Frenchy68

Although I'd like to think your thinking is quite rational, take a look at the last few NZ-France matches, as well as the last couple of France-England games. Those who don't learn from Rugby history are bound to lose the big games... (something like that). NZ & Oz learned the hard way. France learned the hard way. Good luck this coming week end.

Wow! This thread shrunk all of a sudden... England played very well and deserved to win. The team imposed its style as the game went on. It was a great battle up front, and they did what they had to do to win. Congrats. And good luck in the final. "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

...here we come! "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

I must have missed that post! g Ksssssssssssss.... No biting, Reverend (PS: love from moi, me Queen and da tomato...) "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

Peej, I was showing "your" spot to the ECD in charge of the biggest advertiser in China today...

From your neck of the woods, how do you like Greg Gray's "The Clap" for MTN? I love this spot... And the tune is stuck in my head! "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

1/ because of the risk of ending up hurt 2/ because of the risk of ending up crippled 3/ because of the risk of ending up dead Same applies when you love someone shooting heroine. "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

Nice!

Amazingly enough, we still have 1 more game to go before the final. And not just any other game. Playing England. Much harder, I reckon, than playing the All Blacks. Especially since England beat the Aussies with Jonny pretty much playing with a broken leg. Or he might have been... He won't miss that many kicks against the French. Whatever. If France would have converted all of its penalty kicks, the game would have been a blow out. No questions about it. We kept the Kiwis into the game. Indeed it was. Down to the last seconds. Party on... "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

45 minutes to the England-Australia game, it's beer time! Just need to make sure I'm up at 3AM for the France-NZ game... Pressure is on! "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

Indeed, for the national leagues. But unless the league employs the players, it is apple and oranges. If the Wasps lose a player to injury in a sold out game at Twickers between England and Italy, they are the ones left paying monthly salary to the injured player, although he is not playing. The English league, meanwhile, is taking its money from the sold out game to the bank, and I doubt the Wasps make enough of a cut to compensate for a top player being injured. Besides, TV broadcast, nowadays, is where the money is, more so than filling a stadium. And it is going up fast... Again, I wish things would somewhat remain the same, as I have this maybe romantic view of rugby as being still a fairly "pure" sport. But I do think it will bow down to economics. Just look at how much the game has changed in the past 20 years in Europe! "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

Once more and more players from Oz/NZ/SA emigrate to Europe to make $, the clubs will become more and more powerful. Eventually, someone will challenge the All Blacks' "ownership" of the players. Rugby clubs are not at the level of football clubs yet, but the big ones are surely getting there fast. And once you start talking about tens of millions of Euros at stake, the pressure is going to be hard to ignore. "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

OK, my bad. "Tournaments" such as the Tri-Nations and 6 Nations will remain. NZ coming to France for 3 test matches will, I am afraid, slowly disappear. Mostly because clubs owners are benefiting form the experience of the football clubs owners, and will start fighting test matches outside of tournaments fairly soon. As salaries get bigger, clubs will try to lower the risk of seeing their investments sitting on the sideline with an injury incurred on a test match. I remember European Rugby in the early 80's without a World cup, and without European Cups. Many matches have been added per year for the players, and with it comes the likelihood of getting injured. Once again, I hope I am wrong, but I am afraid it will happen. "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

I hope you're right. But I think you're talking with your heart, not your brains. Economics... "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

World rankings IMO is quite useless, as it is way too subjective. And will become more and more so, as I believe that unfortunately Test matches will slowly disappear. Mostly because in most countries, the clubs employ the players, and they will get tired of seeing them go down to injuries after international tests. More and more, the World Cup will be the ultimate test of where a team stands. It doesn't take a genius to know that year in, year out, the All Blacks will be the team to beat. But putting rankings in front of teams only serves one purpose: help bookies do their job. PS: as a football (Soccer) fan, I remember all too well what the undisputed #1 World ranking was worth to the French team in WC 2002... "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

What I meant is that not too long ago, there were the Tri-nations and (then) 5 nations tournaments teams, then there was the rest of the world. Argentina has emerged over the past 20 years or so, and can now claim to be a top team. Italy still has some work to do, but is certainly progressing nicely over the years. Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, etc... Albeit sometimes exciting, these teams used to be the punching bags of the world's top 8 teams. That is changing, and I think it is for the better. "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

Well, there it is. France-NZ in the 1/4!

We'll see. Maybe they will, maybe they won't. The kiwis have a great team, but so did they in pretty much every World Cup. Should they face each other in the 1/4 finals (we'll know later today), I reckon NZ will take France VERY seriously. Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it... Edited to add the link... "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

Still negotiating - have to go through interviews first, Still looking for an online bride, uh? Congrats I guess!

I'd bet it would be the other way around. With equal experience, I think women are much, much safer drivers than men. "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

Thank God! As long as the North and South spin in the same direction, otherwise it may come unscrewed at the Equator. And god knows we want to keep it screwed... "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

"For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

I'll be sober for my drive to sandiego tomorrow.

Watch it girl. Don't be a roadkill... "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

A/ Still drunk? or B/ already drunk? "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."