Friday, November 18, 2005
Why the IRB got it Right
I've been listening to Willy Lose spout his usual crap on Radio Sport and Graeme Hill was also going on a similar track today as well (note that Hill is usually very good).
They both said all along that Japan should get it to globalise the game. Willy is the worst and he's still jabbering on about the same shit even after it's done and dusted and we've got it.
I've been to Japan. And much like Korea it's neighbour it has a certain issue with something called... grass.
There is none.
School grounds are dirt.
Playgrounds are dirt.
Even sports fields unless they are inside stadiums with tens of thousands of bucks pumped into them each year are dirt.
Who wants to play a hard contact sport on dirt?
Japan may have had the infrastructure at the top level for the actual tournament itself, but what could they have done to exploit the opportunity handed to them on the back of a list of massive corporations.
Rugby has been played in Japan for a long time and it's still a very, very, very minor sport. Jamie Joseph who played professionally in Japan said yesterday that it's quite common for them to get 1,500 people along or less in matches featuring four ex All Blacks.
It's a company/university sport.
Like much professional sport in Asia it's about image.
The teams are owned by companies with their names slapped on, in Korea Samsung owns (not sponsors, owns) last years K-League soccer champions. Hyundai own three teams in the same competition. In the subcontinent we all must have seen how the professional cricket teams have names like "Southern Bangalore Peoples Trust Savings Bank".
Well at least people in the latter countries actually play soccer and cricket. In Japan basically nobody plays rugby. It would have the popularity of curling in New Zealand if it was lucky.
World Cup rolls around, stadiums are fairly full (though I can't see them all being sold out like they suggested, Tonga v Romania in a 40,000 seater... hellloooo!!!!".
Then two months later theres thousands of Japanese wondering where to send their kids to play.
But alas, there's nowhere.
No grassroots infrastructure.
Opportunity gone.
Waste of a World Cup.
On South Africa, well here's a couple of reasons they didn't get it.
Andrew Merhtens and Jonah Lomu, who are still playing played in the South African world cup. It just wasn't that long ago.
The administation in South Africa is dodgy. You just can't trust that they aren't going to have years of infighting leading up to the event.
And they are hosting the soccer world cup in 2010. How bloody greedy can you get? 1995 RWC, cricket WC in 200?, SWC in 2010, RWC in 2011. Since when did South Africa become so bloody important?
Oh and by the way.
FUCK AUSTRALIA for voting Japan. They can spin it however they want but they are a bunch of cunts. Not in a million years would NZ have voted for Japan over Aussie.
They voted for them because they are pricks who thought they could scam some bucks out of Japan.
If Japan had won you can gaurantee that Aussie would have hosted Japan in a test and played in Japan in the lead up to 2011.
And whats even more fucked up is that we should be doing that anyway. We beat Fiji 93-0, whats the difference between that and beating Japan 123-0 apart from a few extra shitty tries nobody remembers?
Japan should have to prove that it can get crowds along by enticing England, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa to their shores BEFORE it gets a World Cup. Show us the crowds, show us the infrastructure, show us the grassroots interest. DON'T simply stand there and say "look, we are rich" and expect to get it.
And if Australia is sooooo concerned about globalising the game then perhaps they can inform us all of how many times they have toured...
Tonga
Samoa
Fiji
Canada
USA
Japan
Russia
etc etc
MONEY GRUBBING (USELESS) PRICKS
They both said all along that Japan should get it to globalise the game. Willy is the worst and he's still jabbering on about the same shit even after it's done and dusted and we've got it.
I've been to Japan. And much like Korea it's neighbour it has a certain issue with something called... grass.
There is none.
School grounds are dirt.
Playgrounds are dirt.
Even sports fields unless they are inside stadiums with tens of thousands of bucks pumped into them each year are dirt.
Who wants to play a hard contact sport on dirt?
Japan may have had the infrastructure at the top level for the actual tournament itself, but what could they have done to exploit the opportunity handed to them on the back of a list of massive corporations.
Rugby has been played in Japan for a long time and it's still a very, very, very minor sport. Jamie Joseph who played professionally in Japan said yesterday that it's quite common for them to get 1,500 people along or less in matches featuring four ex All Blacks.
It's a company/university sport.
Like much professional sport in Asia it's about image.
The teams are owned by companies with their names slapped on, in Korea Samsung owns (not sponsors, owns) last years K-League soccer champions. Hyundai own three teams in the same competition. In the subcontinent we all must have seen how the professional cricket teams have names like "Southern Bangalore Peoples Trust Savings Bank".
Well at least people in the latter countries actually play soccer and cricket. In Japan basically nobody plays rugby. It would have the popularity of curling in New Zealand if it was lucky.
World Cup rolls around, stadiums are fairly full (though I can't see them all being sold out like they suggested, Tonga v Romania in a 40,000 seater... hellloooo!!!!".
