Practising our French ...

It's probably worth practising a few Rugby-appropriate expressions in French as we head closer to the RWC.

Although most of us will be where ever it is we are and not in France for the Cup it may seem unnecessary. However, French is a musical language and abuse hurled at the ref on television sounds must chic-er than if proffered in English (or Australian).

Par exemple ...

Envoyez-le au loin ! (send him off!)

Arbitre, tu as besoin de lunettes ! (ref, you need glasses!)

Les Africains Du sud trichent encore ! (The South Africans are cheating again!)

Dan Carter est très beau (sigh ...)

Et bien sur .... Vivent les Australiens! Vivent le vert et l'or !

Start practising today so you're word-perfect in time for the first match :-)

Not about rugby ... congratulations Cadel!

Congratulations Cadel Evans on finishing 2nd in the 2007 Tour de France :-)

Nice to see another Australian doing well on the world stage in a very, very tough event (and he's drug free and cute too!).

That's him on the left (in the pink and black racing suit). Nice shot of the Arc de Triomphe aussi.

OK, let's focus .... where to stay in Paris during the World Cup?

Now that the Bledisloe and Tri Nations Cups have gone across the Tasman it's time to refocus on the Rugby World Cup in September.

I've found a useful website if you're searching for a chic hotel in the chic-est city in the world - Paris. www.splendia.com lists all sorts of boutique hotels noted for their funky atmospheres and proximity to shopping meccas :-)

For example, the above suite is housed in the tres chic Hotel Castille Paris. It's on the Rue Cambon - the same street as the High Temple of Chic (and Chic Rugby's house of worship), Chanel.

Happy Holidays!

Farewell Bledisloe and Tri Nations Cups

Now, it's been a few days between posts at Chic Rugby.

That's because I didn't watch 3/4 of the game between Australia and the All Blacks.

I was at my hairdresser's.

Needless to say the result was disappointing for the men in green and gold.

And Dan the Man Carter was responsible for a goodly part of the carnage. We love Dan, but not as much when he's playing Australia. See him kicking another penalty goal in the picture above. 21 points to his name.

Ouch.

Where to now for the Wallabies? The World Cup Final, that's where! The boys will need to get it together to overcome the mental challenge of losing two prestigious competitions against the World Cup favourites, in order to regroup and retake the prettiest cup on offer in world rugby. They can do it, they have the potential.

On another note, former Wallabies coach Eddie Jones has scored a job with the Springboks as they too prepare for the World Cup. John O'Neill, the recently reappointed head of Australian Rugby has made the jokey comment that Jones' appointment will actually help the Wallabies as he wasn't that great a coach during his tenure and the Australians lost lots of matches!

Hope he gives them the same match tips he gave the Wallabies. Maybe he could go coach the All Blacks as well?!

Richie McCaw ... cute, but a cheat?

All Blacks captain Richie McCaw is creating discussion in the lead up to Saturday's test match against Australia.

Just what is he up to?

My observations of Richie's play is that he comes in at the breakdown from off-side a lot. The All Blacks' assistant coach Steve Hansen is quoted in rugbyheaven.smh.com.au as describing the debate as "nonsense". That "a lot of the time he's forcing them (the opposition) to come from the side to remove him, so we should be getting the penalty. He's that quick, he'll make a tackle and get to his feet. Sometimes it's an optical illusion."

I'm not so sure. It's a lot of optical illusions .... it seems to happen in every game. Is he getting away with it because he's the captain? Or because he's in with the refs? Or because he's cute?!

Off-side is a tricky rule to police in rugby as the action is fast and the ref's eyes can't be on every player at every stage of the game. 'Off-side ref!' is a common cry from disgruntled spectators watching a match.

It remains to be seen if Richie is simply 'that quick' or he's sneaky enough to take advantage of the chaos after the scrum breaks down or a maul has scrambled possession of the ball. There are distinct rules about from which direction a player may enter the break-down and coming in from the wrong direction results in a penalty.

And successful penalty kicks equal 3 points for the other side (i.e. us!).

Let's hope the refs are onto it on Saturday .... we need every point we can get :-)

Oh dear ... some mucking around sees Julian out of the Bledisloe Cup this weekend.

A tackle at an after-party has forced Julian Huxley out of this weekend's game against the All Blacks. Silly boy! He suffered a corked thigh.

Takes me back to prowling the day and boarding houses of the school he went to; it was a school tradition to 'pile on' and crash tackle at random.

It seems he hasn't grown up!

Enjoy watching the game on the bench, if you can, Julian :-(

Wonderful wellies!

I don't know about you but I don't subscribe to the notion that wellies are old ladyish. I like 'em. They keep a rugby-watching gal's toes dry.

