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[2015 RWC] Semi Final 2: Australia vs. Argentina (25/10/2015)

born and lived in Melbourne all my life - AFL used to be so good in the 80's and 90's. I lost interest in the early 2000's when the AFL injected money into interstate teams so they could compete with established Victorian teams. If your Victorian team wasn't one of the 4 or 5 with large member bases, the AFL didn't care about the club's survival, the sport it now too focused on "selling their product" rather than the traditional values of the game. I didn't even get behind Melbourne Storm when the NRL created them, but now that we have the Rebels, I'm happy to finally be able to support a Super Rugby team properly even if they are far from the best team in the comp.
 
Interesting. How is it the NRL is killing the game? Personally I've probably become a bigger fan over the past few years.

I don't mind the AFL - the old man is from WA - but never really can get too into it. As for soccer... it's probably the only game I genuinely dislike. Intrinsically negative as a sport, low contact and Australian soccer fans tend to be insufferable ******s who feel the need tell everyone that they have to call the game "football"

I consider myself a leaguie (even though this was my first year of union in a zillion years) but I'm finding myself watching less and less NRL. I think there needs to be a change. Refs are getting worse as the years go on, there seems to more interest in the scandals these days than actual footy I mean this new story one about the young tigers prop in New York takes the cake. Coaches are lucky to see out half their contracts these days (poor Ivan). We need to bring back the shoulder charge, bring back the biff in S.O.O and ffs we need to get rid if Gus Gould and That prick Ray Hadley I even think it's time to look for Rabs replacement he's getting a bit senile in his old age. On top of all this there is no one running the NRL at the moment, literally NO ONE.
 
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i love football but only played rugby and belong to a rugby family. .. many rugby fans also love football. of
those football teams you named as good example of our underdevelopement, 5 are world champions!!! boca, river, velez racing and independiente. if that is underdevelopement!..

I'm talking about the country's development. If all the big teams are from the same place, that proves that the country hasn't been developed in all regions, a centralized economy where everything happens through the capital city

It is possible to follow more than one football code, just for the record. I follow Rugby League and Union and understand both pretty well as I've played both.

Of course! I know it. I used to be a football/soccer supporter.

I mean, you are someone who had contact with both codes. But I hate people like, I don't know, someone from Adelaide or Melbourne who doesn't know who the **** is David Pocock talking about the code as if he were an expert in the field.
 
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I consider myself a leaguie (even though this was my first year of union in a zillion years) but I'm finding myself watching less and less NRL. I think there needs to be a change. Refs are getting worse as the years go on, there seems to more interest in the scandals these days than actual footy I mean this new story one about the young tigers prop in New York takes the cake. Coaches are lucky to see out half their contracts these days (poor Ivan). We need to bring back the shoulder charge, bring back the biff in S.O.O and ffs we need to get rid if Gus Gould and That prick Ray Hadley I even think it's time to look for Rabs replacement he's getting a bit senile in his old age. On top of all this there is no one running the NRL at the moment, literally NO ONE.

To be fair there has always been scandals as long as I can remember in the NRL, and arguably they used to be worse, and coaching contracts have also always varied from club to club (Roosters are sticking pretty strong with Robinson and Bellamy has been at the Storm for as long as I can remember).

As for the shoulder charge, well that's a sticky legal debate that we just aren't going to win with the NRL. The evidence on head trauma is out and so there's no going back on that one...

Definitely agree with you regarding Ray Hadley. I f##king can't stand that pr#k and have to turn the volume down whenever he commentates. That said, I don't mind Gould, if only because he's incredibly giving of his time to pretty well anyone and is always reasonable.

You're right that there's no one running the NRL, but then there's no NRL for another 5 months, so it's probably good for Smith to step down now if that's what he wants to do. Personally, I thought Smith was doing a great job though, so I do think it's a shame we're losing him. He ****** of the c#cksuckers at News Corp something horrid, but that only made me like him more.

As for things like the shoulder charge
 
I think the convo is being deviated towards you Oceanians venting your League frustrations. :p

That being said I'm happy to hear that in the off-chance we beat the Wallabies you guys will be supporting us (enemy of my enemy I guess). Surprisingly there's a group of anti-fans always present in Argentina consistently rooting against the Pumas. The history behind this is interesting because:

1. It's mostly soccer fans who either have no clue about rugby
2. People who still harp on about how it's an elitist sport for middle/upper class twits
3. The marketing campaign behind the Pumas that promoted them as warriors and seeing them lose more times than not.
4. The general jaded frustration most Argentine sports fans have towards their respective national sides.
5. Our streak of "Victorism" which I know exists in other places but is amplified ten-fold on our side of the world by the amount of people who jump on and off the bandwagon at a moment's notice. (Unsurprisingly it's also part of our political system).

