Posts by Yamis
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Yamis - Your thinking reflects what the NZRFU thinks, and to my mind it is hopelessly out of touch with the realities of NZ rugby traditions and culture. The game might be suffering in the massively over-exposed rugby markets of the main centres, but it isn't in the provinces.
Tom, if I ever start speaking for the NZRU put a bullet in my head.
Here.
Here.
And here.
The current Air New Zealand Cup is about as traditional as the internet.
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Lets be honest.
The rugby is awful, the talent too watered down, the mediocre players paid too much. Many of these guys are second division footballers on a good day and the first division of historically the best rugby playing nation in the world deserves more than a competition that operates as a charity to crap rugby players.
South Africa, current world champions and number one ranked team in the world have a first division of eight teams and we want to stick with 14.
Seriously, get off the grass or stop smoking it.
We had nine teams in our first division when we had ALL our top players and now that we have probably close to fifty players in Europe and Japan and 30 or so ABs out for most of the comp we want to watch 14 teams spread the remaining talent?
Look at the crowd at the Waikato v Auckland game tonight. 10 years ago that would have been three quarters or more full now it's lucky to have 3 or 4000 regardless of what bogus figure Waikato and the NZRU make up.
8 teams, the top 5 represent NZ in a watered down Super 14 (same rules for SA and Aussie) and bring back real tours.
You heard it here first second and third.
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Stephen
Yamis: have you see "Auckland, City of cars?"
It debunks the population density and the cost arguments pretty well, I think.
I'm just playing devils advocate to an extent. I think light rail should be developed along the middle of the northern and northwestern motorways at least but I now work close to where I live in the suburbs so don't get subjected to the daily dose of traffic jams that others do so I'm less effected. But to be fair, there has been a fair amount of investment on our rail network (by our standards anyway :)-
But I had a look at the first two clips and I think it's a bit slanted. The figures I could find for Aucklands urban area was 1,086 sq km and there are 1,313,200 residents giving a population density of 1209 NOT 2000 like appears in their tables. I might be wrong or be using figures that are incorrect though so feel free to correct my arse.
Also, I haven't been to Perth or Copenhagen (less than half the size of Auckland urban area??) so can't really comment on their geography but Auckland is a bloody funny shape. Stretched a long way north along a coastline, and through a relatively narrow isthmus funnelling out to the south and east while to the west it wraps around two harbours.
No excuse not to have shown some vision and developed a much rail network though.
But at the end of the day NZers like their cars, we use them a lot, we like going on holiday, driving to west coast beaches, regional parks, the bay of islands etc etc so we are always going to have them. Also until public transport gets us to where we are going cheaper and faster (or at least the same) then provided we can afford to buy a car we aren't going to use it (well, most anyway).
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Do other cities in the world not have cars on their roads?
I could have sworn there's a fair few in all the international cities I've been to including ones with rather extensive subway and bus networks.
Auckland will be a hundred years away from the type of public transport network that some people dream of because.... the population is so small compared to the area we take up and the geography of the area. We can make it better but unless we strike oil in the Hauraki Gulf and can afford to pump billions of dollars into infrastructure that barely gets used by international standards we can only chip away here and there.
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Made his debut in 2006 Sam.
But yeah...
49 tests since his debut and he's played 22.
On Henry sneaking Hanson out the back door, refer to South Africa's game plan this year. Henry has reluctantly given up on the style they want to play (attacking) and will put his energy into sorting the lineout out and developing our kicking game therefore Hanson is essentially moving to a position which will become largely redundant. Like a window cleaner at a prison.
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Not really a reason not to build a beautiful bridge but it would stand a good chance of making the present harbour bridge look filthy ugly by comparison.
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When are people going to learn. GET OFF THE SAND DUNES!!!!
I reckon they could have made it a little longer. Looks nice though. We are spoilt.
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I'm so over Mexted's inane shit and Nisbo's bias. I was over Mexted about halfway through the first ever time I heard him.
But we will be stuck with them for at least another decade no doubt.
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As a westie high school teacher I'd say most of the characters would be our low to mid graduates.
Fortunately this year my 7th form geo class would give a WTF?! response to most character behaviour.
Personally I'd date Pascalle though. Just don't tell my kids.
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My point was that compared to 1976 sport has been taken over by the PC brigade.
Whenever I hear or read the 'words' "PC" these days I start to switch off because its become so overused and the person saying or writing about it doesn't explain themselves or when they do their explanation is light on facts but I respect you fleshing out your argument Andre.
But take a look at the initial link you posted. Rippa rugby is a game invented and promoted by the NZRU (funny thing is that if you look at the rules it's closer to league than rugby, but that's beside the point) created to promote catching, passing and getting kids out and about.
But in the pictures of it being played they are all wearing barefeet. It's a game designed for all kids in a primary school class (half boys, half girls, probably most only moderately interested in rugby) rather than those kids who are mad keen on it.
It sucks that its become a more expensive proposition playing sports in some schools but it isn't like that everywhere. You can play in my school cricket team for $30 a year and that is to pay for the match balls ($30-40 each). We use about 6 a year + the money goes towards the cost of buying some new gear. The school bears the vast majority of the cost but heck, the government hardly showers us with cash. We have (and I do not exaggerate) over a hundred sports teams at my school.
My league team at school had a $30 cost which basically goes towards getting the gear laundered. Works out at about $1.50 a game. They buy their own boots.
I don't think sport has ever been free. Somebody has been paying for it whether through their taxes or through their own pocket.
Bullrush takes me back. Every single term without fail at my primary school (from 1981 to 1988) we played bullrush on the first day of term. By the end of the day it was banned because of the danger that kids were getting hurt. And that's years before I remember ever hearing the dreaded "PC" word.
I'd like to say "those were the days" but they weren't. They were much the same as now.