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RWC 2011 - Odd shaped balls

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Sully

Tim Horan (67)
Staff member
Day 2

Wow what a start. The first five games have really set the comp alight! Teams that were easy beats in past comps have stepped up. I know I was screaming my head off for Romania and willing the Argies on to beat the old enemy. Japan look good fiji look like they can cause an upset. I think the gap between the top countries and the rest may have closed up a bit.
Which players have stood out for you guys? The Romanian skipper Marius Tincu is one that comes to mind. Which team can cause an upset? Got to say romania and the Argies or Samoa over South Africa.
 

light

Peter Fenwicke (45)
Tomorrow will be a real indication of how much the gap between the top nations and minnows have closed. Australia v Italy is shaping up as a very good match which will determine the top 2 spots in the group. For mine, England, Argentina, France and Scotland have certainly dropped off, that combined with the improvement of Japan, Romania, Namibia, Fiji and to an extent the Tongans has the game in good stead going forward. Wether or not these teams can be competitive against the likes of the Wallabies, All Blacks and Springboks remain to be seen, personally I still don't think the quality in the minnows is there, just the previously 'good' sides such as those I first mentioned have slightly dropped off, disappointing to see but not all that surprising as they have had limited time together particularly Argentina. By 'quality' not being there I am not implying that these sides are not good but I don't think they are individually well matched-up against other sides, they are improving as teams and being competitive (although some scorelines may not look like it) which is what we want to see.

We will see a lot of upsets this tournament but there won't be any surprise progressions out of the group stages. All in all, it is good to see the improvements of nations such as Japan and Romania, they are fun to watch and pack an element of surprise which should act as a caution to the big nations that we cannot be complacent when versing them.

If France and England are any indication of the best the northern hemisphere has, Bill is certainly staying down south. I'm hoping Ireland, Italy and Wales fly the NH flag tomorrow and we see a vast improvement in England and France in the following games.

I thought the Japanese 10 was a real star (funnily enough the Kiwi's let him slip), Tincu as you say was also brilliant as was the Romanian pack in general, the Fijian winger will also be on some big bucks post-world cup and many of his colleagues including #12/13 Bai, Tongan blindside flanker #6 and Tuimalolo (Spelling?) who came on as a replacement also impressed.

NZ still the team to beat, let's see what the Wallabies and Boks can provide.
 

#1 Tah

Chilla Wilson (44)
[video]http://www.foxsports.com.au/Rugby/terrible-kick-at-rwc/video-e6frf4pu-1226133688628?subcat=1111112039937&site=FoxSports[/video]

Chris Patterson thinks he is playing soccer.

Love the ref's jab after the kick.

"How long have you done this for?"
 

matty_k

Peter Johnson (47)
South African couple can't find their hotel.

http://www.3news.co.nz/South-Africa...orld/tabid/1534/articleID/225538/Default.aspx
A South African couple's frustrating search for a Wellington hotel with their GPS turned to embarrassment when they discovered they had actually booked an English hotel 19,000km away.
Michael and Sunette Adendorff were driving in circles around the suburb of Eastbourne because their GPS could not find their hotel.
They stopped to ask local Linda Burke where the Majestic Hotel on Royal Parade was. She told them there are no hotels in Wellington's Eastbourne, the Dominion Post reported.
Ms Burke put the couple up for the night at her house and took them to watch the opening game of the Rugby World Cup. There they got a lot of ribbing about their mistake.
Mr Adendorff was at a loss as to how he could make such a massive geographical error.
However, despite not getting a refund from the English hotel - they were about $360 out of pocket - Mr Adendorff wasn't too unhappy with the blunder.
"The welcome and the way we were treated and the way we saw Eastbourne was much better than if we had booked into a hotel," he said.
NZN
 

BarneySF

Bob Loudon (25)
TPN Goofy Photo Shoots

hookers-in-battle-for-team-spots-20101113-17ryd.html
Is it just me or is TPN going for the same farking dopey expression (thumbs up/wacky Darryl Somers facial expression) in every photo opp he gets? Apologies if this is part of some Twitter campaign of his or the like.
 
B

BRIX

Guest
As fickle as it may seem it shits me too - he does it in every fan photo I've seen him in.
It's gotten a bit old now, perhaps it's time to move on...
 

Brumbies Guy

John Solomon (38)
As fickle as it may seem it shits me too - he does it in every fan photo I've seen him in.
It's gotten a bit old now, perhaps it's time to move on...

If I was a fan getting a photo with him, I know I'd prefer to get something a bit more fun like that rather than him doing a lifeless statue impersonation. He's obviously got some personality to him which is what you want.
 

Braveheart81

Will Genia (78)
Staff member
What I want to know is why all the Wallabies contingent got to sit in the front row except for Ma'afu.

Maybe they took the photo just before lunch and they wanted to give the other players a fighting chance to get there before Ma'afood ate everything.
 

