The Orc has spoken: Saffas are dirty cheating cvnts!

[Refabit]

My young son asked me last night "Is rugby or NRL more popular in Australia?" When I told him NRL (league) by a mile he just kept saying "But why Dad?"
Bless him.

Unfortunately he's the minority and rugby in this country is desined for stagnation and stiff competition from NRL, Aussie Rules & soccer.

 

[cyclopath]

My 8 yo to this point shows no interest in rugby, but I don't push him. He's big enough - 140 cm and about 37kg - but he hasn't developed a sense of wanting to use that size. He's pretty gentle. Who knows? I wouldn't discourage it, but I accept he just might not be as sports mad as his dad.
Scarfy, netball is the devil's work, and I thoroughly agree!! :lmao:

PB - just as we in Oz may not "get" all things about SA at times, you really need to live here to get the place that rugby sits. And it does matter. It will never be on the same level as league and AFL in my opinion, so we gotta fight for every 1%. And so the attractiveness of the product to non-fans matters - they're the ones we need. I can understand the rest of the world not being particularly bothered by that too!

 

[Biffo]

OK I understand fully. Myself think the biggest problem is that rugby isnt a school sport in Aus, like in SA. Hope I understood correct and feel free to help me with this one.

Ummm, PB, the second sentence disproves the first and invalidates your hope in the third sentence.

 

[Scarfman]

Hands up everyone who wants Biffo to stop correcting people.

 

[Blue]

Myself think the biggest problem is that rugby isnt a school sport in Aus, like in SA.

It is, but only in certain areas and with a higher concentration in private schools (I stand to be corrected).

That is unlikely to ever change. From what I understand, the trick is to keep the rugby kids who come out of school in the game but there are other people here who are qualified to elaborate.

 

[Scarfman]

Rugby is not as concentrated in GPS schools as GPS schools would like to think.

 

[Lindommer]

Rugby has always been reasonably strong in the more established government schools in Sydney, say those east of a vertical line going through Parramatta. The great unwashed west of this line play league almost exclusively. And the systemic Catholic schools have always played league. The recent poor behaviour by some league role models has put this fertile ground at risk as some of the Catholic hierarchy have taken offence and don't want their charges to be involved in such a sport; St Greg's Campbelltown, for instance, entered a formal rugby competition in the ISA in 2009. The independent Catholic schools have always played rugby.

The one bright area for rugby in New South Wales is the country: league is in deep trouble with many schools, government and Catholic and non-Catholic independent schools having a go at rugby the last few years, many for the first time. I check the fine print in the sports results of most of the daily papers (well, the rugby results) and I'm amazed how many country secondary schools now play rugby. Two examples: my home town of Wagga Wagga (aka the sporting capital of the western world) has three government high schools and one independent (which is Anglican) and two systemic Catholic schools. League used to be very strong in Wagga, in fact the only football code played some 20 years ago, but no high school now plays league; they all play rugby and/or AFL and some soccer. The other example is Newcastle, a stronghold for league. But the government high schools and some of the systemic Catholic schools now enter a rugby team or two in some of the short district competitions. They would never have done this even ten years ago. Another one which astounded me was Red Bend Catholic College at Forbes, a very successful league school which produced Chris Anderson, among others; they now play rugby as well as league.

If the Australian and/or the New South Wales Rugby Unions could help this momentum rugby wouldn't have any problems in this state.

 

[Aussie D]

If the Australian and/or the New South Wales Rugby Unions could help this momentum rugby wouldn't have any problems in this state.

Wishful thinking there Lindo methinks. I would love to be proven wrong though.

 

[PaarlBok]

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.

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.

Living in Paarl and my kids going to one of the best rugby ones , well they have lots and lots of choises in sport. As rugby mad person I am both my sons pick field hockey in winter and cricket in summer and the oldest played schoolboy provincial and I am pretty sure the young one will follow suite. The big rugby schools in SA will play rugby, field hockey, golf, road running and even chess against each other in winter. A school like Paarl Gym havent produce only Springbok rugby players, they produce them in all the main sports and even Giniel de Villiers in the Dakar Rally and a lot of Bok canoeers. Myself let my sons play as many different sports as they possibly can in Prymary and then settle on one winter and one summer sport. I'll never force them in rugby but I do hell tey and manage them to the sport I love most but it have to be the sport they like.

Now going back to Australia I always been jealous about your cricket. If you want rugby to grow in Aus they have to try and copy crickets example in the their setup from young age. Maybe you lot can tell me more the differense between rugby and cricket structure in Aus. In SA its exactly the same.

