The 2011 RWC had a huge impact on NZ society, I'd like to find out how it impacted people personally, as well as stories of people you know - if anyone has thoughts about it on a larger national or international scale that would also be great. What can England expect to gain from hosting the 2015 RWC, and are there any potential negatives? Thanks in advance - Tim
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The impact a Rugby World Cup has on society
- Thread starter MrG
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For me, RWC2011 will be remembered for the constant setting of alarms and planning what matches to watch. Sometimes there would be a good one on at 10PM, and then Wales at 3AM. Do I watch the 10PM one and then sleep before the Welsh match? What if the 1AM match was a good one as well, should I watch all three? Sacrifices. I made many during that world cup, so good job Draggs.
Furthermore, this spilled over onto other people. Whilst I tried to keep excitement under control, the occasional cheer did escape my being, waking up the roommate. I'd then have to explain what made me so excited, as he mumbled about how he 'doesn't ****ing care about rugby'.
England should therefore stage really boring matches, so that I am not tempted to watch them, and if I do, I will not get over excited. I suggest bringing back the ELVs so that we can get that vintage 2008/09 ping pong going again.
Furthermore, this spilled over onto other people. Whilst I tried to keep excitement under control, the occasional cheer did escape my being, waking up the roommate. I'd then have to explain what made me so excited, as he mumbled about how he 'doesn't ****ing care about rugby'.
England should therefore stage really boring matches, so that I am not tempted to watch them, and if I do, I will not get over excited. I suggest bringing back the ELVs so that we can get that vintage 2008/09 ping pong going again.
Oh god. Add that to the endless resetting of scrums of the last few years and it may just become as boring as cricket.
I think it'd be worth bringing it back, just to hear more of this:
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See, at least when you watch cricket, you know it is going to be slow.
With rugby I want some lads running around and doing some **** at pace (why do I watch Wales?)
That was some classic Brian right there, love it!
With rugby I want some lads running around and doing some **** at pace (why do I watch Wales?)
That was some classic Brian right there, love it!
tenpm
Academy Player
I must confess, I had never watched a single game of rugby before the 2011 World Cup. We got Sky Sport specifically for RWC, I decided to join in the festivities, and I never looked back. 
Draggs if you think that staying up late for a couple of weeks once every 4 years is bad imagine being in my position every weekend staying up till 3 or 4 to watch rugby which isn't always pretty on the other hand I don't have to wake up to watch SH rugby which is good.
Other ways rugby has impacted me I have to say first off is friends most of my closets friends play rugby and it's no coincidence I find it hard not to befriend team mates as our putting your body on the line for one another and when you **** up you've let 14 other people down and even thought you've let them down they'll pick you up.
Other ways rugby has impacted me I have to say first off is friends most of my closets friends play rugby and it's no coincidence I find it hard not to befriend team mates as our putting your body on the line for one another and when you **** up you've let 14 other people down and even thought you've let them down they'll pick you up.
In a strange way I think 2007 had a bigger impact on New Zealand than 2011. I went mental when we won it in 2011 - but I remember in 2007 going even more mental with disappointment, going to school the following morning with everyone looking as if the French just ran over their familly dog. Everyone was morbid, except the 10% who didn't watch rugby who smugly revelled in the 90%'s morbidity, and by doing so adding to it.
In 2011 I arrived three hours early at one of the biggest pubs in New Zealand for the final (after watching every game in the pool stages - thanks the the university pub) and saved three couches next to one of the largest televisions. My mates joined me about an hour before the game. The pub was then filled with people - hundreds more than I've ever seen in a pub and me and my mates were in the front seats with a bunch of hot chicks sitting at our feet for lack of room. It was like an entire building was so in-sync that you could feel each and every cheer and groan as if they were well rehersed. When we finally won, people poured out onto the streets in wild celebration - even those you know probably watch a game only once or so a year. It was a very drunk merry celebration.
