Southern Tours Mostly One-Way Traffic With Notable Exceptions

Earlier in the month, Armchair Playmaker mentioned that the Southern Hemisphere had swept the opening weekend of this year's summer (for the Northern Hemisphere, at least) tour test matches. A few weeks later, it's been laregly more of the same. Here's how things look so far:

• 7 June: New Zealand 21, Ireland 11.
• 7 June: South Africa 43, Wales 17.
• 7 June: Argentina 21, Scotland 15.
• 14 June: New Zealand 37, England 20.
• 14 June: South Africa 37, Wales 21.
• 14 June: Australia 18, Ireland 12.
• 14 June: Scotland 26, Argentina 14.
• 21 June: New Zealand 44, England 12.
• 21 June: South Africa 26, Italy 0.
• 28 June: Australia 34, France 13.
• 28 June: Italy 13, Argentina 12.

So far, then, that's a 9-2 victory count in favor of the Southern Hemisphere. France takes one more chop at Australia this Saturday, but the trend is pretty well set. Keep in mind, though, that some of the traveling sides have been worn and depleted, and there have been some close finishes that could have easily gone the other way. All in all, though, the visitors have not fared well.

Southern hemisphere sides head north in November, where some of the same troubles tend to plague the visitors then as well.

The end result is at least one newspaper editorial calling for an end to the obligatory annual tours, perhaps to be replaced by less frequent visits of more substance and more June matches with smaller Southern Hemisphere sides. Armchair Playmaker is intrigued, but dares not comment. Do you?

Players at all Levels Getting Rabbit Punched

Extracurricular rugby league violence has taken a new direction this week with news that a YouTube video of a brawl between Under-13 sides is being forwarded to one of the sides' opponents. The video, which features players from the South Sydney-affiliated Mascot Jets Under-13 side attacking an opposition player, was accompanied by threats of more of the same for opposition who "mess wid" the youthful side.

Armchair Playmaker isn't sure if the video is still available, and would prefer not to share it if it were given the youthful perpetrators, but now seems like to good time to point out that the South Sydney organization is unfortunately not without a history of recent violence at all levels.

There was Jamien Lowe's "king hit" in 2007, which earned an 18-match suspension:



Then there was David Fa'alogo's similar attack the same season, which doubly frustrated Sydney Roosters players Braith Anasta and Craig Fitzgibbon when a penalty against the Roosters was upheld (though Fa'alogo was sent off for ten minutes and later suspended for seven weeks):



The Souths Juniors Under-20 Jersey Flegg side also got in the mix during that year with a brawl between Souths Juniors and Central Coast:



In fact, come to think of it, the penchant for brawling reaches all the way up to Russell Crowe in the owner's box (Caution: Some profanity and crude language):

Upside Down over Coaches in the Antipodes

According to a poll by New Zealand Reader's Digest, the most trusted rugby union coaches in New Zealand...aren't in New Zealand.

Although much is being made of the fact that new Australia coach Robbie Deans (ranked 35th) is ranked above current New Zealand coach Graham Henry (ranked 46th), the most trusted coach on the list is Japan's John Kirwan (ranked 6th-tie).

To be fair, the just-released poll was conducted in March, and Henry has picked up three consecutive test match wins since then. Obviously, though, New Zealanders appreciate Kirwan's high-profile role in a television public service ad campaign dealing with depression, as well as his famous New Zealand performances as a player. One such performance, a legendary individual try from the 1987 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, is below (first in slow-motion, then at speed):

Australia Faces an Old Nemesis

The 2008 summer rugby union Southern Hemisphere tour matches continue this week with France visiting Australia this Saturday. A number of France regulars are unavailable due to the ongoing Top 14 playoffs. Although many therefore claim that the French are sending a second-class side, others, such as Australia flyhalf Matt Giteau, warn of a tough challenge ahead.

Perhaps Giteau remembers previous occasions where France has stepped up to the mark against Australia, such as in the 1987 Rugby World Cup semifinal (though Giteau was only four years old at the time):

United States Wilts in Border Clash

The United States Eagles rugby union team lost sight of a chance for their first and only win of the 2008 Churchill Cup, suffering a 26-10 loss to Canada today. The Eagles led at 10-0 at halftime, but wilted in the second period and gave up 26 unanswered points. Given that all of the other sides in the tournament are not full international sides (including the champion England Saxons, who are England's second-level side), the U.S. loss was the only true test match of the tournament. This means that the Eagles have not won a rugby match since beating Uruguay in a 2007 World Cup qualifying match on 7 October 2006, and that they are 0-1 in full test matches in 2008. The Eagles haven't beaten Canada since 2005.