Lee Grant

John Eales (66)
This from Stuff

Stuff Top 10 ways of not saying Rugby World Cup



They're the forbidden words - unless you're an official sponsor, of course.

While the Rugby World Cup is the event for companies to be associated with, those words - and a one page list of anything else that can't be associated either - are off-limits for commercial use.

Rugby World Cup, World Cup 2011, RWC, World in Union, Rugby New Zealand 2011, Total Rugby, Webb Ellis Cup and IRB - they are all banned words for anyone bar official sponsors when it comes to brand association.


However there are plenty of companies who have come up with clever ways to get around the words, associating themselves with the All Blacks and the biggest sporting event in New Zealand's history - without directly doing so.

To celebrate their ingenuity here is Stuff's Top 10 list of companies pushing the RWC limits.

TOP 10 LIST:

1.) Sky are the official broadcasters for the Rugby World Cup, but TV3 and its sister-channel Four have come up with creative ways to associate themselves with the event.

TV3's Cup Talk is promoted as the show that discusses "all things Cup", while Four is advertising itself as "the home of not rugby", which in effect is still associated with the event because you know they're talking about the tournament.

2.) KFC recently got people talking when it painted its Balmoral store in Auckland black, but has insisted it's simply to promote a new variety of Mountain Dew called Pitch Black - though the store is just blocks away from Eden Park, the main stadium for the event.

3.) Speaking of fastfood, burger joint Wendy's is advertising a "Rugby Burger" made with a beef patty, fried egg, beetroot and bacon. It's also being served with pavlova, a hokey-pokey shake and sweet potato fries.

There are plenty of other tasty RWC-related goodies that avoid those magic words, including Abe's ball-shaped bagels, which the company claims "there's nothing leathery about". But for creativity you can't beat NZ Rugby Shorts, Nelson-made shortbread in the shape of rugby balls.

4.) Air New Zealand has again proven its creativity in the advertising stakes with its Grab-A-Seat promotion "World Trophy of Fun" - a clear reference to the RWC, with images of grandstands and goalposts used.

The airline has also offered reduced airfares across the Tasman "for those who prefer across the ditch to the rugby pitch".

5.) Comedian Raybon Kan has created "Ruby Wold Cop" and the "Global Oval Ball Trophy" mugs to highlight the curtailing of free speech created by the strict sponsorships rules.

Anyone who wants a slice of his political poetry can purchase the mugs online at raybonkan.com or on Trade Me. However, Kan says: "I don't want anyone to think I'm cashing in on the Rugby World Cup. Those words, as such, do not appear on the mugs."

6.) Small store cheekiness. There are plenty of establishments that are getting in on the act whether it be with clever displays or fun promotions. For creativity you can't beat Hummingbird's art installation in Courtenay Place, Wellington. The restaurant has put a colourful rugby sculpture on its balcony roof showcasing the bar as the equivalent of Auckland's Party Central.

Wellington pedestrians may have also noticed stripbar Dreamgirls has pushed the boundaries advertising itself as the "unofficial World Cup nudey bar".

7.) We can't help but admire Weet-Bix for its All Black handbook, which carefully avoids the sacred words. As an official All Blacks sponsor, the booklet is chock-full of team stats and is entirely within the boundaries.

However, it's no co-incidence that it's come out during Rugby World Cup year and includes the match schedule. Those words aren't uttered, though. The booklet lists the All Blacks pool games against Tonga, Japan, France and Canada, but not once mentions they're Rugby World Cup matches.

8.) Radio isn't immune to the rules either. Radio Sport in particular has rallied with a series of ads which make clear they're referring to the Rugby World Cup without mentioning it. This includes an advert for Auckland pub the Spitting Feathers which says: "It's the best place to watch tournaments which cannot be mentioned."

It has also run adverts for Dick Smith in which it says the electronics merchandiser's televisions are made to watch "that big thing that we'd get sued for mentioning".

9.) Fed-up business owners have set up a Facebook page in an attempt to make a point while advertising their RWC events. Called the International Tournament of the Odd-Shaped Ball the site's creators say you can avoid fines by promoting "your pub and bars' events during the International Tournament of the Odd-Shaped Ball! And for free!

"We don't need RWC getting uppity - we can do this all ourselves," it says.

10.) Steinlager hasn't let the fact Heineken is the official tournament beer get in the way. It has brought back its 1987 white can, so fans can relive the year New Zealand won the RWC. An associated ad campaign features Kiwi fans watching the rugby and plenty of shouts saying: "Come on Black".

***************

No better thread than this one to put odd-shaped balls stories in, methinks.
 
B

BRIX

Guest
If I was a fan getting a photo with him, I know I'd prefer to get something a bit more fun like that rather than him doing a lifeless statue impersonation. He's obviously got some personality to him which is what you want.

Fine with me BG, I'd personally prefer the devil-finger-horns though he he
 
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