RUGBY NEWS 4/99 Editorial Langsam habe ich mich vom Dinner Dance erholt und traue mich wieder an den PC. Schade eigentlich, dass in dem Monat wo man es am nötigsten hätte kein Training ist. Vor lauter Weihnachtsessen kommt man kaum noch in die Trainerhosen... Mein Vorschlag also; Lest diese Ausgabe auf dem Hometrainer oder in der Sauna! Dieses Heft ist eine light-Version und daher gut verträglich. Die Chance etwas von der Leber zu lassen wurde kaum genutzt, leider! Ich hoffe aber, mit den vielen Events im neuen Jahr werden neue Schreiberlinge inspiriert und nutzen die Möglichkeit ihr kreatives Schaffen der Öffentlichkeit zu zeigen. Wer weiss, vielleicht liest ein bekannter Buchverleger unsere Ausgaben...! Bis zum nächsten Mal. Reto Impressum Auflage: 300, viermal jährlich Adresse: RFC Basel, Public Redaktion: Reto Maurer & Raphaël Relations, Postfach 3933, 4002 Bürki Basel - oder direkt das Public Ständige Mitarbeiter: Chris 'Ce Relations-Fächlein im Clubraum Jay' Morley als Kolumnist und (Berichte wenn möglich auf Diskette Rätselsteller; David von Burg als im Word 6.0 Format) Kopierer; Tomi Schoch als e-mail: [email protected] Antreiber Inserentenpreise: Für eine Ausgabe: Für vier (ein Jahr) Ausgaben: 1/1 Seite: 50.- 1/1 Seite: 150.- ½ Seite: 30.- ½ Seite: 80.- ¼ Seite:20.- ¼ Seite: 50.- Umschlagseite +20% 2 RUGBY NEWS 4/99 SIDELINES Ce Jay RUGBY WORLD CUP 1999 By the time that this column goes to press, we will know who the winner of the RugbyWorld Cup 1999 is. I, like many more, would have put a few bob on the All Blacks to take the honours but France put pay to that! I am led to believe that Clive Morris opened up an offshore numbered account, having taken bets that France would win the match ! Did he know something that we did‘nt? The French newspapers are already calling this the greatest game of rugby ever played. I suppose that those fortunate enough to have been at Twickenham would‘nt disagree. By the end of the 80 minutes the neutrals in the crowd, who were supposed to throw their weight behind New Zealand, were instead, throwing themselves on to the nearest French fan. English, Welsh, Irish and Scottish reserve submerged into Gallic eclat. Thanks to the refereeing of Jim Fleming, a Scotsman, I think the French can now eat British beef with glee! The downside of this tournament appears to be many fold. Firstly one of the main problems has been the television coverage. For the mainland Europeans, like us, Eurosport did not cover the matches as published. The French showed their games on TF.1 plus a smattering of quarter & the more important semi final game which Eurosport decided not to show live. ITN in the UK showed virtually every game, and, where possible live. Looking at the coverage shedule throughout the world, it is interesting to see that Australia, New Zealand and South Africa were on par with ITN for live coverages even Japan and Canada appeared better than us poor Europeans. The second problem was the lack of spectators at some of the knock out games – notably at Murrayfield. Some people are calling it the biggest marketing bungle in international sporting history. The organisation now admit that the ticket prices were on the high side for some of these lesser matches but they thought that they would be able to sell them anyway. 3 RUGBY NEWS 4/99 The other main problem is now emerging and that is the poor administration of the game in Britain. This is another reason why the game is yet another northern hemisphere flop at the World Cup. It comes as no surprise that the southern hemisphere has dominated the competition. The World Cup has shown that a gap, though not as evident as it once was, still exists between the hemispheres. It is quite ironic that the team still carrying the flag for the north, France, were the only nation thought to be in the worst turmoil and were given `no chance`of doing well at the tournament. The Rugby Football Union and unions in Wales, Scotland and Ireland must take the brunt of the blame for the failure of their teams to make it into the semifinals, although not without trying. Maybe if officials, over the last ten years, had spent as much time planning for professional rugby as they did opposing it, then maybe, just maybe, they would be witnessing one or more home countries in the semi- finals. In the southern hemisphere, Australia, New Zealand and South African administrators not only wanted the World Cup but promoted themselves and above all planned for this eventuality. When it did arrive they did not have to spend too much time shaking heads, tut- tutting and wondering what to do next. SEEN AND HEARD AT THE RUGBY WORLD CUP 1999 Ce Jay Tongan coach Dave Waterston said that he felt that Ngalu Taufo‘ou deserved to be sent off, but then again, so did Phil Vickery and a couple of others in the English team during the course of the match. Dave Waterstone interviewed after being defeated by England 101 – 10 Wales wakes up. I think that`s what they call a wake-up call ! Our defeat to Samoa has certainly woken up Wales. Although there is never a good time to lose a match, particularly at international level. It does tend to focus minds and this is what has happened to us. It was`nt pleasant looking at the video of the game – it should have carried an X rating. Robert Howley commenting in the Sunday Times newspaper. 