Where are the Southern Hemisphere users?

[Jaguares]

It's been a loooong time since the last time I wrote in this forum and I can't see my fellows from the Southern Hemisphere here, I only see Europeans in every post. Where are they? Super Rugby is coming

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Good question. A lot of the Kiwi posters have left apart from @Kiwiwomble. Posted one up about @TRF_heineken, who seems to have disappeared pre Lions series. Have only seen @TRF_stormer2010 post within last 6 months. And @Cruz_del_Sur recently. Certainly is quieter on the forums in general on the forums although I frequent the club room bar and only venture north when the internationals are on.

 

[die_mole]

West Sphere Best Sphere. I think Cockysmart started the exodus and we have a fair amount of South Africans it feels like. We never really had that many New Zealanders and always felt British and Irish heavy.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

Generally sport and movie forums seem to get quieter over the years. I don't know if young-uns prefer reddit or social media. Maybe there is some top flight rugby analysis going on in Tik-Tok.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

I think people either go on reddit or gravitate to boards that have more members from their own fan base.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Like with any discussion forum peeps do move on/grow bored of it or just lurk and don't actually post anymore. And as Tigs says they move to other forums where they prefer to be with like minded peeps. If younger generation don't replace them then the forum will just slowly decline in users. Had it with another discussion forum I was on years ago, peeps from that one just migrated to Facebook instead. I personally don't like Facebook so didn't follow.

 

[saulan]

Good question. A lot of the Kiwi posters have left apart from @Kiwiwomble. Posted one up about @TRF_heineken, who seems to have disappeared pre Lions series. Have only seen @TRF_stormer2010 post within last 6 months. And @Cruz_del_Sur recently. Certainly is quieter on the forums in general on the forums although I frequent the club room bar and only venture north when the internationals are on.

Still here, but generally been more of a lurker more than a participator. Have been enjoying how the Stormers have been performing, but since it hasn't been against the NH teams, there hasn't been many opportunities to have banter/opportunities to engage on the topic. Of those that you mentioned, I'm genuinely concerned about Heineken. His last messages were about having Covid in July and we haven't heard from him since.

 

[die_mole]

the only good sports reddit is college football. It's mainly just middle class office workers procrastinating so it's lots of good fun. Anyone who actually tries to talk sports is quickly shut down. Every other subreddit you'll have people on suicide watch if their favorite team doesn't win.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

the only good sports reddit is college football

MMA and Strongman are good, in my experience

 

[saulan]

the only good sports reddit is college football. It's mainly just middle class office workers procrastinating so it's lots of good fun. Anyone who actually tries to talk sports is quickly shut down. Every other subreddit you'll have people on suicide watch if their favorite team doesn't win.

URC reddit is very much dead. I tried looking at it the other day and it was crickets. I've been reading comments every now and again on planet rugby, but generally know the personalities here better so stick around more.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Still here, but generally been more of a lurker more than a participator. Have been enjoying how the Stormers have been performing, but since it hasn't been against the NH teams, there hasn't been many opportunities to have banter/opportunities to engage on the topic. Of those that you mentioned, I'm genuinely concerned about Heineken. His last messages were about having Covid in July and we haven't heard from him since.

Yeh, wasn't just him but his whole family IIRC. And I don't think he was vaccinated either from his post: he said he caught it from his brother who lived next door. Only his parents were vaccinated. He does have 2 sets of twins IIRC, so maybe he's just got his hands full, it surprised me he didn't post at all during the Lions series. Hope he's ok though and nothing serious.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

It's a bit of a shame alright. I feel like the 2011 world cup was when we were at our most diverse. Now it's very English, a rag tag crew of Irish and enough Scottish and Welsh for tempers to flare between any of the four!

Hopefully we get the regular saffas back in force when the URC starts running properly.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

MMA and Strongman are good, in my experience

I managed to conceal from my dear old mother for 6 months that an actual Scotsman won the actual Worlds Strongest Man before they showed it on the telly at New Years. I was sitting there pretending that some random Canadian would probably win it so I didn't spoil it for her. It might have been the New Years sherry but she was celebrating like an Italian u20s player!

 

[saulan]

It's a bit of a shame alright. I feel like the 2011 world cup was when we were at our most diverse. Now it's very English, a rag tag crew of Irish and enough Scottish and Welsh for tempers to flare between any of the four!

Hopefully we get the regular saffas back in force when the URC starts running properly.

I think we are all still here. I check the forum at least three to five times a day, but post incredibly infrequently.

Once we start playing some URC against the NH teams again there will be a bit more to engage on, but right now I think there is a general (reasonably unfair*) feeling that we are weak and that we are going to end up low on the log this season. I honestly feel very sorry for whichever teams have to play the Sharks in Durban from the NH in the next 2 months. That humidity is something else if you're not used to it.