In 2011 I arrived three hours early at one of the biggest pubs in New Zealand for the final (after watching every game in the pool stages - thanks the the university pub) and saved three couches next to one of the largest televisions. My mates joined me about an hour before the game. The pub was then filled with people - hundreds more than I've ever seen in a pub and me and my mates were in the front seats with a bunch of hot chicks sitting at our feet for lack of room. It was like an entire building was so in-sync that you could feel each and every cheer and groan as if they were well rehersed. When we finally won, people poured out onto the streets in wild celebration - even those you know probably watch a game only once or so a year. It was a very drunk merry celebration.
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InsaneAsylum
First XV
For a wallabies fan like myself, the disappointment of losing to Ireland. We were outplayed and Ireland deserved that win but that wasn't how the script was supposed to go, we were supposed to top our pool. The redemption was scraping that win against the springboks, Bryce or no Bryce, I thought we could be beat NZ at least for that moment, and then the disappointment of losing badly to NZ with the implosion of cooper rubbing salt into the wound.
i then watched the final with my kiwi friends and it was the quietest 80 minutes I've ever experienced, not a word was spoken until Joubert blew the final whistle then there was a lot of noise, for a while
i then watched the final with my kiwi friends and it was the quietest 80 minutes I've ever experienced, not a word was spoken until Joubert blew the final whistle then there was a lot of noise, for a while
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Watching every single match was a bit bonkers, watching some matches in school, the whole hysteria after the Australia and then the mind numbing heartbreak after the Wales match. It's ingrained on the memory.
Canadian_Rugger
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The 2011 World Cup for me was a major turning point for Canadian rugby. The win against Tonga was huge and the fact that we showed up and competed every game gave me very big hopes for the future. Considering how bad the 2007 World Cup was for us 2011 was like a breath of fresh air. Every game was also televised in Canada which was a major step and the national mens team also drew god viewing numbers for all their games. I believe we pulled 500,000 for the game against France. The media was covering it and Canadians really began to identify with our players, especially the "beardos"!
I actually think 2011 was the turning point in Canada's rugby history and was the official end of the doom and gloom of the early 2000's which was a historic low for the sport in the country.
I have such found memories of 2011 world cup I remember streaming some games in school during the last period or immediately after in the boarding house and then on the weekend we went to the same friends house everyw eek and at half time we'd go outside and play touch.
My memories are very sad to be honest. England were rubbish, the behaviour of the players was poor and Johnsons selection/leadership was hugely disappointing. What made it worse was the football baised press wasted no time in getting stuck into Rugby Union with real venom and hate, remember listerning to Talksport at 4pm with allen and gough and Allen was was really really sticking the knife in I knew he hated Union but didnt realise to what extent.On the plus side the RFU refused to panic and appointed a good coaching team who have so far done the right things, something Johnson, Ford and the rest of that shambles couldnt manage.
Big Ewis
Hall of Fame
Well it's what officially made me a Rugby fan. Simply.
I knew about the Wallabies, Boks, All Blacks...some french players throughout the years...some basic rules...guys like Wilko and Moody, Paul O'Connell, O'gara, BOD, Parisse, etc...and I'd watched some RWC and 6N matches til that point, coz my dad was a huge fan, but I was really an NBA fan. Knew about Toulouse and stuff...
I wasn't even aware it was the RWC, I log onto the news and see it's up. So I watched everything my TV showed, all of France's pool games etc...and for some reason I picked it up big at that moment. By coincidence, France went on to the Final, as if just for me in my little world so to speak.
A RWC is a gigantic promotion of the sport, no doubt. It's not just ppl saying this, it's a concrete reality.
There's the thrill of nations fighting it out (I wasn't interested in clubs until a few months after the 2011 RWC...), what's at stake in any World Cup of course - and you can take the time to inspect every part of the game all the same while. And the more you understand, the more you can enjoy, the more you want to watch, etc...it's a virtuous circle, and loyal fans are born.
Needless to say the 2012 6N, my first as officially a fan, was a GIGANTIC disappointment !
I knew about the Wallabies, Boks, All Blacks...some french players throughout the years...some basic rules...guys like Wilko and Moody, Paul O'Connell, O'gara, BOD, Parisse, etc...and I'd watched some RWC and 6N matches til that point, coz my dad was a huge fan, but I was really an NBA fan. Knew about Toulouse and stuff...