Despite the loss, the Eagles must be optimistic about the future contributions of new coach Scott Johnson, who was an Australia assistant coach in 2007 and joined the Eagles just before the tournament. Johnson expressed frustration with the side's fitness, noting that "we can play forty minutes of footy" and "they were spent at halftime." Johnson also suggested changes ahead, though, promising to "find the players that can come out of this great nation" and claiming, "We've got to find people that don't use lack of money as the excuse. We want professional people, and that just doesn't mean money. That means attitude." in a post-match television interview.

Johnson also appears to have also brought along former Australian defensive coach John Muggleton for some quick help before Muggleton begins his tenure as an assistant with the Llanelli Scarlets in Wales. Muggleton, who was seen on the sideline for the United States in a first-half television interview, had finished with the Wallabies under stormy terms and believed that he was considered a "mungo" during his time with the Wallabies due to his rugby league history, must have been glad to visit the United States, where most don't know what a mungo is--or what rugby league is, for that matter.

Ratu Nasiganiyavi: The Next Big Thing?

It seems that identifying the "Next Jonah Lomu" is a bit of a cottage industry, and the term gets thrown around quite a bit considering that no one has yet filled the giant former All Black wing's boots yet.

That said, it sure is a sight to see Ratu Nasiganiyavi, the hulking Australia Under-20 wing who will play for the New South Wales Waratahs next year, go tearing down the sideline. Although Australia isn't in tomorrow's Junior World Championship Grand Final today, the try-heavy performances from Lote Tuqiri's cousin have certainly been a bright spot. Have a look at just a couple of his moments from the tournament (scoring a try at the beginning of the first clip and scoring another at about 4:50 of the second one):

What's in an Anthem?

The Ireland rugby union side recently completed a tour to Oceania, which was marked by an honorable 21-11 loss to New Zealand in frigid conditions and a very close 18-12 loss to Australia in not-so-frigid indoor conditions the next weekend. Given that it is customary to play both sides' national anthems before a test match, the tour calls to mind Ireland's interesting anthem situation and, more generally, the unique makeup of its national side.

The Republic of Ireland became independent from the United Kingdom in 1922 following a war for independence that was precipitated by a 1916 uprising. The day after Ireland received autonomy, Northern Ireland opted to withdraw from the new nation and remain part of the United Kingdom. The island remains politically divided today. The circumstances and conflict surrounding this schism are too complex to explore in detail here, but the strife between those favoring the split and those seeking to unify Ireland under one government has been an acrimonious one that has cost thousands of lives over the years.

Despite the political division, though, the Ireland rugby union side represents the entire island. Therefore, Ireland has been faced with a unique political challenge in how to represent its supporters. A flag representing the four provinces of Ireland is flown instead of the flags of Ireland or Northern Ireland. Until 1995, the Irish national anthem (Amhrán na bhFiann, or "The Soldier's Song") was played at home fixtures in the Republic of Ireland, while the British national anthem ("God Save the Queen") was played at home fixtures in Northern Ireland. For away fixtures, the issue was resolved awkwardly by playing no anthem at all for the Irish side.

In 1995, a new anthem, "Ireland's Call," was created specifically for use by the Ireland rugby union side. (For matches in the Irish capital of Dublin, however, the Irish anthem is also played and the Irish flag is also flown.) Although the anthem has since also been adopted by Ireland's rugby league, cricket, and field hockey sides, it remains somewhat controversial. "Ireland's Call" has been alternately described as "a laughable dirge" and an anthem "belted out with such hair-raising intensity that men and women were crying as they sang."

So is "Ireland's Call" a failed attempt to patch over Ireland's political friction or a symbol of unity for Ireland's athletes and supporters? You can be the judge after viewing this clip of players signing along to the anthem before a 2007 Six Nations match against England (which was also significant in that it was the first appearance of an English sporting side at Dublin's Croke Park since the 1920 "Bloody Sunday" incident, when British soldiers fired into a crowd of Gaelic football supporters and killed 14 of them):

Raging Willie

After Willie Mason called Queensland Maroons fans "nutbag, redneck supporters," Queensland retaliated with a 30-0 whitewash of Mason's New South Wales side in the second match of the 2008 State of Origin series. The third deciding match is still two weeks away, but Mason has already offered more of his characteristically diplomatic commentary, warning that the third match will be "the biggest game in his life" and adding, "I genuinely hate Queenslanders."