If you want me to clarify any of the above points let me know.
 
Yeah, awful is a bit too strong. It's just... a poor version of Union. I liken it to a professional version of High School Bullrush.

Heh, haven't seen enough of League culture to actually form an opinion, so I will abstain from joining in the rivalry. :)
 
Heh, haven't seen enough of League culture to actually form an opinion, so I will abstain from joining in the rivalry. :)

The core of the problem is that each side knows that the other side only has five phases before the ball has to be handed over. This simplifies the game immensely. The kicking game is non-existent (other than at the fifth tackle, where everyone knows a kick is coming). The scrums aren't contested, there's no lineouts. It's Union without the talent.
 
The core of the problem is that each side knows that the other side only has five phases before the ball has to be handed over. This simplifies the game immensely. The kicking game is non-existent (other than at the fifth tackle, where everyone knows a kick is coming). The scrums aren't contested, there's no lineouts. It's Union without the talent.

I know the rules behind League. But I don't think this is the thread to conduct this sort of discussion. Might I suggest we get back on track?

So from Argentina's side it looks like Creevy will play but he's on recovery for the time being.

Any confirmation that Pocock is definitely out or is it just a media ploy to get more hits on their newspages?
 
I know the rules behind League. But I don't think this is the thread to conduct this sort of discussion. Might I suggest we get back on track?

So from Argentina's side it looks like Creevy will play but he's on recovery for the time being.

Any confirmation that Pocock is definitely out or is it just a media ploy to get more hits on their newspages?


How is the Arg media portraying the teams chances over there? Is the country getting behind them? Do people even know there's a RWC taking place? Lol
 
They should be (minus green laser guy...). Argentina should be good to finish first or second here.
 
How is the Arg media portraying the teams chances over there? Is the country getting behind them? Do people even know there's a RWC taking place? Lol

Well depends on the media. Remember that Argentina is a soccer nation through and through (religious levels of devotion complete with wars and such) and because of this sometimes its hard to get people behind, especially considering our ingrained "victory-driven" populace. This means that unless the Pumas outright win the Cup most people (barring true fans) are going to say that they choked and are a disgrace. Such is the reality of living in that type of culture.

The media that does report on the semis are saying that the chances are there but that it's a toss-up and it all comes down to who wants it more on matchday. Most fluff pieces talk about their recovery period as well as interviewing Juan Imhoff after his last try against Ireland (some people in the news forums say it was an utter lack of respect against Ireland and going against the spirit of rugby itself).

All in all, imagine the same level of hysterical arguments and squabbles you'd expect from the Italian parliament only this time handled by a bunch of loudmouths who only watch rugby to either: a) criticize the Pumas along class division lines, or b) criticize them for not winning enough and/or more.
 
Well depends on the media. Remember that Argentina is a soccer nation through and through (religious levels of devotion complete with wars and such) and because of this sometimes its hard to get people behind, especially considering our ingrained "victory-driven" populace. This means that unless the Pumas outright win the Cup most people (barring true fans) are going to say that they choked and are a disgrace. Such is the reality of living in that type of culture.

The media that does report on the semis are saying that the chances are there but that it's a toss-up and it all comes down to who wants it more on matchday. Most fluff pieces talk about their recovery period as well as interviewing Juan Imhoff after his last try against Ireland (some people in the news forums say it was an utter lack of respect against Ireland and going against the spirit of rugby itself).

All in all, imagine the same level of hysterical arguments and squabbles you'd expect from the Italian parliament only this time handled by a bunch of loudmouths who only watch rugby to either: a) criticize the Pumas along class division lines, or b) criticize them for not winning enough and/or more.

Must be hard to take for the real RU fans people bringing the team down. I remember that thread that Conrad started a while back haha pretty much saying the same thing about the general feeling towards the team.
 
Must be hard to take for the real RU fans people bringing the team down. I remember that thread that Conrad started a while back haha pretty much saying the same thing about the general feeling towards the team.

It's tough, also because there's still some ingrained class aspect involved where rugby, due to its amateur status, was considered to be a sport for the well-to-do and fancy people. I had hoped that the last 10 years had started wiping that facet away, as people start realizing that there are a bunch of clubs in Argentina that don't cater to the 'public schoolboy' stereotype.

Then again there's a famous saying that goes something like this:

"What is an Argentine? An Argentine is an Italian who speaks Spanish, thinks and dresses like the French but deep down wants to be British."
 

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