It's no fun when the truth gets kicked into touch
Barry Dick
14oct03
Not everyone is enamoured with rugby union's World Cup, writes Barry Dick.
Excuse me for just one moment if I don't get swept away by the hyperbole of the Rugby World Cup.
There is no doubt the Cup is a notable sporting event and one to be savoured by rugby aficionados and genuine sports lovers of all sorts but, please, spare me the over-the-top claims which damage the credibility of the code, and those who are "selling" it.
The world did not stop last Friday night for the Cup opening ceremony, nor did it stop when Australia played Argentina a little later and it certainly didn't stop when France played Fiji in Brisbane on Saturday night.
One Sydney newspaper claimed last week that four billion people worldwide would watch RWC. That's two-thirds of the world's population watching a sport which is the No. 1 football code in . . . let's add them up . . . one country.
Somehow I doubt few, if any, television sets in China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, the United States – and I mention those five because they account for more than half the world's population – would be tuned in at any stage.
And let's have just a little realism with our six weeks of rugby. After England beat Georgia 84-6 last Sunday night in Perth, England coach Clive Woodward had this to say: "Georgia were fantastic. They were outstanding today, especially their attitude. Magnificent. It just shows that in the World Cup a team like Georgia can play.
"They acquitted themselves very, very well and played in an exemplary spirit."
Nice sentiments, Clive, but not exactly a true appraisal of a game in which Georgia's finest rugby players made 154 tackles to England's 40 and still missed more than they made.
A much more realistic assessment came from Georgia manager Zaza Kassachvili, who said the mere fact of Georgia's participation in the Cup outweighed its results in terms of importance.
There is no disputing that, just as there was no disputing the fact that the participation of countries such as Lebanon, Russia, Scotland and the Cook Islands in rugby league's World Cup in 2000 was infinitely more important than their results, but rugby league's toe-in-the-water experiment with a World Cup three years ago was battered from pillar to post by some of the same critics who are now lauding RWC 2003 as a wonderful success.
Poor old rugby league – the code which supplied three of the drawcard players in the Australian rugby union squad (Wendell Sailor, Mat Rogers and Lote Tuqiri) and taught New Zealand's first tryscorer in this tournament (Brad Thorn) most of what he knows about being a professional footballer – when it tried something on an international scale it was laughed at mercilessly.
Don't believe me? Here are some quotes from the critics in October and November 2000: "Forget about the (rugby league) World Cup, it's a lemon", "Where is the incentive in playing against a side which has no history in the game, few homegrown players and no talent?" (Did someone mention Georgia?) and "How about that rugby league World Cup eh? What do you mean 'Who cares?'."
Three years ago, when league's World Cup produced some terribly lopsided scorelines – Australia 110-4 over Russia, 66-10 over Samoa and 66-8 over Fiji; New Zealand 84-10 over the Cook Islands and England 76-4 over Russia to mention a few – it was described as a farce, or mickey mouse.
The first weekend of RWC 2003 gave us scorelines of 84-6, 70-7, 72-6 and 61-18 but these were greeted by "Who cares about results, it's the event that matters".
No argument there, but why was Fiji's 18-61 loss to France "an event" while their 8-66 loss to Australia three years ago "a farce"?
I'm not for one minute suggesting Rugby World Cup isn't a terrific event. It will generate plenty of income for Australia and will give people an enormous amount of pleasure at a time when we all need it.
So, enjoy the carnival, rugby fans. Enjoy painting your faces in national colours. Enjoy your national anthems being sung with more enthusiasm than at any other sporting event. Enjoy your Mexican Waves (even if Mexico doesn't have a team here). And most of all, have fun . . . but not with the truth.
Barry Dick
14oct03
Not everyone is enamoured with rugby union's World Cup, writes Barry Dick.
Excuse me for just one moment if I don't get swept away by the hyperbole of the Rugby World Cup.
There is no doubt the Cup is a notable sporting event and one to be savoured by rugby aficionados and genuine sports lovers of all sorts but, please, spare me the over-the-top claims which damage the credibility of the code, and those who are "selling" it.
The world did not stop last Friday night for the Cup opening ceremony, nor did it stop when Australia played Argentina a little later and it certainly didn't stop when France played Fiji in Brisbane on Saturday night.
One Sydney newspaper claimed last week that four billion people worldwide would watch RWC. That's two-thirds of the world's population watching a sport which is the No. 1 football code in . . . let's add them up . . . one country.
Somehow I doubt few, if any, television sets in China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, the United States – and I mention those five because they account for more than half the world's population – would be tuned in at any stage.
And let's have just a little realism with our six weeks of rugby. After England beat Georgia 84-6 last Sunday night in Perth, England coach Clive Woodward had this to say: "Georgia were fantastic. They were outstanding today, especially their attitude. Magnificent. It just shows that in the World Cup a team like Georgia can play.
"They acquitted themselves very, very well and played in an exemplary spirit."
Nice sentiments, Clive, but not exactly a true appraisal of a game in which Georgia's finest rugby players made 154 tackles to England's 40 and still missed more than they made.
A much more realistic assessment came from Georgia manager Zaza Kassachvili, who said the mere fact of Georgia's participation in the Cup outweighed its results in terms of importance.
There is no disputing that, just as there was no disputing the fact that the participation of countries such as Lebanon, Russia, Scotland and the Cook Islands in rugby league's World Cup in 2000 was infinitely more important than their results, but rugby league's toe-in-the-water experiment with a World Cup three years ago was battered from pillar to post by some of the same critics who are now lauding RWC 2003 as a wonderful success.
Poor old rugby league – the code which supplied three of the drawcard players in the Australian rugby union squad (Wendell Sailor, Mat Rogers and Lote Tuqiri) and taught New Zealand's first tryscorer in this tournament (Brad Thorn) most of what he knows about being a professional footballer – when it tried something on an international scale it was laughed at mercilessly.
Don't believe me? Here are some quotes from the critics in October and November 2000: "Forget about the (rugby league) World Cup, it's a lemon", "Where is the incentive in playing against a side which has no history in the game, few homegrown players and no talent?" (Did someone mention Georgia?) and "How about that rugby league World Cup eh? What do you mean 'Who cares?'."
Three years ago, when league's World Cup produced some terribly lopsided scorelines – Australia 110-4 over Russia, 66-10 over Samoa and 66-8 over Fiji; New Zealand 84-10 over the Cook Islands and England 76-4 over Russia to mention a few – it was described as a farce, or mickey mouse.
The first weekend of RWC 2003 gave us scorelines of 84-6, 70-7, 72-6 and 61-18 but these were greeted by "Who cares about results, it's the event that matters".
No argument there, but why was Fiji's 18-61 loss to France "an event" while their 8-66 loss to Australia three years ago "a farce"?
I'm not for one minute suggesting Rugby World Cup isn't a terrific event. It will generate plenty of income for Australia and will give people an enormous amount of pleasure at a time when we all need it.
So, enjoy the carnival, rugby fans. Enjoy painting your faces in national colours. Enjoy your national anthems being sung with more enthusiasm than at any other sporting event. Enjoy your Mexican Waves (even if Mexico doesn't have a team here). And most of all, have fun . . . but not with the truth.