*Unfair due to both not having Springboks and playing players who had A) mostly never had experience in NH conditions and B) Not really had all that much experience of playing together given Covid in SA.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

I think we are all still here. I check the forum at least three to five times a day, but post incredibly infrequently.

Once we start playing some URC against the NH teams again there will be a bit more to engage on, but right now I think there is a general (reasonably unfair*) feeling that we are weak and that we are going to end up low on the log this season. I honestly feel very sorry for whichever teams have to play the Sharks in Durban from the NH in the next 2 months. That humidity is something else if you're not used to it.

*Unfair due to both not having Springboks and playing players who had A) mostly never had experience in NH conditions and B) Not really had all that much experience of playing together given Covid in SA.

I'm very intrigued to be honest. Really don't know what to expect.

We always struggled away to the Cheetahs and Kings so I'm expecting nothing easy and I'd be amazed if it took more than three years for an SA side to win the competition to be honest. Definitely the most likely to knock us off our perch.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

I think we are all still here. I check the forum at least three to five times a day, but post incredibly infrequently.

Once we start playing some URC against the NH teams again there will be a bit more to engage on, but right now I think there is a general (reasonably unfair*) feeling that we are weak and that we are going to end up low on the log this season. I honestly feel very sorry for whichever teams have to play the Sharks in Durban from the NH in the next 2 months. That humidity is something else if you're not used to it.

*Unfair due to both not having Springboks and playing players who had A) mostly never had experience in NH conditions and B) Not really had all that much experience of playing together given Covid in SA.

I think part of the problem for SA in the URC this year is the parity between your sides. It'll make it hard for one of them to capture a good playoff seeding as they'll keep taking points off eachother. We will definitely see NH sides wilt badly at altitude, and as you say heat and humidity in Durban is another alien experience.

 

[Eleutherarch]

I haven't been a forum member for as long as the others here. I post infrequently but I am a perennial lurker.

As most of the discussion centres around NH fixtures and developments, I feel it is more appropriate to shut up and learn about the intricacies and trends prevailing in the Northern game, of which I know little. The regular posters here are fonts of knowledge in this regard and as I rarely have something worthwhile to contribute, I choose not to post facile tidbits.

I don't really follow European club rugby beyond the progress of SA players in, or potentially around, the Boks camp. By far primary, my primary interest rugby-wise is the international game.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

I haven't been a forum member for as long as the others here. I post infrequently but I am a perennial lurker.

As most of the discussion centres around NH fixtures and developments, I feel it is more appropriate to shut up and learn about the intricacies and trends prevailing in the Northern game, of which I know little. The regular posters here are fonts of knowledge in this regard and as I rarely have something worthwhile to contribute, I choose not to post facile tidbits.

I don't really follow European club rugby beyond the progress of SA players in, or potentially around, the Boks camp. By far primary, my primary interest rugby-wise is the international game.

Facile tidbits is all that some of us have.

I am sure any thoughts you have on game day threads would be welcomed, particularly for the likes of URC (where you'll have knowledge we don't) and 6N (because internationals are fair game for everyone really). But as the saying goes, "you do you".

The issue with the URC is it is on a fairly niche sports channel in the UK & Ireland, which limits poster engagement. It is a fascinating tournament on and off the field, but I can't justify to myself paying for the live coverage as my sporting interest is spread so thinly, both with rugby and other sports. If it does cement itself as never playing in international weeks (or the week before) then I may be tempted.

 

[Kiwiwomble]

Very few kiwi posters anymore?

Yes, I don't doubt he is human and ended up taking it personally. But he just needed to take a break from the forum, when he got agitated. From my reading of his reaction and how he was on the forum he took it upon himself to be the absolute authority on rugby laws (calling himself "the...

www.therugbyforum.com

I actually asked this a couple of years ago, even tagged as many kiwi posters as i could remember in case they were lurking, no replies

I actually think @smartcooky was one of the last rather than the first, and he finally gave up as there weren't other kiwis and he was spending more and more time arguing with NH posters about how amazing NZ is

There was always more NH posters but we use to have a very healthy SH group, i went back and looked at old RC threads and we'd 10-20 pages...now we dont even have threads for games often

I know some that have gone to another more SH focused forum

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

Been AWOL. TBH its not one thing really. Vacation time sees me tune out and then January is always a bit of trying to hit the ground running. I was however a bit miffed rugby-wise as well. I can take losses as well as the next fan and better than most but the URC refereeing to my mind felt a bit poor and not ONLY alien. Then there was hosting tour games that felt flat and I was just over it till I read we were finally getting Willemse in at 12 with Gelant starting at 15. Very minor but enough to get my watching again. Its the Stormers more so than the Bokke that get me posting here.