Number of posts : 9633 Registration date : 2008-12-05 Age : 80 Location : San Antonio
Subject: Re: I've had a busy week! Sat Oct 26, 2013 2:54 pm
Shelagh wrote:
You can watch free live streaming here: http://www.wiziwig.tv/
USA are in the tournament for the first time, so you might be able to find a TV channel in the US showing the USA games. You can follow the tournament on facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/rugbyleagueworldcup
Or follow the USA on the RLWC website:
http://www.rlwc2013.com/teams/usa
That was some game. I was so confused, though. I thought I was rooting for England - George Burgess played especially well. then Greg Inglis started doing his thing - he is such a team player - I couldn't decide who I wanted to win. I kinda have this Inglis thing.
Two great teams. It's too bad that only one can win.
Thanks for the heads up.
Annie
Shelagh Admin
Number of posts : 12662 Registration date : 2008-01-11 Location : UK
Subject: Re: I've had a busy week! Sat Oct 26, 2013 3:20 pm
Imagine if the Kangaroos play the Kiwis in the final. Who will RC be rooting for?
alj Five Star Member
Number of posts : 9633 Registration date : 2008-12-05 Age : 80 Location : San Antonio
Subject: Re: I've had a busy week! Sat Oct 26, 2013 3:23 pm
Good question!
Shelagh Admin
Number of posts : 12662 Registration date : 2008-01-11 Location : UK
Subject: Re: I've had a busy week! Sat Nov 02, 2013 5:35 am
Last Saturday, Andy and Alison Tomkins sat in the Millennium Stadium to see son Sam take on Australia for England in the Rugby League World Cup. Today, they are in south-west London to witness son Joel make his England debut against Australia, the match kicking off at the very moment Sam will be spearheading his country’s World Cup campaign against Ireland in Huddersfield. You can see the listings for both matches here:
At 26, Joel is the elder of the clan, with another brother, Logan, on Wigan’s books. The three remain close and supportive. In his formative years, Joel had no inkling of a sporting world outside the local rugby league club.
“As a kid growing up in Wigan there’s no sport other than rugby league,” said Tomkins. “You just grow up with a certain passion to play the sport. On Friday nights when Wigan are at home the whole town stops. As kids that’s what you want to do, there are no other distractions. No one wants to be a footballer, everyone just wants to play rugby.”
Tomkins change from league to union is quite a show of character.
I was born in Wigan.
alj Five Star Member
Number of posts : 9633 Registration date : 2008-12-05 Age : 80 Location : San Antonio
Subject: Re: I've had a busy week! Sat Nov 02, 2013 5:53 am
"Tomkins change from league to union is quite a show of character."
That sound like my son's close friend from England. He told me what part, but I've forgotten.
Thanks for posting the link and time.
Shelagh Admin
Number of posts : 12662 Registration date : 2008-01-11 Location : UK
Subject: Re: I've had a busy week! Sat Nov 23, 2013 3:45 am
Number of posts : 9633 Registration date : 2008-12-05 Age : 80 Location : San Antonio
Subject: Re: I've had a busy week! Sat Nov 23, 2013 4:00 am
Mr. Crowe may be wishing he could divine more than water this weekend.
Shelagh Admin
Number of posts : 12662 Registration date : 2008-01-11 Location : UK
Subject: Re: I've had a busy week! Sat Nov 23, 2013 10:18 am
Gutted.
alj Five Star Member
Number of posts : 9633 Registration date : 2008-12-05 Age : 80 Location : San Antonio
Subject: Re: I've had a busy week! Sat Nov 23, 2013 11:04 am
Sounds like a heart-wrenching game for England. So close, and a last minute turnover?
Filming is set to begin on The Water Diviner is South Australia on December 2, so I doubt RC would be able to make a quick trip to see the Finals. That should be some match.
Shelagh Admin
Number of posts : 12662 Registration date : 2008-01-11 Location : UK
Subject: Re: I've had a busy week! Sat Nov 23, 2013 11:26 am
It was devastating. Sam Burgess was given man of the match but it was little consolation. I've watched a lot of sport over the years, but I've never seen such desolation on the faces of the losing team.
alj Five Star Member
Number of posts : 9633 Registration date : 2008-12-05 Age : 80 Location : San Antonio
Subject: Re: I've had a busy week! Sat Nov 23, 2013 11:50 am
The article I read said Sam said he would much rather have the match won than the award. It also sounded like George's penalty contributed to the loss. He must be feeling really awful, if so.
I had so many early projects going I didn't try to look in on the livestream for either game. Now I feel a little disloyal.
Greg Inglis apparently played well in the game against Fiji. It didn't sound like much of a contest.
