I never try and argue here that Blue isnt in a better position to do the comparison between the two countries, I know sweet nothing about the Aus situation but I can promise you I know a lot about the SA one. Have a passion for our schoolboy lot and was refer to his qoute that our kids dont have choises.Spook said:PaarlBok said:Dont agree, even from my own school days we use to have rugby, cricket and what Scarf called olympics sports, athletics in nearly all our schools.Blue said:The 6 year olds here have waaayyyy more choice than their counterparts in SA. In a lot of cases kids end up playing rugby or soccer in SA because there are no other choices.
I would suggest Blue is in a better position to judge.
Ja would have total agreed with Scarf if he used poofball.Blue said:Scarfman said:Well .... I'm just playing devil's advocate here, mostly, but I imagine that rugby has the higest economic demand, but perhaps not the highest social demand. Maybe the majority population would appreciate some development of sports they might be more interested in. Rugby is deeply rooted in their psyche, but maybe not for good reasons.
On the other hand, if the ANC see rugby as the appropriate vehicle for the sporting development of their constituents, then I've got no problem with it.
Soccer. Huge sport. Richest league in Africa. Frightfully corrupt. May I remind you we are in Africa.
Rugby is still mainly a white sport. Can't imagine it uses too much iro government funding. The money that should go into developing other sports is not being used by rugby. Probably used to fly first class and buy new german luxury vehicles and send gifts to Bob Mugabe.
Scarfman said:GDP per capita:
14. Australia
70. Kazakhstan
80. South Africa
Fair enough. Also, if rugby is funded by fans, then doubly fair enough.
PaarlBok said:I never try and argue here that Blue isnt in a better position to do the comparison between the two countries, I know sweet nothing about the Aus situation but I can promise you I know a lot about the SA one. Have a passion for our schoolboy lot and was refer to his qoute that our kids dont have choises.Spook said:PaarlBok said:Dont agree, even from my own school days we use to have rugby, cricket and what Scarf called olympics sports, athletics in nearly all our schools.Blue said:The 6 year olds here have waaayyyy more choice than their counterparts in SA. In a lot of cases kids end up playing rugby or soccer in SA because there are no other choices.
I would suggest Blue is in a better position to judge.
Its not about your balls is bigger then mine so I suggest that if you cant contribute positives to rather stay ouit of the conversation.
Go back three spaces and look in the bolded part, Cyc. I never went away but try my very best to ignore the net on weekends. :lmao:cyclopath said:PaarlBok said:I never try and argue here that Blue isnt in a better position to do the comparison between the two countries, I know sweet nothing about the Aus situation but I can promise you I know a lot about the SA one. Have a passion for our schoolboy lot and was refer to his qoute that our kids dont have choises.Spook said:PaarlBok said:Dont agree, even from my own school days we use to have rugby, cricket and what Scarf called olympics sports, athletics in nearly all our schools.Blue said:The 6 year olds here have waaayyyy more choice than their counterparts in SA. In a lot of cases kids end up playing rugby or soccer in SA because there are no other choices.
I would suggest Blue is in a better position to judge.
Its not about your balls is bigger then mine so I suggest that if you cant contribute positives to rather stay ouit of the conversation.
PB, Blue said they have MORE choices here, not that they have NO choices in SA. I am just trying to keep you on the path of goodness here - it was boring when you went away!!
OK I rephrase:Blue said:The 6 year olds here have waaayyyy more choice than their counterparts in SA. In a lot of cases kids end up playing rugby or soccer in SA because there are no other choices.
Thats more like it.Blue said:OK I rephrase:Blue said:The 6 year olds here have waaayyyy more choice than their counterparts in SA. In a lot of cases kids end up playing rugby or soccer in SA because there are no other choices.
Limited choices if you are not privileged to be in a private school or if you are in a public school that gets cash injections from rich parents.
Waugh fears new tackle law interpretation is turning rugby into league RUPERT GUINNESS
CAPE TOWN: Waratahs captain Phil Waugh is concerned the new law interpretations by referees in the tackle have gone from one extreme to the other by excessively favouring the attacking team.
He fears that unless interpretations favour defence and attack on a 50-50 basis, contests in the game will be lost. The aim of the new interpretations is to free up the breakdown in favour of attacking rugby.
By enforcing the laws strictly, defending teams are more liable to be punished for slowing the ball down by lying over it or failing to release the tackled player. That, it is hoped, will make for a more entertaining spectacle.
Waugh suspects that with the way the interpretations have been so zealously enforced in the first two rounds of the Super 14 - where a number of players have been penalised for not rolling away in the tackle - the game runs the risk of losing trademark combativeness at the breakdown.
''The beauty of rugby union is the contest - and the contest within the contest - and the battles of the breakdown,'' Waugh, the NSW openside breakaway, said after the Waratahs' loss to the Stormers at Newlands on Saturday (early Sunday, Sydney time).
''We have to be careful that we don't get too caught up on the defensive side, only watching the defensive side [for illegal play]. At the moment, passive ball carries are getting rewarded, [and] dominant tackles aren't getting rewarded.
''I think in the game itself that we [should] reward dominant tackles, and perhaps that's not happening at the moment.
''But as the laws are applied and the competition goes on, I think that contest will become more equal.''
Waugh was clearly frustrated during the Waratahs' loss to the Stormers. He was penalised on several occasions by New Zealand referee Keith Brown, who awarded 24 penalties in the match.
On at least one occasion it appeared Waugh was unfairly pinged - late in the first half when NSW were 10-3 down, and the Stormers kicked the penalty to go 13-3 up.
He was penalised for not releasing in the tackle, but it was five-eighth Berrick Barnes who was the principal tackler. Waugh assisted in the tackle, but was on his feet for the ball. At half-time, he spent most of the walk back to the locker rooms talking with Brown.
''Passive ball carry isolated in front of our posts … We turn the ball over and it's three points to them. It's frustrating, I suppose, because it's one of the great contests of the game,'' he said, adding that he was not criticising Brown, but simply frustrated by the law's interpretation.
''The last thing you want is for the game to end up like rugby league where no one contests the ball. It seems players are getting smashed for someone with a passive ball carry. It's [about being] legitimately on their feet, release the player, have a crack. The focus … seems to be on the defensive team.''