzies a kickable penalty for no discernable reason with only a minute to go? In football there would have been chaos while players swarmed round him, shouted and swore at him, spat at him, etc etc. In the rugby, Martin Johnson lifted an eyebrow (well, his only eybrow) and retreated 10 metres. Fantastic.

Oh, and no-one wears poncy poofy boots.

I love football too. But rugby is a really, really good game.

Posted By: Old Git on September 6th 2007 at 10:53:44

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