Le blog de Joachim Otoole

Regale the excitement of the World Cup

Every sporting event raises the excitement levels in ordinary people to extraordinary levels. Rugby World Cup is no exception and people being people buy rugby ball Malaysia and rugby goods to keep their feet on the ground when the tournament begins. Rugby World Cup for women is upon us.

Good old Rugby Seven

Here are some things newbies to rugby should know about rugby sevens.

• Eight teams took part in the first sevens tournament held at Melrose in April 1883.
• Rugby Sevens games last only for 15 minutes. There are two halves with each half requiring 7 minutes. You have a one-minute break in the middle.
• Rugby sevens for women began in 2009.
• Two teams have won this tournament twice – Fiji and New Zealand. New Zealand is current holder of the trophy.
• 12 teams will compete for rugby sevens Olympic gold medal in 2016.
• First Rugby Sevens World Cup took place in Scotland in 1993. The winning team was England.
• Ned Haig has the credit of starting this short version of rugby. The first game took place in Scotland.
• They played the first game in April 1883 at Greenyards, Melrose.

Our Rugby World Cup

• First time any sporting nation sung the national anthem before a sporting event was in November 1905 during the game between Wales and New Zealand. New Zealand was famous for its Haka dance, which can be frightening to watch. Now, Wales responded in kind but instead of a dance, they sang their national anthem.
• The International Rugby Board (IRB) is the supreme body for governing the sport.
• Four teams made it to the final round of bidding to host the Rugby World Cup. They are Japan, Italy, South Africa and England.
• England won the final round and will host 2015 Rugby World Cup
• In rugby union, a try has 5-point value. About the name try – A try gives the player who crosses the line with the ball a chance to convert that into a goal hence the name.
• Gil Evans whistle: This is the famous whistle used to start every rugby world cup match since the first in 1905. The whistle takes the name of the Welsh referee who refereed that match between New Zealand and England. The rugby final match played at Paris Olympics in 1924 also saw the use of this Gil Evans whistle.
• One of the fiercest contact sports, rugby is the fastest growing game in USA.
• Each game takes place between two teams having 15 players each.
• Both teams try to touch the ball down in the opposite half over the try line. Team having more points wins the game.

Ranking for the teams is as follows.

1. New Zealand
2. South Africa
3. Australia
4. France
5. England
6. Ireland
7. Samoa
8. Argentina
9. Wales
10. Italy
11. Tonga
12. Scotland

The rest of the teams are regional winners. They have ranking as:

1. Oceania 1
2. Europe 1
3. Asia 1
4. Americas 1

Last band has four teams as follows:

1. Africa 1
2. Europe 2
3. Americas 2
4. Play off winner

Egging the home team on

Eager fans of rugby awaiting this tournament have begun to buy rugby banners and goods already. Thrill of seeing actual play is egging them on and they have already placed their bets too. Their home team needs their support and in this World Cup, it has become obvious that there is going to be more than the usual excitement. Sports critics put this down to growth of the Internet and media boom that has made access possible to everyone with a mobile phone.