Engerland Engerland!!

Nippy · Post by **Nippy** » Sat Nov 22, 2003 5:51 am

Come on the boys!

England, IRB Rugby World Champions 2003.

Get in there!

Maharlika · Post by **Maharlika** » Sat Nov 22, 2003 6:05 am

...congratulations to all you blokes.

frogus · Post by **frogus** » Sat Nov 22, 2003 7:25 am

If any England rugby players are reading this, well done

Georgi · Post by **Georgi** » Sat Nov 22, 2003 10:01 pm

Originally posted by frogus
If any England rugby players are reading this, well done

That seems unlikely.

Well, I am shocked. I didn't think England were capable of winning anything... ever! Sadly I missed the game, I was sleeping.

The news all day has been nothing but rugby though.

Tamerlane · Post by **Tamerlane** » Sun Nov 23, 2003 3:17 am

Never could stand Rugby, bunch of guys running forwards whilst throwing the ball backwards

But I watched the final with 20 other friends, since rugby is strictly an east coast affair down here we just used it as an excuse to have a bit of fun.

Nice game though.

Yshania · Post by **Yshania** » Sun Nov 23, 2003 4:12 pm

Originally posted by Georgi
The news all day has been nothing but rugby though.

So? No matter the sport, it is the first World Cup England has brought home in 37 years. I saw it live, and I can't remember the last time I shook so much!

(what a fantastic game - as an impartial, or as a cup winner). I have watched it three times since, too

I used to work at Richmond Rugby Club. At the time of the 1991 World Cup Final - where Australia beat us - I was there.

This game was poetry in motion indeed. The nerves, the conditions, the excitement, the determination by both sides, the balance. All so true, and making for a memorable cup final, whoever the winners - it could have gone either way.

Jonny Wilkinson will be worth a fortune now lol!! and fair play to him too! "Is that all you've got?" LMAO! it proved to be all we needed in the end!

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot

Swing low, sweet chariot,
Coming for to carry me home,
Swing low, sweet chariot,
Coming for to carry me home.

I looked over Jordan, and what did I see?
Coming for to carry me home,
A band of angels coming after me,
Coming for to carry me home.

Swing low, sweet chariot,
Coming for to carry me home,
Swing low, sweet chariot,
Coming for to carry me home.

If you get there before I do,
Coming for to carry me home,
Tell all my friends I'm coming, too.
Coming for to carry me home.

Swing low, sweet chariot,
Coming for to carry me home,
Swing low, sweet chariot,
Coming for to carry me home.

I'm sometimes up and sometimes down,
Coming for to carry me home,
But still my soul feels heavenly bound,
Coming for to carry me home.

Swing low, sweet chariot,
Coming for to carry me home,
Swing low, sweet chariot,
Coming for to carry me home.

The brightest day that I can say,
Coming for to carry me home,
When Jesus washed my sins away,
Coming for to carry me home.

Swing low, sweet chariot,
Coming for to carry me home,
Swing low, sweet chariot,
Coming for to carry me home.

Mr Sleep · Post by **Mr Sleep** » Sun Nov 23, 2003 4:32 pm

It was okay, the perfect final for me would have been Wales vs New Zealand but such is life.

Well done to England and all but I just hope they don't end up more arrogant because of it.

Of course they were boring during the finals, the fact that Wales beat them 3 trys to 1 is a testement to that but in the end they won and I'm pretty sure most of the fans don't care how they won only that they did. It didn't exactly come as a shock that Robinson ended up scoring

Yshania · Post by **Yshania** » Sun Nov 23, 2003 4:38 pm

Sleepy, the only other World Cup team to impress me was Wales - sincerely. Not against the English, but against New Zealand - they showed so much heart. Wales - with new found confidence after this competition - will be a force to be reckoned with come the next six nations!

I hope the English won't become arrogant, I cannot see it from the squad, myself, but from the fans it is possible. *fingers crossed*

Re the pretty game? Was rugby ever a pretty game? I will not rise to that

how many tries did the Aussies score to get to the final? It is all about adapting to conditions, and the wet conditions we are used to do not always promise the pretty game. At the end of the day, it comes down to defence and determination, not pretty play.

LMAO! I so love it that Robinson got on the scoreboard!! Not only is he a testament to "boring" rugby league, he is also an awesome runner, such speed, and such ability to change direction at such speed. Awesome and undersung IMO!

Georgi · Post by **Georgi** » Sun Nov 23, 2003 9:29 pm

Originally posted by Yshania
So?

Well I have to sit through it, and it's boring me!!!!

No matter the sport, it is the first World Cup England has brought home in 37 years.

Blah, blah. I have to say, I don't exactly feel as though I have lived through any kind of momentous occasion, no matter what the media make of it.

BTW, I never knew Swing Low, Sweet Chariot had more than two lines.

Originally posted by Tammy
Never could stand Rugby, bunch of guys running forwards whilst throwing the ball backwards

Heh. I really can't watch rugby, even in the pub. I mean, you have a load of men running round a muddy pitch with an odd-shaped ball, and then one of them catches it and they all pile up in a big heap on top of him. How can anyone take that seriously?

Minerva · Post by **Minerva** » Mon Nov 24, 2003 4:44 am

Woohoo, England finally won world cup!

Well done to them.

Okay, it wasn't pretty, but it was raining and ref was rather harsh on England (I don't say he was biased, but he was definitely harsher on England).

I hope it will be more focus on Rugby (Union, that is. League game stops too often) than football. I certainly prefer listening to rugby players than footballers. They can talk properly!

And I prefer rugby players, even though they have broken nose and squashed ears...