I have a pair of Huntress navy blue wellies, purchased 10 years ago to wear to school rugby on a Saturday. My U13Es laughed at them but their mothers did not. Those boots started a trend.

Wear your wellies in winter with pride!

Just as we thought ... the All Blacks bring down the 'Boks.

I didn't watch the game yesterday as I was otherwise engaged but my prediction that the All Blacks would win was right! They scored three converted tries in the last 12 minutes of the game (that's 21 points).

However, the collective wisdom of the rugby press is suggesting that the All Blacks wouldn't be so pleased with their performance against an understrength South Africa. Chris Foley in Rugby Heaven says they were uninspiring in attack even though they had possession of the ball for most of the game. This means the Springboks were able to defend their line against an 'all over the shop' game strategy by the men in black. It didn't translate into tries for the South Africans but kept the scoreline lower for the All Blacks. The New Zelanders will go back to the drawing board for the game against Australia this coming weekend. Let's hope the Wallabies are not wobbly.

Dan scored a try and made 3 conversions and 4 penalties! As gorgeous as he is let's pray he doesn't do quite so well this Saturday. The upcoming game decides both the Tri Nations and the Bledisloe Cup, hence a lot of national rugby-lovin' pride is at stake :-)

Want to show your support for the Wallabies?

Not sure about the chic-ness of this supporters jersey, but if you feel compelled .... they can be purchased at http://www.onerugby.com.au/ $130.00

This weekend: New Zealand v South Africa

Saturday afternoon (our time) will see the All Blacks up against the Springboks, in Christchurch. Both teams are coming back from defeats against Australia and will have something to prove.

The smart money is on the All Blacks, as they are always fiercer competition when they have the home-ground advantage. The Springboks will be playing under their fourth captain in four games, Johann Muller. He plays in the second row of the Bok's scrum, and looks it (oh dear).

The All Blacks have announced some team changes due to injury and poor play. Byron Kelleher, another All Black hottie (and the lovely Dan's playing partner at half-back), will not be playing.

But Dan will - hooray!

This is the one time you can all barrack for the All Blacks.

By the way, Australia is currently leading the Tri Nations table with 9 points. The other two nations are on 5 apiece. Let's see how things stand after the weekend but it's certainly looking exciting for the match between Australia and the All Blacks on July 21 (the second game of the Bledisloe Cup).

Aaaagh, it's too much :-)

Nice bit of hardwear for the trophy cabinet :-)

Australia retained the Mandela Plate by defeating the Springboks on Saturday night.

'Twill look nice on the sideboard.

Shame about poor Stirling's head ....

Yay - we won!

The Wallabies wrapped up the game against the Springboks, 25 v 17. A great pathway into the next round of the Tri Nations (against the All Blacks again).

I did get distracted reading my friend's blog though ... the last 20 minutes of the game were not as attention-grabbing as the first 60.

Hooray for the boys in gold :-)

Wrapping up:

Matt Giteau scored a superb try for Australia! Stirling Mortlock failed to convert it but he did successfully kick a penalty goal a few minutes earlier. RSA 17 v Aus 25

Whilst I was back watching Harry Potter the Wallabies scored another converted try to equalise with the Springboks. Not sure who scored it :-) RSA 17 v Aus 17

RSA 17 v Aus 25

Julian Huxley - my Wallaby connection

Julian is having a much better game this evening than he did against the All Blacks last week. Julian was a Year 12 student at the boys' school I taught at 10 years ago. He used to help my U13Es full-back with his goal-kicking practice. Julian was a 1st XV player as well as a 1st VIII rower. He was also a good school student and went on to study Law at ANU.

He joins other old boys from his school in the Wallabies squad, including Stirling Mortlock (I taught Stirling's younger brother Stewart). There's also lots of them in the Waratahs squad. The boys from this historic school have become outstanding athletes. I remember them as totally gorgeous :-)

Incidentally, Stirling has just put another 3 points on the Wallabies score with a nice penalty conversion.

Half time: RSA 17 v Aus 10

Try!

Hooray! Mark Gerrard scored a try for Australia, almost under the goal posts! Nice conversion Stirling :-)

RSA 17 v Aus 7

Good Lord! 17 minutes in and the 'Boks are 17 zip ahead!

I'm sitting here flicking between Harry Potter on Nine and the match on Seven. The Springboks are pinning the Wallabies in their half and there's a bit of kicking going on ... not a usual tactic for Southern Hemisphere teams but useful for gaining ground and territory if you can win the subsequent line-out.

The Wallabies are trying to take it over the 22 but the South Africans are lethal tacklers. Adam Freier, the hooker (number 2) for Australian has just been taken out in a dangerous tackle.

