Where to start with rugby?
I know nothing but think it's cool
At a local club? I mean what kind of question is that?
To play or to watch?
Do you know the rules?
I guess just look up stuff on wikipedia and youtube.
>>63894259
To watch for now
more or less. What's the difference between the different types and which is best?
Yeah watching world cup finale right now
>>63894622
>What's the difference between the different types and which is best?
Two main different types of Rugby
Rugby Union - This is the "international" version of the game. More centred on tactical nuances, set pieces and kicking. There's a heap of shit you won't understand and probably won't for a very long time. New Zealand dominates the "international" circuit because they are the only country on the planet which takes this sport seriously.
Rugby League - This is basically an Australian domestic sport played in the NRL. It is a sport for bogans, abos, lebs and wharfies. It involves far less tactics that Rugby Union but it it is much faster paced and more athletic. It is a much better spectators sport and is by design much more accessible to seething fucking casuals (this is literally why it exists, because Union is a very boring game really).
There's also Sevens which is the meme version of Union that will be at the Olympics.
I'm saying all this somewhat impartially because I went to a private school in Sydney (the only place in this country where Union is cared about at all) and don't really follow either sport. I only watch the Union World Cup and the League State of Origin and NRL final.
>>63894811
Thanks family
>>63894940
My suggestion to you would be to try and get into the sport by watching League (NRL) because it really is a very simple game and takes about 5 minutes to figure out what is going on.
But that probably isn't possible because of the timezone difference so maybe your best bet is watching the French or English Rugby Union comp and the 6 Nations next year. The only problem with that is that Union really is quite a complex game and you won't have a clue what is going on for a large bulk of it.
>>63895021
Good league game on youtube?
I don't really watch much rugby but the six nations is a pretty comfy tournament. I watch that every year.
It's an International tournament between Ireland, England, France, Scotland, Italy and Wales. Starts in february
>>63892694
Do you just like to throw and catch the rugby ball?
>>63896098
I was upset and maddened that no one had said this yet. But didn't care enough to post it myself.
>>63895148
grand final from this year
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4mkkIzjO1I
Just watching the ending if you want, that's where it all happens, from 1:31:00
Just watch the GOAT team, USA
they're perennially ranked #1 in the world
>>63892694
why is American football called handegg when a rugby ball is much more egg-shaped, and even white like an egg?
>>63897089
Filthy league plebs
OP this is the real final from this year https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pSa3Zz9zuQ
Do you enjoy throwing and catching a rugby ball OP?
>>63895148
and a point of comparison, the best Union World Cup final
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeAFPBfM3_c
>>63897515
That was a poor game. What's worse is that it was unironically one of the better finals games, which shows how boring the sport really is.
>>63897456
Because no one calls Rugby "football", whereas Ameridumbs literally. LITERALLY. think gridiron is """""""""""""football"""""""""""""
>>63897089
League is basically boring as shit. They should just cut the size of the field down to 40m and make it so each team only has one tackle to use.
>>63897662
Agreed, but I still think its better than Union and I say that as someone who grew up playing Union.
I grew up in Sydney so obviouasly there is little to no AFL here but I unironically far prefer AFL (the only real Australian sport) to any Rugby
>>63897515
The pinnacle of Rugby Union is viewed as the penalty goal. Every rule in the entire game is geared towards maximizing the amount of penalty goals that can be attempted within 80 minutes. Its great viewing. What a thrilling sport.
Rugby league is OK but I can't deal with all that running and passing. Sometimes a whole game can pass without a single penalty goal being kicked! Can you imagine?
I hardly ever get to sit and watch for eight minutes while a scrum collapses and repacks six times, followed by a penalty goal, in rugby league. If league wants to compete they need far more of it.
Also, there's far too much game time in rugby league. They set up too many plays and go far too long without slowing the game down with penalties, line outs and 4 scrum re-packs. What rugby league need to do is make field goals and penalty goals worth more, so more time is spent standing around watching one guy kick a ball. Did you guys see the latest Durban Pirates vs Roturua Razorbacks game? Six penalty goals to five! The pirates had no answer to the Razorbacks tactics of kicking the ball out then collapsing the scrum.
Its this level of tactical sophistication that is missing in rugby league, where as you rightly point out, its just a bunch of athletic guys trying to score tries against each other. Yawn.
>>63897893
The thing to remember about the bogan is that their allegiance is not to any particular sport, but to the nation of Australia.
It is for this reason that the Australian bogan gravitates so strongly to the three tent-pole sports of boganism - Cricket, Rugby League and AFL. The bogan gravitates to these sports not because he enjoys, or even understands them. The bogan cares only that Australia is the best, thereby validating the bogan. And where else can the bogan assert that Australia is best, other than on the sporting field, where there is a clear winner and loser.
It is for this reason that the bogan will sometimes be seen supporting the wallabies - albeit often furrowing his brow in a vain attempt to understand the sport of rugby. They can't understand how an Australian team might not be the best in a sport, but they will support the team when the team appears to be on the cusp of establishing themselves as the best in the world, only to promptly decry the sport, and not the team, in the event that Australia should lose. A failure of the national side is a failure of the bogan himself, and the distancing of one's self worth from the worth of the national sporting team would require a degree of metacognition that the bogan is simply not capable of.
So the rest of Australia will continue to humour the bogan, as without them our shipping, construction and minerals industries would grind to a halt. And the television networks will continue to play AFL, rugby league and cricket in order to pacify these puzzling creatures. And every now and again on a humid summer breeze you will hear their cries of ">muh state of origin" and ">muh Warney" and you will know that the Australian economy is in safe hands, at least for the immediate future.
I arrived in NZ recently (though I'm back in Aus for a bit) but I didn't know much about Union rules particularly breakdown stuff. I watched a lot of youtube vids and also a lot of super rugby games but the only way to really know it is to find a local casual team or even a weight classed team because apparently they have the best atmosphere and just go and play with them.
Playing the game Rugby 08 or 06 helps a lot as well
>>63900781
Why is that man so fat?
I would think it's a FSP but he's got jumper strapping.
>>63904504
>Why is that man so fat?
That based Maori DNA
>>63892694
First learn the sidestep.
>you could practice by sidestepping crowds of Syrians on the street.
Next, learn to pass.
>you could practice by passing refugees fat welfare checks.
Finally, learn to tackle.
>maybe practice by tackling the debilitating migrant crisis plaguing your country.
>>63905102
>reminder that there are kiwi refugees on Manus Island and Nauru RIGHT NOW yearning to get in to Australia