4 RUGBY NEWS 4/99 It‘s either shooting season or free drinks at the distilleries ! All Blacks Wilson commenting on the spectators (or lack of them) after defeating Scotland 30 – 18. American Football! – I am not even sure how you play it. Jonah Lomu commenting after speculation that he has had lucrative offers from NFL teams to join them. It is foolish of you to expect a repeat performance of my world record five drop-goals against England. De Beer commenting on his next game against the Wallabies – The Telegraph newspaper Will the `Silver Fox` stop the `Human Tank`? The Gaurdian newspaper rugby sports section headlines, with the question of Philippe Bernat-Salles having the unenviable task of marking Jonah Lomu in the semi-final match. What Wales wanted from the World Cup more than anything was to make the world respect Welsh rugby once more – and I think we have achieved that. Rob Howley in an interview after being beaten by Australia. What about the French? the interviewer asked. What about them? came the reply We`re as good as in the final anyway! An all Black supporter being interviewd by BBC in Edinburgh during the All Blacks celebration of reaching the semi-finals. Despite the French support of South Africa aginst England in Paris, France`s underfire captain Raphael Ibanez has pleaded with English supporters to forget about the turbulent Anglo-Gallic relations over the past 200 years and the current British beef problem and get behind his side against the All Blacks at Twickenham. The Mail newspaper. 5 RUGBY NEWS 4/99 QUIZ CORNER – QUESTIONS Ce Jay 1. When was Lawrence Dallaglio’s International debut and against who ? 2. At which club did Willie-John McBride start his great rugby career, sometimes called by him ‘ My beloved club’ ? 3. Which club did Richard Hill play for ? 4. What was impressive about Stade Français winning the French Championship in 1998 ? 5. When and where did the first women’s rugby international take place? 6. Switzerland’s first ever win in international rugby was against who ? 7. When did Argentina first tour South Africa ? 8. When was the first Wallabies tour to the British Isles ? 9. When was the Italian Rugby Federation formed ? 10. How many times have Toulouse been French champion ? Clubbeiträge Saison 1999/2000 Liebe Mitglieder Die Clubbeiträge sind auch im Jubel- und Milleniumjahr zu bezahlen, aber sie sind wenigstens nicht gestiegen! Der Einzahlungsschein sollte beiliegen, wenn nicht, kann er bei mir bezogen werden. Neu ist aber, dass die Junioren auf ein separates Konto einzahlen. Sie werden den Einzahlungsschein von Matthias zugestellt bekommen. Für all diejenigen, welche dem Club den letzjährigen Beitrag noch schulden, liegt eine Mahnung bei. Es können beide Beiträge mit demselben Einzahlungsschein bezahlt werden. Falls irrtümlicherweise einem Gönner- oder Freimitglied ein EZ ins Couvert geraten ist – es war nicht Absicht! 6 RUGBY NEWS 4/99 Aktive - mit Lizenz Fr. 130.- - ohne Lizenz Fr. 60.- - Schüler, Stud. Fr. 60.- - Damenteam Fr. 60.- Passive Fr. 50.- Es grüsst der Kassier (David) Aussie Rugby man's man Tina Long ago lived an Aussie rugby player named Bravo. He was a manly man's man who showed no fear in facing his enemies. One day, while lining up to face the mighty English side of the day Bravo bellowed, "Bring me my red shirt." The coach quickly retrieved the captain's red shirt and while wearing the bright garment led his team into battle and defeated the Poms. Later, the Aussies faced the lions of Wales . The captain again howled for his red shirt and once again vanquished the opposition. That evening, all the team sat around on the pub recounting the day's triumph and one of the them asked the captain: "Sir, why do you call for your red shirt before game?" The captain replied: "If I am injured in the game, the shirt will not show my blood, and thus, you men will continue to fight, unafraid." All of the men sat in silence and marvelled at the courage of such a manly man's man.