Why is Willie Mason so eager to get inflammatory quotes in the press? One recent opinion piece suggests that the rants may be intended to distract from mediocre Origin performances.

Whatever the reason, Big Willie keeps managing to turn up in the press a lot, as is chronicled in this song from Mick Meredith (Caution: Some rude innuendo/imagery):

An Inconvenient Code

Resources are limited. There is no way that everyone can continue to enjoy the luxuries to which they have grown accustomed. Soon, the environment will be changed dramatically, and not everyone will survive.

These may sound like claims straight out of the 2006 film An Inconvenient Truth, but this time the consternation surrounds the fate of rugby union and rugby league--at least in Australia. Australian Rugby Union CEO John O'Neill spoke in gloomy tones in an interview Sunday, warning that with increasing competition for audiences from Australian Rules Football and Soccer, "there is a risk that one of the football codes may not survive in the form that it currently enjoys." CNN also has video of another interview with a worrisome O'Neill.

Considering that O'Neill speaks of a battle for audiences, Armchair Playmaker can think of no better way to resolve the predicted battle between the codes than a matchup between their promotional advertising. You be the judge on who will survive O'Neill's sporting showdown!

2007 Rugby Union World Cup Ad:



2008 Rugby League World Cup Ad:



2008 Rugby Union Super 14 Ad:



2007 Rugby League NRL Ad:



Armchair Playmaker won't dare pick a winner. If you can, post a comment!

North America Breaks its Duck ... Sorta

Last week, Armchair Playmaker commented on the rough ride the North American rugby union sides are having at all levels this summer. This week, it's the old good-news, bad-news, story.

The good news is that Canada's Under-20 side broke the North American losing streak in the Junior World Championship by beating Fiji 17-10.

The bad news is that the win put North American representative sides at 1-7 on the week. In the Churchill Cup, the United States fell to Ireland "A" 46-9 while Canada lost 17-16 to Argentina "A." In the Junior World Championship, the United States was beaten 20-6 by Samoa and 41-14 by Scotland, and Canada's lone win over Fiji was tempered by a 60-18 hiding from England. Meanwhile, England Counties won a rematch over a U.S. Select side 31-16, then put down a Canada select side 31-6.

And then there's the ambiguous news. A North American side is guaranteed to win (or at least not lose in case of an honorable draw) a Churchill Cup match Saturday, as the United States and Canada are set to play for the Churchill Cup's wooden spoon (a.k.a. the "bowl final").

In the Junior World Championship, Canada will take on Scotland while the United States matches up with Fiji. Both of those matches are scheduled for Wednesday.

The Dark Side of a Rugby League Convert

Given that players crossing from rugby code to another has been on Armchair Playmaker's mind this week, we may as well take a look back at a funny moment involving not one, but two code jumpers.

Brian Carney has been a successful player in both the Engage Super League and the National Rugby League, and hopped over to rugby union and Munster this last year.

Ryan Cross hopped from rugby league and the Sydney Roosters to rugby union and the the Western Force in 2007, and has played his way into the Australia Wallabies side that will play this weekend.

These two outside backs have therefore gone their separate ways, but they will be forever linked by an unfortunate moment from a match a couple of years back (Caution: some mild profanity, crude humor, and just a flash of backside nudity):

Origin II Highlights

When we first discussed Queensland's 30-0 whitewash of New South Wales in the second match of the 2008 State of Origin series, it was too early to catch hold of some highlight clips to post. Now that they're available, have a look at a very thorough highlight clip:



If you'd rather feel like you were there, here is a clip of highlights filmed from a seat in the crowd at Suncorp Stadium:



a 30-0 scoreline is pretty amazing in the hotly contested interstate series. As you can see, a win like that has people dreaming of playing for Queensland:

Rugby Dump's Got the Rugby Union Clips

Armchair Playmaker has mentioned the famous Rugby Dump site before. They gather rugby union clips from all over, and create many of their own as well. Each day there are one or more new clips. Armchair Playmaker has a few union and league clips now and again, but nothing like the library that Rugby Dump has assembled. Most of the time, in fact, we try to deliberately avoid posting clips that Rugby Dump is using simply because we figure there's no point in putting it here if everyone's already seen it there!