I will try to catch the Finals. Dave, Lyn, and Jaycie will be on their way home, so I will probably need a distraction. I do enjoy watching Inglis play this game.
alj Five Star Member
Number of posts : 9633 Registration date : 2008-12-05 Age : 80 Location : San Antonio
Subject: Re: I've had a busy week! Thu Nov 28, 2013 6:18 pm
Here's a different use for the New Zealand Haka ceremony:
Number of posts : 9633 Registration date : 2008-12-05 Age : 80 Location : San Antonio
Subject: Re: I've had a busy week! Sat Nov 30, 2013 8:45 am
That was a bit one-sided, wasn't it? Very different from last week for the Kiwis. I had forgotten that Isaac Luke was from NZ. For a minute I thought he had on the wrong uniform.
It was amazing to watch the Kangaroos playing so well together. I recognized many of the players from seeing them playing against South Sydney. It's a cool thing in sports, I think, to see that when a season is over, former opponents can come together so fluidly.
Thanks for the link. I missed most of the first half because I slept in later than usual. ( We had a great family BBQ here last night. Some very good wines to go with. )
Shelagh Admin
Number of posts : 12662 Registration date : 2008-01-11 Location : UK
Subject: Re: I've had a busy week! Sat Nov 30, 2013 2:44 pm
Yes, it was one-sided, Ann. Much to everyone's relief! England would not have fared any better than the Kiwis. So we were spared a defeat in the final. Maybe next time ...
alj Five Star Member
Number of posts : 9633 Registration date : 2008-12-05 Age : 80 Location : San Antonio
Subject: Re: I've had a busy week! Tue Dec 17, 2013 10:58 am
Number of posts : 12662 Registration date : 2008-01-11 Location : UK
Subject: Re: I've had a busy week! Tue Dec 17, 2013 11:49 am
Don't start me off! The batting wicket in Perth was a disgrace! Years ago, we visited the home of a professor of sports psychology in Amsterdam. Another guest that evening was a Japanese professor. Over dinner, the Japanese prof. talked about some research he'd been involved in looking at the reaction time of top class batsmen when faced with a spinning ball. The research showed that the batsman determined the spin from the hand movement of the bowler and judged whether the ball was an in-spinner or out-spinner while it was still in the air. When the batsmen faced balls thrown by a machine, with no information about the spin on the ball, the batsmen did not have sufficient time to adjust to the bounce of the ball after it hit the ground; there just wasn't sufficient time to do that.
The Perth wicket was a disgrace. The clay soil had dried out to the consistency of concrete and, by day five, had cracks over an inch wide running along the batting wicket. If the seam hit the cracks, the ball deviated in unpredictable patterns. The batsmen were at a severe disadvantage. The Aussie's thought that it was a laugh; I thought it wasn't cricket. You wouldn't allow children to play the game under such dreadful conditions and yet it was deemed fit for top-class batsmen.
alj Five Star Member
Number of posts : 9633 Registration date : 2008-12-05 Age : 80 Location : San Antonio
Subject: Re: I've had a busy week! Tue Dec 17, 2013 4:32 pm
Does loo awfully dry. i know next to nothing about cricket, bit wouldn't that affect both teams?
Shelagh Admin
Number of posts : 12662 Registration date : 2008-01-11 Location : UK
Subject: Re: I've had a busy week! Tue Dec 17, 2013 5:30 pm
Cricket is played over five days. If you win the toss and bat first on a baked hard wicket, there is very little advantage. As the days progress and the wicket is exposed to the baking sun of Western Australia, the cracks appear and widen day by day. The team that bats last has to cope with the same baked hard surface riven with deep cracks that a hand can go inside:
The wicket is normally covered during periods of rain to try to keep it as consistent as possible over the five days. Leaving it exposed to the baking hot sun does not keep the wicket in the same state throughout the five days. It's called gamesmanship. Uumph.
This has been going on for quite some time. Here's a report from 2010:
Number of posts : 9633 Registration date : 2008-12-05 Age : 80 Location : San Antonio
Subject: Re: I've had a busy week! Tue Dec 17, 2013 5:54 pm
I don't speak cricket very well, but I think I get what you and the article are saying.
Shelagh Admin
Number of posts : 12662 Registration date : 2008-01-11 Location : UK
Subject: Re: I've had a busy week! Wed Dec 18, 2013 7:33 am
The severity of the cracks caused this amount of deviation on the final day:
alj Five Star Member
Number of posts : 9633 Registration date : 2008-12-05 Age : 80 Location : San Antonio
Subject: Re: I've had a busy week! Wed Dec 18, 2013 9:11 am
It looks pretty clear. I see that I need to check out the game. I've only ever watched one match. It was a charity benefit sponsored by RC's first cousin, Martin Crowe, who had been a NZ star player. The purpose was to raise money after the Christ Church earthquake. RC was coaching one of the teams, which were made up of sports celebrities, especially past cricketers, as well as political figures and other well-known New Zealanders. He could only coach because he had just come off a film that had required him to be quite heavy, and was not in shape to play. It wasn't a true match. The old guys were not up to the intensity that would have been required. I did enjoy watching it, though.