So I have a question.
Watching some of the games, for instance Japan getting slaughtered by the All-Blacks, the commentators continue to heap praise on the losing team. Good effort, positive things they are doing, etc. Negative comments are few and far between, unlike say, typical football (soccer) commentary.
Is this the Rugby Way, or just the particular Kiwi commentators they are using?
It's all so…civilized.
Rugby is a fringe sport in most countries, except for the British Isles, France, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. All these countries field powerful professional teams made up of (relatively) well-paid professional athletes. Rugby also has a cult following in a few tiny Pacific nations, with virtually no population base to speak of.
Most (but not all) of the other teams have a sprinkling of few journeymen professionals (playing in aforementioned power nations). For example, one of my work-mates is teammates (on a team in Burnaby) with 2 members of the Canadian team now in New Zealand.
There is a respect accorded to these minnows who persevere to punch above their weight, and there are occasional upsets. In the 1991 RWC, Canada stunned the superpowers of rugby by holding France to just 19 points in France and losing to New Zealand 29-13 in a tough-fought battle.
This is in contrast to, say hockey, where any team outside the big 6 (or North America if you are Don Cherry), is treated with derision …