So why the big praise? A couple of days ago, Rugby Dump asked its supporters to share a promo for their site. Armchair Playmaker is happy to comply:

Players = Wins?

Given the United States' continuing struggles in international rugby at all levels, Armchair Playmaker though it might be helpful to provide a look at some baseline comparisons. The International Rugby Board's site has great player registration statistics, etc., easily available for participating national unions, and we've used them to create this table comparing how many people play rugby union across the nations.

For parsimony, we've included only figures for each country who has been a Rugby World Cup champion or runner-up since the tournament's inception in 1987, along with the United States. We've also used these figures to calculate the percentage of each nation's population that plays rugby union, the number of referees, and the number of referees per player. Click the chart below for a closer look:



As you can see, all of the nations listed but Australia have at least twice as many players in the nation as the United States does. England has more than ten times as many. Additionally, the gap in popularity by proportion is perhaphs more instructive. Every World Cup winner but Australia have at least one registered rugby union player for every 100 people in their population. In rugby-mad New Zealand, three of every 100 souls play. France, which has been in two finals but hasn't yet won the trophy, is a bit lower with three in a thousand.

Meanwhile, the United States has one rugby union player for every five thousand people in their population. Of course, these figures don't take into account factors such as what level these players are playing at, how many are male and female, what the development infrastructure is, etc., but the general picture should give a little bit of an idea of the challenge the U.S. side faces in terms of player pools.

Interestingly, the U.S. number of referees per player rate is not too far off compared to a lot of nations, but you may want to consider that this won't reflect the rate of full-time referees, etc., which is very low in the United States.

Some have called the United States a "sleeping giant" in rugby union (though one of those people has said a few less promising things since). If that's the case, these figures give an idea of how deep the slumber is.

Just for fun, we've also compared the figures for the World Cup winners and runners-up to how many players there are per World Cup win to see who's getting the best return on their player resources. Click to have a look:



Of course, these numbers don't take into count a lot of factors. The present numbers don't say anything about how many people played in a nation several years ago, for example. The nature of the game and player development have also changed a lot since the advent of professionalism in 1995, which was after three World Cups had already been played. Considering these and other factors, that last chart needs to be taken with a grain of salt. All the same, it looks like whatever Australia is doing, they need to keep doing it! England has over 20 times as many players per World Cup win, and even New Zealand has four times as many.

Sonny Bill Doesn't Switch Codes ... But Collins Does?

New Zealand's rugby union side already has one rugby league convert in their forwards in the form of Brad Thorn, but it looks like they'll be missing out on getting another. Impassive Canterbury Bulldogs and New Zealand Kiwis forward Sonny Bill Williams had been speculatively linked to a possible switch to rugby union while quarreling with the Bulldogs over pay.

That possibility has been squashed, however, by today's news that Williams has signed a four-year deal with the Bulldogs. Good news for the Dogs and good news for opponents of the New Zealand All Blacks, who won't have to deal with this:



Meanwhile, recently retired All Blacks loose forward Jerry Collins made something of a surprise code switch, playing for the North City Vikings in a low-key Wellington Rugby League match. Unfortunately, the move looks like it wil cost the Vikings a small fine, as Collins wasn't registered and played under a bogus name. Collins, who has a history of turning up in matches for lower-tier sides, was presumably using the assumed moniker as an administrative dodge rather than an actual attempt to hide his identity. After all, it would hard to keep this sort of guy under wraps (Caution: Some profanity in music soundtrack accompanying video):

Must be Boyd's Year

The third match of the State of Origin series will be the decider after Queensland put a 30-0 whitewash on New South Wales to level the series. Among the big Queensland performers was the Brisbane Broncos' Darius Boyd, who scored two first-half tries on the wing. Boyd is having a happy year straight from the beginning, as he scored a hat-trick of tries against the Penrith Panthers in the first match of the 2008 National Rugby League season after scoring another hat-trick in a preseason trial match against the Canberra Raiders.

Given that it's too early for highlights from the Origin match, here's a clip of Boyd scoring a fantastic team try that stretched nearly the length of the field against the Gold Coast Titans in Round Six of the 2008 NRL season:

New to Rugby League?

