Saturday 22 October 2011

NZ vs France: whom to support ?

So, not England for the final then - I got that one really wrong. But which of the protagonists does the neutral favour ?

Well God knows New Zealand deserves a fillip after the earthquake and it may be churlish to consider anything else. But in rugby terms ...

To my way of thinking there has always been something deeply unattractive about the Kiwis. Always boasting about their skillful running rugby, always at pains to decry the kicking game. But all that carefully practised crossing, shepherding and obstruction; and then there's the brutality. OK, it's a man's game etc etc, but from the leg-breaking antics of Colin Meads to the spear-tackle on Brian O'D, somehow the much vaunted oh-so-skillful stuff often looks more like calculating thuggery.

By contrast I give you the French and, in the words of Nelson, an Englishman should hate the French as he hates the Devil himself. But as exuberant exponents of the 15-man game, they have given a lot of pleasure over the years. They have also seen off the Kiwis on more than one critical occasion of course, though they don't look much like pulling it off this time.

So: good luck to New Zealand in the hope it will bring them good cheer. And let's hope the French make them earn it: it will be all the sweeter for that.

ND

12 comments:

Mark Wadsworth said...

On reflection, neither.

Bill Quango MP said...

Charles De Gaulle once wrote a book about the history of the French Army.
Waterloo didn't get a mention.

So Nelson was right and Kiwis it is.

Anonymous said...

It should be a good match as long as they do not spend their time trying to pull each others shirts off, as the lastime I watched it. The teams played better and faster rugby when they played sevens.

Anonymous said...

I'm really looking forwards to the game; here's to hoping the game is either won in the last few minutes or there's a 40 point gap.

Traveller and wife said...

About 5 years ago my wife (5'0") and I (5'6") were coming down in a hotel lift in Brisbane. Half way down the lift stopped, the doors opened and 6 young giants got in. Every one of them was several inches over 6' tall and we were squashed into a corner of the lift looking at roughly trouser belt level.

When we got out, there was a coach parked in the driveway with the driver standing by the coach door. As the giants climbed on board, I asked him if he knew who they were. He replied that they were the "Young International Kiwis" rugby team on a tour of Australia.

I wonder how many of those lads will be on the field for the final!

PS: We'll be cheering for the All Blacks too.

lilith said...

Phew! As a Kiwi I can now leave the house with my head held high. Imagine the shame of losing to the FRENCH of all people!

dearieme said...

"all that carefully practised crossing, shepherding and obstruction": and the ref let them off with it as usual. Why?

Nick Drew said...

nor, we suspect, will McCaw be cited; though (as Courtney Lawes can attest) the late knee to the head is often considered just cause ...

ah well, we should shut up and let Lilith enjoy it !

Vive les good guys said...

Nick, Lilith and Elby will be simply unbearable today as the Mancs stuffed Fergychops' lot too!! Brilliant stuff. Hee hee...

En passant, there's a comment chez Guido that "Sarkozy is the lowest form or twit" - which I confess I did rather enjoy.


Word ver: hyped !!

Jer said...

I'm with Nelson.

To be fair, when they aren't burning British sheep or blowing up Dutch photographers in Auckland harbour, or trying to shaft the British via Tobin taxes or in thousands of other ways, the French aren't bad people.

James Higham said...

Perhaps it can be decided on cultural lines whom to support. Which of the two has a culture and which has sheep?

Andrew Neil said...

m m m m m ... sheep ...