Rugby - Hands Off, Wattle!

[Tamerlin]

Originally posted by LDiCesare
I can see neighbours near Toulouse still love one another as much as neighbours in every other place. Those of Narbonne despise those of Beziers most, Columerins and Toulousains love each other. At least there's a geographic rationale to these hatreds.
By the way Tamerlin, which bars do you think are the best in Toulouse? I thought the De Danu beer to be quite poor but didn't visit other bars (too busy being a friend's red wine when I could have been in a pub instead).

Sorry to answer so lately LDiCesare but I don't have much time available these days.

What bars I think are the best in Toulouse ? It depends on what you are looking for.

The "De Danu" bar is belonging to Brennan and is thought to be rather cool though I have never put a foot in this place. The problem is that I am a bit disconnected from Toulouse's night life. When I am going out in town I am generally looking at cool and quiet places and not places where people are drinking heavily and where you have to shout to speak with your neighbors. The Frog & Rosbiff is usually considered a good place, though a bit noisiy for my own taste, and I have spent some good nights here, including some followed by a morning headache. Not far away, rue Gabriel Perry, one can find la maison, less noisy but with a very different feeling. It was once a very cool place but now that it has became a bit tendance it is visited by less pleasant people with a more money to spend but a lesser IQ. The place that can be labelled as the most noisy of all is certainly le café populaire, once again near the Frog & Rosbiff, rue de la colombette, be warned that the beer is so light that you will have to order a lot of demis to experience any effect. The "Dubliner's" is considered to be a good place though I have not visited the bar since a lot of years.

Sorry, I can't help you a lot on this ground, there are a lot of web sites where you can find some informations on Toulouse's bar.

[Tamerlin]

Originally posted by Havak
A thread without Finbar for ten days? Has that happened before?

I doubt you could dampen Tamerlin’s mood on your arrival – three finals in three years and won two of them (should have won all three). They are the super power of European rugby now. Even if they are 'Haughty'.

Haughty, NOUS ? :uttercontempt:

[Havak]

Absolutely right CoT - it's time the boys stood up for what the shirt means. Lacklustre perfomances in NZ will produce disaster - even if their press are a little arrogant (as ever) in suggesting Canterbury over 70s would beat the Lions test side.

Dwyer has ditched all the players beaten by Scotland. Saturday's team looks tasty:

Barbarians: B Russell (South Africa); W Sailor (Australia), T Castaignede (France), T Halstead (South Africa), B Reihana (New Zealand); C Spencer (New Zealand), M Robinson (New Zealand); T Smith (Scotland), M Regan (England), C Visagie (South Africa); S Shaw (England), S Boome (South Africa); C Krige (South Africa), S Chabal (France), J O'Connor (Ireland).

[Havak]

The All Blacks' sponsor, telecommunications company Telecom, will be dishing out black plastic ponchos at match venues in a bid to counter the swathes of red shirts worn by visiting fans.

All Blacks coach Graham Henry, who led the Lions in 2001, is aware of the lift that thousands of red-clad supporters provided the tourists in Australia.

"Fans can help the players on the field with their colourful presence and with the noise they make," Henry said.

I'm speechless - sponsors having to dress fans in the right colours makes the Kiwis as lame as the Aussies were in 2001. All those Lions fans have bought the team colours - are Kiwis as tight as Aussie fans or something?

[Caligastia]

Heh, it's not like there's any shortage of Kiwis who wear black.

I think it's a good idea by the sponsor...it's not like the ponchos will cost them much. And I would hold this up as evidence of Kiwis being "tight". After all, fans who travel halfway around the world for a game are a bit more likely to wear the team colors than fans who live just down the road.

[Havak]

British fans are more likely to wear team colours period I would suggest. It is the norm here to attend games wearing them. I dare not tell you how many Tigers , England and Lions shirts I have.

From what I see in S12 a lot of fans dress normally and sometimes adorn themselves with a cap or scarf. You see more shirts in the tri-nations but not too many. The majority of Wallaby fans at the Lions test grounds in 2001 certainly dressed normally - but then 90% of them knew nothing about Rugby Union either.

It's a cultural difference and I'm having some fun with it.

And as to the charge it makes the Kiwis as sad as the Aussies? There is something a little disturbing about sponsors having to provide the colours from a British perspective.

Then again watching the rugby club on Sky last night the Kiwi media has already seemingly awarded the All Blacks a 3-0 series win. Thats a bit risky don't you think?

[ravagon]

Originally posted by Havak

Then again watching the rugby club on Sky last night the Kiwi media has already seemingly awarded the All Blacks a 3-0 series win. Thats a bit risky don't you think?

You still think the Lions will manage to eke a draw out of their last game then?


Well, I would post the results of the last ever S12 final but old finny isn't around to hear it.
Besides which, he's been a Warratahs supporter for quite a while now so it shouldn't have come as much of a surprise ...

[finbar]

Ciao from Italy, chaps! I'm organising a dial up service on Friday - tomorrow (Thursday) is yet another Italian national holiday - so I'll get back to you then and catch up on the waffle that has been posted in my short absence.

Oh, and BTW, I highly recommend living in a small hilltop town in Tuscany!

[Caligastia]

Originally posted by Havak
Then again watching the rugby club on Sky last night the Kiwi media has already seemingly awarded the All Blacks a 3-0 series win. Thats a bit risky don't you think?

Typical Kiwi overconfidence.

[Caligastia]

Originally posted by finbar
Oh, and BTW, I highly recommend living in a small hilltop town in Tuscany!

[LDiCesare]

Good news here. My team has been invited to play the Buzet 7s tournament this year. I went there once (a long time ago it seems, I still played scrum half from time to time), then broke my nose the following year and couldn't go, and time slid.
For those who don't get the point in going to Buzet, check out the local production (hint: it's mostly red).

[finbar]

Originally posted by ravagon


You still think the Lions will manage to eke a draw out of their last game then?


Well, I would post the results of the last ever S12 final but old finny isn't around to hear it.
Besides which, he's been a Warratahs supporter for quite a while now so it shouldn't have come as much of a surprise ...

I watched the match in Hong Kong. Stupid tactics cost them. They obviously decided to kick the ball in the middle stages. Trouble was, they kicked it badly, giving those devastating Crusaders' runners open slather. Matt Rogers, one of the most devastating runners around, was kicking it away at every opportunity. When the Waratahs changed tactics and ran with the ball - Rogers especially - they scored tries. Serves them right, basically.

[finbar]

Originally posted by LDiCesare
Good news here. My team has been invited to play the Buzet 7s tournament this year. I went there once (a long time ago it seems, I still played scrum half from time to time), then broke my nose the following year and couldn't go, and time slid.
For those who don't get the point in going to Buzet, check out the local production (hint: it's mostly red).

Sometimes I worry about your liver!

[LDiCesare]

My liver is well. I actually don't drink very often.
Only after rugby.

[finbar]

Unlike Havak!