Rugby League World Cup Final - England V Australia 0900hrs 02/12/17

The Toa Samoa v Mate Ma'a Tonga game this morning was the best international rugby league game I’ve ever seen and easily the best and most passionate sporting pre-game spectacle I’ve ever seen. Both doing their versions of the Haka at the same time facing each other. It made the hairs stand on end! It was special!

The Hakas:


The highlights:


http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-z...game-samoan-and-tongan-community-leaders.html
In the build-up to the game there’s been violence all week between Samoa and Tonga fans. It’s the biggest rivalry in the sport. Although, today, both sets of players tried to show some Pacific unity in joining in prayers together pre- and post-game to try and stop the violence between the fans getting any worse.

England were dreadful against Lebanon. They are playing like Wayne Bennett’s interviews; uncomfortable to watch and boring.

Papua New Guinea v Ireland is going to be an absolute cracker tomorrow morning n’all and the PNG fans are very passionate too. Can’t wait for that one.

Then New Zealand v Tonga next week has the potential to be the game of the tournament!

Great start to the World Cup, just a shame England have been average.
 
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Haha, yeah that what I always think n’all
 
Here we go...

Semifinal #2, Mate Ma'a Tonga v England now on BBC1

Absolutely spine tingling scenes. It’s going to be an epic game!

Come on England!!!!!
 
Great game, Tonga have some monster players, the England players will now be hitting the ice baths, some
brutal tackles went in.
 
It's been the most exciting RLWC I can ever remember.

Remember that Rugby League is a low funded sport played in working class areas of Northern England, Southern France and New Zealand and a huge sport in Queensland and New South Wales in Australia where they have huge funding. Some Super League clubs get sponsors from local chip shops, NRL clubs get sponsors from huge international companies. It's on another level in QLD and NSW than England and France. Also in England and France RL doesn't have the upper middle class old boys networks sponsoring the sport or filling the corporate boxes at Twickers or Stade de France like the "ruggers" does and doesn't have anything like the amount of different countries playing or funding football gets. In France the sport was banned by the upper middle classes! New Zealand doesn't even have a league, yet they won the RLWC in 2008, although all of their players play in NRL.

When you think of the football world, how many people and countries play it and the funding it gets across the world, and see that Germany have played in 8 of 20 WC finals and Brazil 7. That's as big a farce as the Aussies getting to 14 RLWC finals in a row. Basketball the world's second largest sport yet look at the dominance of the USA team.

You've just got to enjoy rugby league for what it is.

It is the code of football where the ball is in play the most:
Gridiron 11%
Rugby Union 35%
Association Football 67%
Rugby League 72%
(don't know about Gaelic and Aussie rules)

At it's best it doesn't get more exciting in world sport.

If you didn't enjoy:

You don't like sport

It was AMAZING!

The colour the passion the quality of play the intensity...just top class!
 
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