Although rugby union is not widely understood in many parts of the world, including the United States, rugby league is extremely less so. Considering that we're smack in the middle of the world's major rugby league competitions' seasons (the National Rugby League and the Engage Super League), as well as the United States' American National Rugby League season, and we've got a Rugby League World Cup around the corner, it might be a good time for you to give it a look if you haven't before. To get you started, here are some resources for the basics.

To get an idea of the fundamental basics in terms of laws, positions, etc., have a look at the useful BBC Sport Rugby League Laws and Equipment site.

For a brief overview of where rugby league came from, see the RL1908 site's discussion of The Birth of Rugby League and other articles on Rugby League History.

To read about the upcoming Rugby League World Cup, which will begin in October, see the official 2008 Rugby League World Cup site.

If you prefer watching to reading, you can also get at least a few basics from the brief video below, which was used to familiarize an American audience with rugby league before this past February's Australia Day Challenge exhibition match in Jacksonville, Florida. It's unfortunate that the "no pads," etc. lines appear antagonistic toward American Football, as it seems like a better strategy to promote the rugby codes in the United States would be to accept that American football is a good game and so are the rugby codes instead of trying to pit them against each other. That aside, though, have a look for some rugby league basics:



Considering that film star Russell Crowe was part of the impetus behind that Florida exhibition match(see our earlier posts on the trip here and here), you may as well have a look at the Gladiator himself enjoying a quick run of his own with a few legends of the game while we're on the topic:



To see Rugby League played in the United States, have a look at this clip of highlights from the AMNRL's Jacksonville Axemen:



Or, if you really want to keep it simple, you can just have a look at this famous and well-traveled clip of gruesome (and not all legit) rugby league hits:



Those ought to be enough resources for a good start. There's no reason one can't keep up with two rugby codes!

Got your own resources to share? Please post a comment!

Origin II Looms and Hunt Moves--Announcers Beware

Although Armchair Playmaker had been excited about the possibility of Darren Lockyer returning to the Queensland side for tomorrow's second match of the State of Origin series, that possibility was snuffed out a few days back. After losing the first match of the three-match series 18-10, Queensland will introduce a new playmaker combination. Scott Prince will come into the side at halfback, Jonathan Thurston will slide from halfback to five-eighth, and Karmichael Hunt slides from five-eighth all the way to the bench despite capable at a number of other positions.

Hunt must be disappointed at having to watch at least some of the match from the bench, having recently noted that he finds watching rugby league boring. The good news is for the announcers, who will have less chance of an embarrassing slip-up over his name, as this clip from last year's series appears to show. Did Ray "Rabbits" Warren really say what it sounds like he said? You be the judge (Caution: clip contains apparent accidental profanity):

Sailor Comeback Stalled--Or is It?

A little while back, Armchair Playmaker mentioned dual-code international Wendell Sailor's imminent comeback to rugby league after a drug ban. Unfortunately, Sailor's comeback lasted less than 40 minutes before a broken cheekbone sidelined him once more.

Emotionally, however, his comeback may be going just fine. The big wing remains upbeat about a short layoff after a successful surgery, and has also signed on to write a magazine column. The success of his brief NRL comeback may depend on how you measure it.

Winless Weekend for North American Sides at all Levels

Nowhere to go from here but up this summer for the North American rugby union sides. Here's the weekend tally for the North American outcomes at all levels:

• In the Barclays Churchill Cup's opening weekend, the United States took a 64-10 beating from the England Saxons (England's second-level national side, previously known as England "A"), while Canada was beaten by Scotland A (Scotland's second-level national side).
• Meanwhile, in the Junior World Championship (world championship for national teams of players under twenty years of age), the scorelines were more lopsided. South Africa cracked the ton on the United States 108-18, while Canada fell 81-12 to Australia.
• Finally, the England Counties side, a touring team put together in 2002 to provide amateur and semi-professional English players international playing opportunities, won 27-3 over a U.S. select side (essentially a U.S. "A" made up of players who did not make the U.S. Churchill Cup side).

It's important to point out that there is no great shame in those results, as the representative sides each North American side played were packed with great players, but hopefully things will look better for the North American sides this week. In the Churchill Cup, the United States will next take on Ireland "A" on Wednesday, while Canada will face Argentina "A" on Saturday. In the Junior World Championship, the USA lines up against Samoa and Canada faces England, with both matches scheduled for tomorrow. The U.S. select side also gets one more crack at England Counties tonight.