Oh dear :-(

What do the numbers mean on the guys' backs?

Each player in a rugby team has a particular match-play role within the team and hence a corresponding position/jersey number.

There are 15 players in the team, eight 'forwards' numbered 1 - 8 and seven 'backs' numbered 9 - 15:

1 Loosehead prop; 2 Hooker; 3 Tighthead prop (the front row)
4 Lock; 5 Lock (the second row)
6 Blindside flanker; 8 'No 8'; 7 Openside flanker (the back row; flankers are also known as breakaways)

9 Scrum-half/half-back
10 Fly-half/five-eighth
11 Left wing; 14 Right wing
12 Inside centre
13 Outside centre
15 Full-back

You may hear guys or the TV commentators refer to 'the pack', 'the midfield', 'the back three' etc. These are collective terms for the forwards (all 8 of whom make up the scrum), the centres (players 12 & 13), and the wingers & full-back.

Generally you'll see players numbered 1 - 8 packing down into scrums and lining up into 'line-outs' to catch the ball, and players 9 - 15 throwing the ball around between them and running with it to the try line.

Forwards are generally big and strong physically, whilst the backs are fast runners.

I usually refer to the forwards as 'the big fat forwards'. Look at a few of them and you'll see what I mean. Big fat necks to support them in the scrum.

I refer to the backs as 'the fancy boys'. They are often better looking than the forwards. The famous Australian back David Campese was famous for not tackling anybody because he liked to keep his jersey clean. This why they're fancy :-)

What to wear to show your national pride ...

Rugby Girl is another NZ company (they love their rugby in Kiwi-land) that sells rugby related clothes but this time with a girly focus. You can buy tees, tops, pants and accessories in various colourways that reflect your country's national colours.

I have the singlet and knickers in green and gold. Perfect for showing loyalty to the Aussie boys (but trying hard not to be confused with a South African supporter).

Even though I fancy Dan the man Carter, I will always wear Wallaby knickers.

Fashion blunder: what is it with the Wallabies' new jersey?

Hmmm, I'm not sure about the new Wallabies' jersey.

For some time other teams have worn slimfit jerseys (the All Blacks, French, the Springboks and English teams are all fans) whilst the Australians have stayed with the more traditional cut and fabric of rugby shirts.

Canterbury, the NZ company best known for rugby attire, has designed a jersey for the Wallabies to bring them into functional (and fashionable) line with these other premier teams. It stays with the predominantly gold theme of the national jersey (although this has changed over the years) with flashes of green about the neck.

But what's with the green line on the front of the jersey? The one that is meant to create the illusion of a six-pack (hey, these guys don't need the illusion - they all have them under those jerseys)?

It makes them look like they have breasts!

Oh well, they can bring on hell as they charge about the field, Gladiator-style (thanks Russ). Must have been designed by a guy.

Tonight: Australia v South Africa

In the 4th game of Tri Nations series Australia will take on South Africa. To date each of the 3 teams in the competition has won a game against another Tri Nations foe, so tonight's game will be very important to the victor.

A psychological advantage cannot be underestimated in the game of rugby (yes, these men can think).

In the previous meeting between the Wallabies and the Springboks the 'Boks were victorious but it was close - 3 points (equal to one penalty goal or one field goal). The Wallabies are coming off the back of a vital win against the All Blacks and their confidence will be higher than apparent to date. They will also have a hometown advantage playing in Sydney at the Telstra Stadium. However, the Springboks are fearsome when they get going (they also have a reputation for dirty play ... grrr) so the Australians will not underestimate the challenge ahead of them tonight. The Wallabies will need to play in an attacking fashion whilst taking care to defend their line for all their might, as the Springboks like to open up the game and run with the ball at the line.

Our guys will have their work cut out for them.

A note to those who've not watched the Australians play against the Springboks before tonight - yes, they do wear the same colours, but in reverse. You'll see green, gold and white all over the field.

The yellow ones are the ones you're barracking for.

So, who to watch out for (that is, names to say loudly at various times during the game)?

For the Wallabies: Stirling Mortlock (wears 13 on his back and is bald - he's also the captain); Stephen Larkham (wears number 10 and straps his arms); Adam Ashley-Cooper (wears 11).

No-one is the Springboks is ever worth watching out for (they play dirty remember ... grrr).

Go the Wallabies!

More Dan

This is highlights video from YouTube was created by another Dan fan. Slightly cheesy ... ignore the accompanying music.

Watch Dan do his thing in Super 14 and international games.

Sigh.

My favourite rugby player: Dan Carter

Alas, he is an All Black but he is GORGEOUS. Here he is promoting Jockey shorts for Jockey NZ.