Rob's Blog

Entries Tagged as 'rugby'

The Future of Rugby?

October 14th, 2015 · No Comments · Major Events, Rugby Union, Technology

The 2015 Rugby World Cup which is currently in progress has embraced technology with the use of the Hawk-Eye system to help the referee adjudicate decisions, as well as assist with player safety by identifying possible concussion instances and behind play incidents (see more about technology in sports).

Is this a step towards the possible futuristic rugby player? The team at bwin in their Alternative Guide to the 2015 Rugby World Cup came up with the following possible innovations that we may or may not see in Rugby World Cup competitions of the future. Some food for thought.

Some of these technologies are used in the tests discussed in The Future of Fitness Testing.

Tags: hawk-eye·rubgy union·rugby·rugby world cup

World Cup Team Names

September 14th, 2011 · Comments Off on World Cup Team Names · Major Events, Rugby Union

I have just completed listing all of the rugby union national team names and was surprised to find out that Ireland and Scotland don’t really have one, and that England’s name of the Red and Whites is also not commonly used.

Here in the southern hemisphere the terms Wallabies and All Blacks are practically the official names of the national teams of Australia and New Zealand. However, have you ever heard of these teams that are in the current Rugby World Cup: Bati (Fiji), The Brave Blossoms (Japan), Welwitschias (Namibia), and the Oaks (Romania)?

Tags: nicknames·rugby·World Cup

North versus South

October 1st, 2006 · No Comments · Rugby League

For the first time in the history of the Australian Rugby League, no Sydney based team made it to the NRL Grand Final. It is not a good time for the traditional supporters of the national football codes, as AFL has had a similar situation for the last three years.

It is not that surprising it hasn’t happened before for the NRL, as for a long time there were no interstate teams, and then for a while only one. Not only is there no NSW team in the final, traditional rival city Melbourne is the favourite to win.

A state of origin game being played in the home on AFL – Melbourne

Only ten years ago no one would have ever dreamed that a rugby league team from Victoria would even be playing in the competition, let alone winning it.

Unfortunately for me and other Melbourne supporters, the game was won narrowly by the Brisbane Broncos. As with most grand finals, it was a hard-fought game. Some would say that Melbourne should have won as there were a couple of refereeing decisions that could / should have gone the Storm’s way which would have reversed the result.

But it is often that way, and I don’t want to be a sore loser. The winner on the scoreboard at the end will always be remembered long after the controversy of an unpaid try has gone away.

Related Pages: Rugby League, AFL

Tags: league·melbourne storm·rugby·state of origin