Below are brief highlights from the North American sides' first Churchill Cup outings. Most of the action is from the European sides, with exceptions:

Southern Hemisphere Clean Sweep in First Weekend of Summer Tours

Ireland pushed New Zealand, but the All-Blacks pulled away late to deny Ireland their first ever win between the sides.

Wales never looked like challending South Africa as the Springboks crushed the visitors.

And finally, Scotland had a slim two-point lead over Argentina with under ten minutes remaining before spotting los Pumas a penalty goal, a final minute try, and the win.

There are plenty of summer tour tests left on the schedule, and we have to remember that the Northern Hemisphere sides are on the road, but the end result suggests a disparity in the geographical distribution of the best sides right now. We'll see how the rest of the summer test matches go. This weekend, Wales gets another crack at the Boks and Scotland tries Argentina out again, while New Zealand greets England and Australia hosts Ireland.

Although it's hard to extrapolate from club competitions to test matches, the weekend also casts doubt on claims by former All Black and current Ospreys halfback Justin Marshall that the Heineken Cup is a better competition than the Super 14. To be fair, a lot of what Marshall was talking about was diversity in competitors and schedules. Then again, Marshall does have a little bit of a flair for the dramatic:

Hollywood Rugby Focus Continues

Forever Strong, a movie that will appear in theaters later this year (see our earlier related post), isn't the only upcoming Hollywood flick with a rugby union focus. Clint Eastwood is set to direct The Human Factor, which starts shooting in 2009 and chronicles the 1995 Rugby World Cup, which was held in South Africa and won by the hosting Springboks in their first appearance after being previously barred from competition due to South Africa's Apartheid policy.

Matt Damon has been cast as Springbok captain Francois Pienaar, and Morgan Freeman will play the role of Nelson Mandela.

It will be tough for movie magic to outdo the real-life drama in this instance, as the image of Pienaar and Mandela in Springbok shirts (Mandela's wardrobe choice was one of great political significance) is a classic sporting moment. See the clip below for a look:

Americans: How to Watch for Free

"How can I watch rugby for free?" seems to be a question on the lips of a lot of budding players in the United States. Not everyone who wants to enjoy and learn about the game is in a position to buy an expensive subscription, so alternatives are handy. In response, here's an attempt at a small list of available viewing options for both rugby union and rugby league for free in the U.S. This list is specific to U.S. viewers, so it won't be too useful for anyone else. Deliberately excluded are dodgy options like file-sharing/stealing sites, etc. If you have others, I hope you'll consider posting to the comments section to help your fellow fans!

Full Matches:
The hands-down best way to watch, especially for the purpose of learning about the game, is to watch the full matches. Highlight segments are scintillating, but they don't tend to show how the highlights occurred, and by definition they tend to be things that a lot of people can't do and often shouldn't try. They're fun, but no substitute for sitting and watching the way a side works through a whole match to win. A few free sources of whole matches are:

Rugby Union:
The USA Rugby Network is a good source for a lot of high-level domestic and international matches (featuring U.S. sides, at least) via occasional live feeds, and it also archives a lot of matches. There are also some older archived matches at the USA Rugby site's video section.

The Glendale Raptors, the U.S. 2008 senior men's Division I national runners-up, have a lot of good archived video. One one page, they provide video from most of the national championship series matches that were hosted at their home ground last weekend. On others, they have a number of their own men's and women's matches from the year. A lot of the same matches are available for free on Glendale Rugby's Mediazone site, though registration with the site may be required to access the stream (alternately, you can download the videos to your computer to watch).

Every now and again, you can turn up a full rugby union match on YouTube or Google Video. For example, today we spotted the 1987 World Cup Grand Final and the 2003 World Cup Grand Final, and some 2008 Rugby Super League (U.S.) matches in four-part series. Of course, some of these videos will come and go on you a little.

Rugby League:
Bigpond provides two options for watching NRL matches: their extensive video library and their round-the clock live stream of "League TV" (one of the "TV Channels" options on BigPond TV). Sometimes the streams are good, and sometimes they are a little unreliable (especially the "League TV" stream). You also have to wait a couple of days after a match to watch the video.

