Menu
Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
New posts
Latest activity
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles and first posts only
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Help Support The Rugby Forum :
Forums
Other Stuff
Archived
Rugby World Cup 2007
Portugal to the world cup??
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="FrozenInferno" data-source="post: 107047"><p>The cricket world cup is a different kettle of fish altogether though. Upsets are far more likely to happen in a non-contact sport like cricket. Rugby (for the top countries) is played by men who have been training and playing at a high level since they were teenagers. It is their profession, while their opponents playing for teams like Georgia and Namibia are working in the office or teaching in schools (or whatever their workplace may be) the French, Kiwis, Australians, English etc will be doing bleep tests, lifting in the gym or doing contact work on the training field. Rugby today is all about winning the collisions, and professional rugby players are bulked up and trained to ensure that they do so. </p><p>With professionalism the gulf has widened. Amateur Munster beat amateur New Zealand in the 70s but this would be spectacularly unlikely to happen today with their professional successors. The chances of amateur nations beating the professionals are even lower. I think the age of big international upsets is over. </p><p></p><p>That said, a lot of you have made very good cases for the inclusion of fringe countries. It does help hugely in the development of rugby further afield (we are after all very much a minority sport internationally). I do see 100+ drummings as a farce still but I guess to some extent I was motivated by a paranoia that Ireland's strength in depth would be depleted by injuries against Namibia and Georgia..</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="FrozenInferno, post: 107047"] The cricket world cup is a different kettle of fish altogether though. Upsets are far more likely to happen in a non-contact sport like cricket. Rugby (for the top countries) is played by men who have been training and playing at a high level since they were teenagers. It is their profession, while their opponents playing for teams like Georgia and Namibia are working in the office or teaching in schools (or whatever their workplace may be) the French, Kiwis, Australians, English etc will be doing bleep tests, lifting in the gym or doing contact work on the training field. Rugby today is all about winning the collisions, and professional rugby players are bulked up and trained to ensure that they do so. With professionalism the gulf has widened. Amateur Munster beat amateur New Zealand in the 70s but this would be spectacularly unlikely to happen today with their professional successors. The chances of amateur nations beating the professionals are even lower. I think the age of big international upsets is over. That said, a lot of you have made very good cases for the inclusion of fringe countries. It does help hugely in the development of rugby further afield (we are after all very much a minority sport internationally). I do see 100+ drummings as a farce still but I guess to some extent I was motivated by a paranoia that Ireland's strength in depth would be depleted by injuries against Namibia and Georgia.. [/QUOTE]
Verification
Post reply
Forums
Other Stuff
Archived
Rugby World Cup 2007
Portugal to the world cup??
Top