Then two months later theres thousands of Japanese wondering where to send their kids to play.
But alas, there's nowhere.
No grassroots infrastructure.
Opportunity gone.
Waste of a World Cup.
On South Africa, well here's a couple of reasons they didn't get it.
Andrew Merhtens and Jonah Lomu, who are still playing played in the South African world cup. It just wasn't that long ago.
The administation in South Africa is dodgy. You just can't trust that they aren't going to have years of infighting leading up to the event.
And they are hosting the soccer world cup in 2010. How bloody greedy can you get? 1995 RWC, cricket WC in 200?, SWC in 2010, RWC in 2011. Since when did South Africa become so bloody important?
Oh and by the way.
FUCK AUSTRALIA for voting Japan. They can spin it however they want but they are a bunch of cunts. Not in a million years would NZ have voted for Japan over Aussie.
They voted for them because they are pricks who thought they could scam some bucks out of Japan.
If Japan had won you can gaurantee that Aussie would have hosted Japan in a test and played in Japan in the lead up to 2011.
And whats even more fucked up is that we should be doing that anyway. We beat Fiji 93-0, whats the difference between that and beating Japan 123-0 apart from a few extra shitty tries nobody remembers?
Japan should have to prove that it can get crowds along by enticing England, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa to their shores BEFORE it gets a World Cup. Show us the crowds, show us the infrastructure, show us the grassroots interest. DON'T simply stand there and say "look, we are rich" and expect to get it.
And if Australia is sooooo concerned about globalising the game then perhaps they can inform us all of how many times they have toured...
Tonga
Samoa
Fiji
Canada
USA
Japan
Russia
etc etc
MONEY GRUBBING (USELESS) PRICKS
Comments:
It's good that we got the cup, but I think they should either:
- let the winner host the next tournament (like the America's Cup)
- agree that the cup will alternate Northern / Southern hemisphere and be played every 3rd time in a minor nation, then hold a draw and make a list of hosts for the next 80 years.
Both of those would cut out the politicing and let each country have a fair chance.
- let the winner host the next tournament (like the America's Cup)
- agree that the cup will alternate Northern / Southern hemisphere and be played every 3rd time in a minor nation, then hold a draw and make a list of hosts for the next 80 years.
Both of those would cut out the politicing and let each country have a fair chance.
They had a mock lineup on the TV news which is quite possible the other night.
2015 Japan
2019 Europe
2023 South Africa
2027 Europe
2031 Australia
Everybody mentioned how Japan did a great job of hosting the soccer world cup but they neglect to note a few things.
Firstly soccer was already a pretty big support in Japan with a team like the Urawa Reds gettings tens of thousands along to each game, and the national side packing out home games each time they play.
Secondly they only had to host 32 games. With the rugby WC they would have to host 41 games and many of these sides you wouldn't cross the road to see. At least with the soccer even the shit sides are actually very good.
I have no problem with weaker nations getting the WC as long as they can prove beforehand that there is real interest in the sport. Namely entice the big nations to your shores and show us the crowds.
As I said before Korea and Japan would already get 60,000 along to watch their national teams play and soccer is played in every primary and secondary school grounds in those countries long before the WC came.
It's chalk and cheese.
2015 Japan
2019 Europe
2023 South Africa
2027 Europe
2031 Australia
Everybody mentioned how Japan did a great job of hosting the soccer world cup but they neglect to note a few things.
Firstly soccer was already a pretty big support in Japan with a team like the Urawa Reds gettings tens of thousands along to each game, and the national side packing out home games each time they play.
Secondly they only had to host 32 games. With the rugby WC they would have to host 41 games and many of these sides you wouldn't cross the road to see. At least with the soccer even the shit sides are actually very good.
I have no problem with weaker nations getting the WC as long as they can prove beforehand that there is real interest in the sport. Namely entice the big nations to your shores and show us the crowds.
As I said before Korea and Japan would already get 60,000 along to watch their national teams play and soccer is played in every primary and secondary school grounds in those countries long before the WC came.
It's chalk and cheese.
I saw Japan play Wales a two (?) years ago in Osaka. Wales won by a 100 points. There was, at tops, 5000 people in the stadium.
As to the grounds, the are really bad. No grass and hard as concrete. The boys who play accross the road from my work always have injuries and have all the protection plus bindings. i don't blame them either.
As to the grounds, the are really bad. No grass and hard as concrete. The boys who play accross the road from my work always have injuries and have all the protection plus bindings. i don't blame them either.
# posted by 
: 22 November 2005 at 13:02
: 22 November 2005 at 13:02
i agree that japan are money grubby cunts who dont desrve it.
right off to watch ma live rugby on TVNZ
right off to watch ma live rugby on TVNZ
# posted by : 24 November 2005 at 20:34
: 24 November 2005 at 20:34
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