Highlights, Clips, etc.:
Although full matches are the best way to get the whole context of the game, we all enjoy the highlights and lowlights (or they wouldn't be posted here so often). Those are more plentiful for free.

As you can see from the various clips sometimes posted on Armchair Playmaker, YouTube and Google Video are drenched in short clips and highlights of all kinds. The problem there might be how to sort through so many, but you can enjoy a few highlights if you can wade through all the clips of drunks smashing each other and people showcasing their video game skills.

Rugbydump is a massively popular source for great rugby union highlight clips. They update often and have days and days worth of highlights. Armchair Playmaker posts a few highlight clips here and there (including a few from Rugbydump or clips that Rugbydump also ends up posting as well, though we won't pretend to be anything like the clip and highlight source they are.

Although The Rugby Channel's bread and butter is rugby union pay-per-match and subscription viewing (with good rates), they also offer some free clips each week, as well as commentary programs, etc.

In addition to their full match services, BigPond's aforementioned video library and "League TV" stream on BigPond TV feature higlights and related clips. BigPond also features the NRL Deluxe program.

One the Nine MSN site, one can watch clips from The NRL Footy Show.

That's surely just the tip of the iceberg, but it's a start if you can't pony up for pay services from The Rugby Channel or Setanta Sports US.

If you've got some other useful freebie resources, post a comment!

CCC Empire Annexes USA

If you're an American and a fan of the space-age jerseys that turned up on South African, Australian, Irish, Scottish, and Japanese backs during the 2007 Rugby World Cup, then Armchair Playmaker supposes you'll be pleased: Canterbury of New Zealand is continuing their quest for domination of all rugby (union and league) apparel by supplying the USA Eagles with their gear as well through 2012. For the curious, a rough sketch of the shirts appears to be available at World Rugby Shop, where they're already available for pre-order. If the Experimental Law Variations don't encourage players to get lean, then these increasingly ubiquitous skin-tights shirts sure will!

Rugby Union in American Media

The broadcast of the recent United States Rugby Super League final on ESPN Classic was a nice opportunity for exposure to the sport, though the lack of a continuously present scoreboard, clock, etc., on screen was disorienting. Still, it's a step forward. Unfortunately, there are a lot of other less shining media portrayals to live down. Consider this old clip from an episode of the popular Friends sitcom that aired in 1998:



The endless scrum, motley jersey, kneepads, running shoes, and coaching on how to kick opposing players are classic, though the big mystery comes at the end in the coffee shop when one wonders: How did poor Ross' jersey get slashed up? Has someone got a straight razor out there? I don't think anyone would want to play a game like that.

Origin Sledging Not Just for NSW

Although the latest salvo was from New South Wales' Willie Mason (see Armchair Playmaker's earlier post), NSW doesn't have a monopoly on sledging. This short video from the 2007 State of Origin series, which features Maroons center Justin Hodges gently suggesting that teammate Cameron Smith is the top hooker in the game while opponent Danny Buderus is "#2" speaks for itself:



No danger of a repeat display, of course, as Hodges is currently suspended from the second Origin Match next week after a dangerous throw in a tackle.

Why, Big Willie, Why?

Whenever you get to thinking Big Willie Mason has run out of things to say, look at the news again. Now, the less-than-beloved Sydney Roosters, New South Wales, and Australia forward is predicting that Darren Lockyer's return to the Queensland State of Origin side for the series' second match next week will have Queensland's "nutbag, redneck" supporters excited.

Armchair Playmaker is reminded of an earlier occasion when Big Willie ran his mouth about the opposition:

Yet Another ELV Combo in 3N

Oh boy. It is already a bit tricky (though exciting) that the International Rugby Board has announced a global trial of 13 Experimental Law Variations (ELVs) in rugby union worldwide beginning 1 August. To ensure that no lower-level player or referee can watch a match on television or via the Internet and learn what to do, the comps continue to use different ELV combinations.

SANZAR, the cooperative entity created by the joint efforts of the South Africa Rugby Union, the New Zealand Rugby Union, and the Australia Rugby Union, announced today that the Tri-Nations rugby tournament will be played with a new ELV combination this year. The Tri-Nations, for those unfamiliar, is a three-way annual competition between the thre SANZAR nations' national sides. This year's tournament will run from 5 July to 13 September and will include three matches between each pair of teams.

