The late, late show featuring the Rugby World Cup
The rumours that the world's third largest sporting event is happening while we snooze away can now officially be confirmed by your trustworthy sports and health reporter. Indeed, the Rugby World Cup is unfolding in the wee morning hours, half a world away in Australia.
Following the events of World Cup 2003 has been somewhat challenging because of the time difference, but as the all-nighter season approaches with final assignments and exams looming, you may be interested in this early morning procrastination excuse.
Watching a match will not disappoint; rugby is probably the fastest paced and most continuous form of play out there in terms of spectator sports.
In fact, the laws of the game are continuously evaluated to keep the pace quick and limit stoppages in play. The breakneck (or break many other bones) action can make some of the finer points of rugby hard to understand, and any player will probably tell you that you'll sometimes end up shaking your head over an official's decision.
The general idea is easy to follow though. Basically each team of 15 players tries to carry the ball over the "try-line" to score points. The defending team then attempts to stop this with full-body contact. Those defenders can be very, very scary. To make matters even scarier, the ball cannot be passed forward to advance, one can only hope that you have a teammate appear from behind to receive a pass.
You do have the option to kick forward, but often the result is that the other team will gain possession of the ball at which point the scary defenders are still scary, but now have the chance to score.
Much chaos usually unfolds but is somehow held together within a web of plays with names like ruck, scrum, and maul.
People like this kind of thing, even Canadians!
One Canadian in particular, Al Charron, likes it so much that he has played in four World Cups, including the one in 1991 when Canada made it to the quarter finals. The Rugby World Cup happens every four years, and in a sport where playing in four games can take a huge toll on the body, playing in four World Cups is an incredible feat.
A few Manitoba connections on this year's squad include Kevin Tkachuk, who was born in Thompson. Marco DiGirolamo also spent some time in Manitoba, playing for one season with the Buffalo, Manitoba's team in the Canadian Super League.
This time around, Canada ended up in a pool with perennial powerhouse New Zealand, plus Wales, Italy and Tonga. Canada finished with five points overall, three losses and one win over Tonga in a 24-7 decision.
Crowning a champion for 2003 will occur soon, as the semi-finals that will be played out this up-coming weekend will feature some age-old rivalries. New Zealand will meet Australia on Nov. 15 and France will meet England on Nov. 16. These games are sure to make some great late-night viewing.