Australian scrum!

[Undertoad]

[Aliantha]

You can see these at any local at about 11pm on a Friday night.

[ZenGum]

I still have trouble understanding how they can do that and the front rower's necks don't all snap immediately.

Except that, just sometimes, they do.

[zippyt]

I went to a fight and a rugby match broke out!

[Sundae]

Originally Posted by ZenGum

I still have trouble understanding how they can do that and the front rower's necks don't all snap immediately.

Pay attention, Zen. This is not rowing.

[JamesB]

That's a Union scrum. The two breakaways that aren't in League team scrums give it away.

Yes, it's hard on the necks of the front row props (used to be my position my in high school days).

[Lamplighter]

Thanks James... I did not know there was two different kinds of rugby,
let alone that "scrums" were planned and organized parts of the game.
I thought they just happened as part of the carnage in the game.

What a sheltered life I have lead !

[JamesB]

Originally Posted by Lamplighter

Thanks James... I did not know there was two different kinds of rugby,
let alone that "scrums" were planned and organized parts of the game.
I thought they just happened as part of the carnage in the game.

What a sheltered life I have lead !

Rugby is always Rugby Union. Rugby League is never referred to as Rugby, though it may be shortened to League.

In Australia, when I was going through school, in the places that Rugby Union and Rugby League were played (basically the states of Queensland and New South Wales ... the rest of the country plays Australian Rules, and that's a whole different kettle of fish), Rugby Union was what was traditionally played in the private schools (equivalent to a UK Public School), and Rugby League was played in the state government run schools.

These days many of the schools have switched to Soccer as it is ostensibly a safer game with less injuries.

[Beest]

I once asked one of the Varsity players what the difference was, he said "Rugby Union is a game fot thugs played by Gentleman, Rugby League is a gme for thugs, playe by thugs." 'nuff said.

[JamesB]

Originally Posted by Beest

I once asked one of the Varsity players what the difference was, he said "Rugby Union is a game fot thugs played by Gentleman, Rugby League is a gme for thugs, playe by thugs." 'nuff said.

Traditionally, Rugby Union was an amateur game ... played by business managers, lawyers, doctors, and lots of other professionals that came out of the universities. Rugby League was a professional game, with paid players that had little education or manners.

Rugby Union has since gone professional.

[Sundae]

They're all bloody egg-chasers to me.

[regular.joe]

I was a hooker when I was a kid on the Fort Hood team. We had a great time and I have fond memories, well what I can remember. We had two ginormas Samoan props and me a skinny little hooker with big legs.

[JamesB]

Originally Posted by Sundae

They're all bloody egg-chasers to me.

Due to the over-representation of certain ethnic groups within the teams, soccer is often called "Wog Ball" in Australia.

[ZenGum]

It was called "George ball" in my high school, as it was mostly played by the Greek lads, and about half of them were named George.

Amusing anecdote:
About ten years back, I met a woman from Melbourne, of Greek ancestry. She had eleven cousins, all male, in three sets of brothers: four, four and three.

Based ONLY on that information, and applying my knowledge of all the Greek Australians I had previously met, I guessed the names of the eleven blokes:
George
George
George
John
John
Con
Con
Peter
Chris
Nick
and (had to think for a minute...)
Demetrios who likes to be called Jim.

11 / 11 with a bonus for the nickname!

[xoxoxoBruce]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, but what color were her eyes?