Anyway, back to the ELVs. The 2008 Tri-Nations will be played using the same ELVs used during the recently concluded Super 14 tournament, plus two more: mauls may be pulled down and sides can put as many players as they like in the lineout. Another way to put it is that the Tri-Nations will use the 13 ELVs to be trialed worldwide, plus a bunch more that aren't. An even simpler way to put it is to say that you still can't watch a match on television or the Internet to get an idea of the worldwide ELVs because the big competitions are either using none of them or a different combination than will be used in the upcoming worldwide trial.

If you're not confused yet, consider these additional spanners in the works: England's Rugby Football Union is reconsidering whether the ELVs pertaining to mauls (making it legal to pull down mauls and making it legal to have one's shoulders below one's hips in a maul) are safe enough to be used. And don't forget that when the global ELVs do go into effect worldwide, at least one elite European Competition will feature a different set of them anyway.

In short, we're about one step from the old days, when it was so much work to get everyone playing by the same set of laws in the first place.

Armchair Playmaker likes the ELVs and the action they bring, but there's one thing we don't like: For now, it looks like the best way for a lower-level player or referee to learn how to play rugby union is not to watch it! Surely more uniformity in implementation could have been maintained. The current hydraic rollout of the ELVs across comps calls to mind the old cliche about animals designed by committee.

Grand Final Performance Sees Turner into Wallabies

Lachlan Turner's pair of first-half tries didn't just keep the New South Wales Waratahs in the hunt for the Super 14 title on Saturday. The performance looks to have also helped to earn the speedy winger his first Wallaby shirt. New Wallaby coach Robbie Deans, who was the Canterbury Crusaders' coach through Saturday's final, couldn't have missed the show from his spot on the opposing sideline. See below for tips on how to get a test jumper:

2008 U.S. Champions: West and East Compared

It it looks like the Western United States may still have just a little bit of an edge over the Eastern United States in rugby union, though it's not too lopsided. Consider this list of domestic competition champions at all levels from the past year (excluding all-star tournaments):

From the West:

• Women's Club: Berkeley All Blues (Berkeley, California)
• Men's Collegiate Division I: University of California-Berkeley (Berkeley, California)
• Women's Collegiate Division I: Stanford (Palo Alto, California)
• Boy's U-19: Highland (Salt Lake City, Utah)
• Boy's High School: Jesuit of Sacramento (Sacramento, California)
• Men's Division II: Red Mountain (Phoenix, Arizona, area)
• Men's Club Division III: Reno (Reno, Nevada)

From the East:

• Rugby Super League: New York Athletic Club (New York, New York)
• Men's Club Division I: Life University (Marietta, Georgia)
• Girl's U-19: Divine Savior (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
• Men's Collegiate Division II: Radford University (Radford, Virginia)
• Women's Collegiate Division II: Shippensburg University (Shippensberg, Pennsylvania)

That's seven championships in the West and five in the East, though two of each region's championships are lower division titles (Men's Club Division II and III in the West, and Collegiate Division II Men's and Women's in the East). Also the Women's Club champions listed are from 2007, as that competition doesn't end until November.

Remember, though, that the top side in the top comp (NYAC in the Rugby Super League) is an East Coast side.

Super 14 Final from the Ground

The high-up view provided by television cameras is often the best vantage point for a sporting event, but watching from the ground can provide a better appreciation for the speed and intensity of plays. The players' size, speed, and physicality is much more apparent. For an example, see this front-row amateur video from yesterday's Super 14 grand final:



While you're at it, have a lot at video of the horse running loose during the chaos after the final (the intensity of which is probably also best appreciated from ground level). Armchair Playmaker mentioned the incident yesterday, and hopes that the Lions, Bulls, Cheetahs, and Sharks in South Africa keep a closer eye on their mascots!

Another U.S. Grand Final Thriller

Last night's Rugby Super League final was a beauty, but the lower levels provided excitement as well. In the men's Division III grand final, Michiana (South Bend, Indiana, area) had Reno (Nevada) on the ropes 27-24 until Reno crossed the try line with less than three minutes left in the match for a 31-27 final scoreline and a Reno national championship.

With all of these tense finals, it would have been a thrill to be at Infinity Park in Glendale, Colorado, for the match, but those who weren't can still watch replays online via the USA Rugby Network and Infinity Park's streaming service.