 

[cyclopath]

We have tried to explain the difference. Rugby is one of 4 winter sports, and runs about 4th. Cricket is THE summer sport (excluding tennis, which doesn't really compete) with other smaller sports like basketball scattered around. It's simple, Paarl, cricket does not compete much with other sports. Most kids get exposed at a young age. It is a "foundation" sport here, having been around for ages. As an aside, AFL actually arose (in part) as a means for cricketers to keep fit and have something to do in winter, hence it was played on cricket grounds. Cricket also has much deeper pockets, so more money at junior levels and all that.
If a kid doesn't get exposed to rugby early on, they will probably fall into one of the other codes, and it is pretty unlikely they will "switch" (with a few examples to the contrary). Pretty simple really.

 

[Spook]

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.

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.

I would suggest Blue is in a better position to judge.

 

[Scarfman]

Paarl, how come Saffers are unknown in about every sport outside of rugby and cricket? Even in soccer, Australia is ranked 23rd and South Africa 81st. In Beijing, Australia got 14 gold, 15 silver, and 17 bronze. RSA got 1 silver in total.

I'm not (just) bragging, I'm indicating to you that we put much more emphasis on other sports.

 

[Blue]

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.

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.

I would suggest Blue is in a better position to judge.

OK I'll rephrase.

In winter kids in SA play soccer or rugby.

In summer they play cricket, do athelics, or swim (a bit - swimming in SA schools have gone to the shits and I know that first hand - I have a nephew with SA colors in swimming and there was fuck all support from the school system).

Kids here have a lot more choice within their schools or communities. In my kid' school, rowing is huge, they play a lot of basketball, and play volleyball as well. They have the best skiing team in NSW in winter and also an AFL team. They have a rugby team, but its not their biggest sport.

I am not trying to denegrate SA. Just being realistic knowing both environments. There is so much choice here.

Case in point: I met two sixteen year old guys who when I looked at them both though fark, great back rowers or even locks, they must play rugby. I was wrong. They are basketballers and supplement it with swimming. Both have won positions in local state academies next year to attempt a career out of basketball. Kids with their same height in SA are playing rugby, or are damn likely to.

You cannot not compare the sporting system in SA an Australian schools. Maybe a few private schools in SA offer the same variety but they are few and far between.

 

[Blue]

Paarl, how come Saffers are unknown in about every sport outside of rugby and cricket? Even in soccer, Australia is ranked 23rd and South Africa 81st. In Beijing, Australia got 14 gold, 15 silver, and 17 bronze. RSA got 1 silver in total.

I'm not (just) bragging, I'm indicating to you that we put much more emphasis on other sports.

Because sports administration is in the gutter, and funding is poor at most levels. There simply isn't money for "smaller" sports any longer.

By the time a promosing kid gets out of school they are as good as fucked if it's not as pro sport.

SA used to have good hockey, better athletics, better swimming but it's all gone.

Also consider that within the SA socio economic environment, sports fuding is not quite priority. 50% plus unemployment, people dying in poverty etc are kind of more important (although not much is happening to address those issues anyway).

No dissing SA, but that's reality. Apples and pears.

Don't forget that SA is by and large a 3rd world country with some first world (-ish) bits and pieces and an economy that works pretty well that holds it together.

 

[Scarfman]

True Blue.

Although there's quite a few third world countries ahead of them on the medal tally (including Kazakhstan, which managed 2G 4S 7B).

I'd have thought that sport would be a useful thing for the unemployed to have a go at. (Yes, I realise that they are more than unemployed, they are unhoused, unfed). But maybe RSA puts too much emphasis on rugby for the country's good?

(I'm now diverting all power to the defensive force shield).

 

[cyclopath]

It won't be enough, Scarfy. "I'm givin' her all we've got, Cap'n!!"

 

[Blue]

But maybe RSA puts too much emphasis on rugby for the country's good?

Not really. Completely commercial. Supply and demand. The game is deeply rooted in the psyche and there is massive support from school level up.

It's not really a case of money going into rugby and not into other sports. Rugby seems to look after itself.

As for Kazhakstan, seen them pecks when they remove their shorts? Check out Borat.

 

[Scarfman]

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.

 

[Blue]

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.

 

[Scotty]

Hands up everyone who wants Biffo to stop correcting people.

:yay

That is the closest we have to a hands up smiley, smilie or simile