I wasn't even aware it was the RWC, I log onto the news and see it's up. So I watched everything my TV showed, all of France's pool games etc...and for some reason I picked it up big at that moment. By coincidence, France went on to the Final, as if just for me in my little world so to speak.
A RWC is a gigantic promotion of the sport, no doubt. It's not just ppl saying this, it's a concrete reality.
There's the thrill of nations fighting it out (I wasn't interested in clubs until a few months after the 2011 RWC...), what's at stake in any World Cup of course - and you can take the time to inspect every part of the game all the same while. And the more you understand, the more you can enjoy, the more you want to watch, etc...it's a virtuous circle, and loyal fans are born.
Needless to say the 2012 6N, my first as officially a fan, was a GIGANTIC disappointment !
yarmolinsky
Academy Player
Huh. Same here =)) The first Rugby game I've watched in my life was NZ-France final game. I fell in love. Totally. I've got 200 GB HD collection of all the RWC 2011 games and watched them all. And then rewatched. And then I realized there are 6 nations and Championship. Life is good ))
Big Ewis
Hall of Fame
That's...........excuse me......some DAMN GOOD coffee. : DD
Yeh Rugby's always been there in my life, but it was more of my crazy dad's thing more than anything...he used to make a one-on-one scrum with me in the garden and pretended like I was pushing him back when I was a tiny kid. XD
HEY GUYS:
Best match of that Cup, 2 years later ??
I'd say the final, because of France's performance...but besides that (and beating England : p ) I'd say DEFINITELY NOT FRANCE WALES, NO !...FRA..N...WAAALES !! 14 MEN !!!!! - 1PT VIC......VICTORRRY...!!
wow...sorry, got a bit carried away there....post traumatic disorder is all...
As I was saying...ahem. Another good match was FRANCE TONGA, AHH G?! NOOOO !! POoLs ! HOW ?! FR....NG....A TONGA !!??! *heavy breathing, rhythmic eye twitching*
...
*deep sigh*
I liked....NZ ARG. Score doesn't do the match justice.
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I didn't actually watch the final. It was too early and when I woke up for it I realised I wanted sleep more than seeing the ABs win the cup.
yarmolinsky
Academy Player
Namibia - Fiji =))))
There's a game I would call encyclopedic - RSA vs Samoa. That was increadible!
There's a game I would call encyclopedic - RSA vs Samoa. That was increadible!
I drove all night in order to return to Bucharest in time to watch Romania vs Scotland at the RWC, even though few people believed Romania could win. I was in a pub with my father and some friends, it was packed with people that stayed awake until 5 AM for the match. The Scots started strong, there seemed to be no hope. But then Romania started to play better and better, the forwards were destroying the Scottish scrum and pushing them hard in the loose. 10 minutes before the end of the match Daniel Carpo scored a try that put Romania in the lead and the neigbours were wondering why are people screaming so early in the morning. We lost in the end, but it was a night I will never forget.
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No social impact for me really, but a rugby impact, definitely. The first chance for me to see a live RWC match in NZ in 24 years. We got three games in our back yard (Italy v USA, Italy v Russia and Australia v Russia)
It was my first and only chance to see Italy play live; rather than just watching on TV. You get a much better sense of the game when you can see the whole ground.
It was while I was watching those games that I came to realise just what an outstanding player Sergio Parisse is.
It was my first and only chance to see Italy play live; rather than just watching on TV. You get a much better sense of the game when you can see the whole ground.
It was while I was watching those games that I came to realise just what an outstanding player Sergio Parisse is.
LittleGuy
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The 2011 World Cup for me was a major turning point for Canadian rugby. The win against Tonga was huge and the fact that we showed up and competed every game gave me very big hopes for the future. Considering how bad the 2007 World Cup was for us 2011 was like a breath of fresh air. Every game was also televised in Canada which was a major step and the national mens team also drew god viewing numbers for all their games. I believe we pulled 500,000 for the game against France. The media was covering it and Canadians really began to identify with our players, especially the "beardos"!
I actually think 2011 was the turning point in Canada's rugby history and was the official end of the doom and gloom of the early 2000's which was a historic low for the sport in the country.
Perfectly said.
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