Minerva · Post by **Minerva** » Mon Nov 24, 2003 8:04 am

From BBC Website

10 things we didn't know about winning

For decades, English sports fans have had to console themselves with being good losers. So accustomed to putting on a brave face, the experience of being World Cup winners is a bit of a novelty. What have we learned?

1. It's not just about the taking part. Heroic failed captains, overhyped stars who underperformed, penalty-missers, comedy ski-jumpers, self-deprecating jokes and stiff upper lips... these will only take us so far. Taking part is important, but winning is everything.

2. Winning makes the world seem a better place. Clive Woodward said after the result: "England's a fantastic country. I can't wait to get home." This is not the emotion one usually has at the end of a stay in Australia when it's a very rainy November weekend in England.

3. The English are not the only good losers. The Australian media, vigorous in its sledging of England in the run-up to the final, has been gracious in defeat. The Sydney Morning Herald reads: "To England and its sports fans. Regarding your magnificent football team's 20-17 triumph. On behalf of all Australians, we would like to admit the following: You were not too old. You were not too slow. You scored as many tries as we did. You kicked no more penalty goals than we did. You ran the ball as much as we did. You entertained as much as we did." The Australian Daily Telegraph added: "We rarely get to say this but, as long as it doesn't become a habit, we don't mind: Well done, England. Well done."

4. Not understanding the rules is no bar to enjoying the game.

5. Don't believe the hype, or as Kipling put it, treat triumph and disaster as the same. Clive Woodward was slated and jeered and vilified after the 1999 Rugby World Cup. But he has now signed a contract to take England into the next one in 2007.

6. The coolest way to deal with winning is not to let it go to your head. What did Jonny Wilkinson do after the victory? "I did have a couple of beers, but that was only as a solidarity thing with the other guys... Long before I ever started playing as a professional, I wrote on a piece of paper that winning a World Cup with England was something I wanted to do. Having done it, I wasn't ready to break out into all-night party mode."

7. Winning pays. The RFU expects a 20% bump in its £74m turnover, amid sponsorship deals, broadcasting rights etc. And the players will make their fortunes. (Jonny Wilkinson is, naturally, a bit phlegmatic about it: "While it seems that I might get the odd commercial opportunity arising from this World Cup win, I will always put rugby first.") And it's not just sport: the UB40 version of Swing Low could now be squaring up to challenge the Christmas Number One slot...

8. England fans plus foreign travel plus loads of booze does not necessarily equal trouble. Just one arrest was reported amid the more than 80,000 crowd at the Telstra stadium in Sydney.

9. Inquiries were reportedly made on Saturday morning about the possibility of holding a victory parade in Westminster if England should win. If you are a team in a final of a world cup, buy some tickertape just in case. It might just happen.

10. There is no jinx on England, or any British team, winning. And, despite dozens of humiliations at Australia's hands in cricket, rugby union and league, tennis, athletics, swimming etc, they have no magic charm.

Some people learnt there's 9 o'clock am exists in Saturday, and can be worth getting up!

Also, some predict there'll be many baby boys named Johnny in 9 months time...

Tamerlane · Post by **Tamerlane** » Mon Nov 24, 2003 8:10 am

LOL, well I'm still not too certain about number 10.

10. There is no jinx on England, or any British team, winning. And, despite dozens of humiliations at Australia's hands in cricket, rugby union and league, tennis, athletics, swimming etc, they have no magic charm.

You guys may of gotten lucky, but it will go down as one of the best rugby finals of all time. It was a very enjoyable game to watch. Even if I couldn't work out half of the rules

Georgi · Post by **Georgi** » Tue Nov 25, 2003 2:53 pm

Originally posted by Tamerlane
Even if I couldn't work out half of the rules

There are rules?

Mr Sleep · Post by **Mr Sleep** » Tue Nov 25, 2003 4:52 pm

Originally posted by Yshania
Sleepy, the only other World Cup team to impress me was Wales - sincerely. Not against the English, but against New Zealand - they showed so much heart. Wales - with new found confidence after this competition - will be a force to be reckoned with come the next six nations!

Indeed, I can only hope, I tend to think Wales have been a little let down by their fitness and the fact that they quite often feel it necessary to over-play things and the plays end up getting stale.

I hope the English won't become arrogant, I cannot see it from the squad, myself, but from the fans it is possible. *fingers crossed*

Apart from the fact that the squad start out that way

Re the pretty game? Was rugby ever a pretty game? I will not rise to that how many tries did the Aussies score to get to the final? It is all about adapting to conditions, and the wet conditions we are used to do not always promise the pretty game. At the end of the day, it comes down to defence and determination, not pretty play.

That's the thing, Australia were just as boring as England, so I didn't really care about the final, I was more interested in New Zealand but sadly they were beaten by Australia which kind of ruined it for me. The wet conditions were very obvious in that game, the amount of missed passes was obscene, if the conditions had been favourable the result might have turned out differently...although it's difficult to say.

LMAO! I so love it that Robinson got on the scoreboard!! Not only is he a testament to "boring" rugby league, he is also an awesome runner, such speed, and such ability to change direction at such speed. Awesome and undersung IMO! [/b]

He's the most exciting player in England by a long way and I'm glad to see him and Wilko doing well.

C Elegans · Post by **C Elegans** » Tue Nov 25, 2003 5:57 pm

Congrats England, well done!

Although I always want the Kiwis to win, the All Blacks make rugby a form of art...

I also agree with Minerva regarding rugby players: many of the best footballers are drama-queens and behave like divas, whereas there seems to more sportsmanship in rugby.

Craig · Post by **Craig** » Sun Nov 30, 2003 5:29 pm