Jacko, the Aussies CAN lose with grace and without whinging, with the exception of the wind-up merchants and pillocks who post here. As a Scot resident in Oz for over 20 years, and an avid fan of the English rugby style, let me tell you that the English team were applauded and feted in YMML by the REAL fans, i.e. those who got off their arses and went to watch the game. All agreed it was a spectacle to behold, and one of the finest of its type ever witnessed. It was classic rugby in many ways, by both teams, but won by the team with the ability to realise that the team with the points on the board at the final whistle is the winner - not the team trying, persistently, for the most spectacular try-and-conversion.
Stop knocking the Poms, all of you, all you achieve is the denigration of one of the most exciting games of rugby I have ever seen. England were well and truly thumped by the Aussies a couple of weeks ago, and they deserved to be, but it was NOT simply because Jonny was absent, the team played abysmally! End of story!

Also end of rant,

Kind regards,

TheNightOwl.:ok:

Well said, TNO. and actually, I rather like Greek food .....

Ahh, England - the land of BMWs.....


(Bithching, Moaning, Whinging)

Jacko -

I suppose you don't think that a certain German with the initials MS has nothing to do with it, just as he had nothing to do with Benetton when they took the drivers WC?

Of course Schumey had plenty to do with Ferrari's success. I don't have any problem with celebrating the fact that Germany presently has the world's best racing driver, that Greece has Europe's most successful soccer team, nor with admitting that English cricket is lamentably poor and that our rugby and football teams are under-performing. But no complaints. That's all fine.

Not a whinge or moan in sight.

Funny that Aussies always accuse us of being 'whingeing poms' when so many of them are incapable of doing anything but whineing whenever any of their teams or sportsmen are anything other than victorious, and are utterly incapable of giving anyone else any credit. Strewth, sport, it's enough to make you spew!



What's the difference between an Aussie and a jet engine, again?

John Howard After RWC 2003
 

Remember this little display of taking defeat graciously?!

"The crowning achievement of self-styled sports fanatic and Australian Prime Minister John Howard in 2003 came at the final of the Rugby World Cup in November. After the Wallabies lost an exhilarating game on an extra-time field goal, JH looked like he was going to burst into tears as he handed out the winners' medals to a seemingly endless line of England players and staff.

A surly-faced JH put on an extraordinary display for a worldwide TV audience as he grumpily hurled medals over English players' heads, occasionally remembering that he should shake hands. He even spoke to one or two of them towards the end. And then he handed the Webb Ellis Trophy to England captain Martin Johnson as hurriedly as possible, disappearing into the background as his pre-ordained photo moment with Wallabies captain George Gregan became a wasted dream."

Jacko
 

I trust you're not accusing me of being an antipodean mate ;) Nice people, the OZ mates, just couldn't eat a whole one.

just wanted to add...if you watch the game against Australia, England outplayed the aussie's for most of the game!

IMHO the score does not reflect the balance of the game!

Come on chaps! Where's your British sympathy for the underdog? ;) They might be whingeing w@nkers, but they did come second..... :{

Coe, Ovett, Cram, Bruno (yes!), Ratcliffe, Redgrave, Pinsent, Ainslie, Christie, Owen, Johnson, Wilkinson, Sanderson, Goodhew, Gunnell, Davis, Keely, Hickman, Mansell, Lewis...........just a few who have topped the world. You'll be able to add Rooney and Button to the list soon. So we may be the best in the so-called major sports only occasionally but we do have many very talented sportsmen and sportswomen in countless sports who are always bringing back trophies and world records. Perhaps they are spread too thinly across too many sports, and maybe we should put all of them into a football academy and win the World Cup every 4 years. But I prefer it the way it is. I would switch off totally if I thought that our or anyone else's hero/team was always going to win. Sport would just lose its appeal for me.

Dear Old Nickdearden

Allow me to 'just add' .... 51-15 won on only 27% of the possession. As Jacko & Bullet Tooth Tony have mentioned in earlier posts, if you've won, you've won!

Jacko as a loaf thieving, whining, foul mouthed, jumbuck stowing, criminal, Dame Edna loving, suspected republican, [feel free to keep piling on the insults....] Australian born and ill-bred (!) I will stand on top of the highest peak and acclaim the virtues of the 2003 WORLD CHAMPION English Rugby team till I'm blue in the face. Frankly, I think most other 'Strayans will too. That drop goal was the defining sporting moment of the year for mine.

As for JH and his sour puss grumpy medal ceremony, I couldn't agree more. The official excuse (they always have one, haven't they?) was that the television schedule had been eaten into as a result of extra time, thus had to hurry that bit. You'll have noticed that the Wallabies runners up medals were also abruptly thrust on their chests by the Irishman (names eludes me...) who was (is?) IRB Chairman.

OK, whinge ;) over now.

Carry on men ....

Despite my earlier post, here is one reason why we are not doing as well as we could at sport. At a local school's sports day, events were run in heats with only 3 competitors each per heat and no finals, so that everyone would 'podium' and nobody would be seen to be losing!

my bad...I was refering to the RWC final

we did indeed get pissed all over in our recent tour...but at the end of the day we were good when it mattered

exactly... just a few - out of how many, nearly 60,000,000? Who the hell is Rooney, I thought he was an American actor?....

Good point, reynolds, I hadn't though of it that way - more bods equals more winners. So how about running through a list of famous sportspersons or winning teams from, say, China (pop 1,300,000,000) or India (pop 1,040,000,000)?

...or Australia - pop 20,000,000 (just)

Best Airforce
 

Still think we have the Best Airforce in the world in The RAF, Navy and Army, although largely reduced in size and support.

USA very good at friendly fire, Russians great pilots meger resource, the rest we trained anyway. ( Apart from the French who are very good at selling arms to our foe)

What's this Blaireau dude talking about? Greek food in the Hall
of shame?:eek: :eek:

If you are Portuguese I can understand you are still a little upset right now..if you are English well that must be your attempt at humour;) :D

I think you'll agree that Spanish food is pretty top notch and it is refreshing to see that even though they actually have alternative specialties (to us Greeks) their food can still about as good as ours (tried it). Now I don't think Portuguese food could be that much better and I won't even comment on English food..;)

Careful there...That AF of a country of the very eastern Med, might take objection to this too (as might a couple more AFs..), after 700 a2a kills and X no. of wars the last 50 years...That might be a loads of BS but apparently they trounced both the USN and the mighty Luftwaffe fairly recently by some incredible ratios too...

QUOTE: Careful there...That AF of a country of the very eastern Med, might take objection to this too

Since that Mid East AF gave all their A/C to a Neighbour 12 years ago it actually doesn't exist; and as to upsetting other AF's, not really bothered.

I stand by my original posting;

"We do have the best AF in the world"

Duck,

By all accounts a fine professional force (the RAF/RN etc) no doubt... shame for the hardware;) Situation should change with the Typhoon though...

Btw I was talking about the Israelis, what were you thinking? I don't suppose Saddam's AF have been regularly practising against their USN and German colleagues (except with live ammo that is ;))a few years ago or am I missing something?

See your point!
 

Always considered Israelies as a wing of the USAirforce anyway!!! but I still would bet on our boys in a head to head.