Lack of Joy, Lack of Success?

First topic message reminder :

After watching England lose to Australia in the rugby league world cup and watching the post match interviews something dawned on me.

Is the inherently joyless nature the Brits bring to sport responsible for their continued inability to foot it with the sun blessed fun loving boys from the southern hemisphere?

In the south, rugby is about passion, fun, running, showing off, executing outrageous skills, scoring tries, having fun with mates, the joyful bonding and rivalry with mates and opposition team members. A lot of rapturous jubilant elated uplifting energy is injected and out comes some sublime rugby and a history of success.

Contrast the wind beaten, rain lashed, grey of the north. The attitude brought here is the stiff upper lip, the grinding steely faced men, collars upturned against the elements, grim determination, phalanxes of dour faced combatants marching into war, and what I would call "fearful" rugby. It propagates control, order, slow, plodding monotonous structure, set pieces, kicks at goal. A win is a nervous grinding, painful, thing extracted like a venemous prickle with a hot needle.

More often than not these sullen faced ranks of northern hardship are simply overwhelmed and overrun by the smiling, jubilant dancing willow-the-wisps who bring a festive mood to the game.

Contrast Israel Dagg in full flight, wide grin on his face, trying something audacious, enjoying expressing himself in his contribution to the arrogant presence of a tight lipped Chris Ashton punching at the air before the try line, face burning with intent like he's out for revenge over some generations old nemesis. One continues to thrive, the other appears burned out.

GunsGerms wrote:

fa0019 wrote:

GunsGerms wrote:I think its really funny how its quite common for people in GB to claim it as a victory for GB. Wierd.

Well to be honest Guns I hear a lot of chat from people from Ireland saying things like... "ah Rooney, he has Irish ancestry, you can say thank-you anytime etc".

Same with people of obvious Irish ancestry all of the world.

Well unfortualtely he does. Look at the head on him plus Rooney is a fairly common name in Ireland. Mind you you wont hear me boasting about that, you can have him. Ruta Meilutyte couldnt be any less British though.

no-one on this thread has claimed she is british.

guns, i see your cut/paste functionality is alive and well

Sooo - RoI population 4.6m, Lithuania population 3m. Whats your excuse then?

quinsforever wrote:no-one on this thread has claimed she is british.

Thanks for that really worthwhile contribution.

lostinwales wrote:Sooo - RoI population 4.6m, Lithuania population 3m. Whats your excuse then?

ROI also got 5 medals with very little funding which is above GB on the per capita and per funding tables. Whats your excuse?

quinsforever wrote:guns, i see your cut/paste functionality is alive and well

I am studying Lithuanian and have been there many times.

I'm almost certain I read somewhere that if the London 2012 medal table was adjusted for population - then Wales would have been top.

If we'd been a separate competing nation.

Which we weren't.

Devolution oversight right there.

GunsGerms wrote:

quinsforever wrote:guns, i see your cut/paste functionality is alive and well

I am studying Lithuanian and have been there many times.

If you win an Olympic medal can they claim it?

rodders wrote:

GunsGerms wrote:

quinsforever wrote:guns, i see your cut/paste functionality is alive and well

I am studying Lithuanian and have been there many times.

If you win an Olympic medal can they claim it?

No but Im sure team GB would try to claim it somehow because I have been there for city breaks a few times.

GunsGerms wrote:

rodders wrote:

GunsGerms wrote:

quinsforever wrote:guns, i see your cut/paste functionality is alive and well

I am studying Lithuanian and have been there many times.

If you win an Olympic medal can they claim it?

No but Im sure team GB would try to claim it somehow because I have been there for city breaks a few times.

If you used the hotel gym I think that's fair enough.

rodders wrote:

GunsGerms wrote:

rodders wrote:

GunsGerms wrote:

quinsforever wrote:guns, i see your cut/paste functionality is alive and well

I am studying Lithuanian and have been there many times.

If you win an Olympic medal can they claim it?

No but Im sure team GB would try to claim it somehow because I have been there for city breaks a few times.

If you used the hotel gym I think that's fair enough.

Coming from a nation whose entire footballing recent success (i.e. from the Charlton years onwards) has been down to almost always UK players citing grannies, granddads and even mythical relations thats a bit rich.

fa0019 wrote:

rodders wrote:

GunsGerms wrote:

rodders wrote:

GunsGerms wrote:

quinsforever wrote:guns, i see your cut/paste functionality is alive and well

I am studying Lithuanian and have been there many times.

If you win an Olympic medal can they claim it?

No but Im sure team GB would try to claim it somehow because I have been there for city breaks a few times.

If you used the hotel gym I think that's fair enough.

Coming from a nation whose entire footballing recent success (i.e. from the Charlton years onwards) has been down to almost always UK players citing grannies, granddads and even mythical relations thats a bit rich.

LOL

rodders wrote:If you used the hotel gym I think that's fair enough.

Never thought of that. Guess Ill have to put the Olympic career on hold in that case. I do have a cousin who was on the GB swimming team and has a number of para olympic medals.

quinsforever wrote:

fa0019 wrote:

rodders wrote:

GunsGerms wrote:

rodders wrote:

GunsGerms wrote:

quinsforever wrote:guns, i see your cut/paste functionality is alive and well

I am studying Lithuanian and have been there many times.

If you win an Olympic medal can they claim it?

No but Im sure team GB would try to claim it somehow because I have been there for city breaks a few times.

If you used the hotel gym I think that's fair enough.

Coming from a nation whose entire footballing recent success (i.e. from the Charlton years onwards) has been down to almost always UK players citing grannies, granddads and even mythical relations thats a bit rich.

LOL

Hee hee!  

fa0019 wrote:

rodders wrote:

GunsGerms wrote:

rodders wrote:

GunsGerms wrote:

quinsforever wrote:guns, i see your cut/paste functionality is alive and well

I am studying Lithuanian and have been there many times.

If you win an Olympic medal can they claim it?

No but Im sure team GB would try to claim it somehow because I have been there for city breaks a few times.

If you used the hotel gym I think that's fair enough.

Coming from a nation whose entire footballing recent success (i.e. from the Charlton years onwards) has been down to almost always UK players citing grannies, granddads and even mythical relations thats a bit rich.

What footballing sucesses? Maybe thats why Ireland has been so unsucessful much like England.

"Almost always"?? Bit of an exaggeration.

fa0019 wrote:
Coming from a nation whose entire footballing recent success (i.e. from the Charlton years onwards) has been down to almost always UK players citing grannies, granddads and even mythical relations thats a bit rich.

There was footballing success?

rodders wrote:

fa0019 wrote:
Coming from a nation whose entire footballing recent success (i.e. from the Charlton years onwards) has been down to almost always UK players citing grannies, granddads and even mythical relations thats a bit rich.

There was footballing success?  

LOL

Hee hee!

Well you would have never qualfied for those all those tournaments without such players as

Ray Houghton, Andy Townsend, Tony Casacarino, John Aldridge, Mick McCarthy, Jason McAteer, Matt Holland, Aiden McGeedy etc etc etc.

If someone had no idea about the Irish accent and listened to the Irish football team in the 90s you would swear that the Irish accent was cockney.

Ah here now..... are you suggesting that McAteer, Aldridge and McCarthy are cockneys?

rodders wrote:Ah here now..... are you suggesting that McAteer, Aldridge and McCarthy are cockneys?

Can't tell these days, they all sound the same to me!

rodders wrote:

fa0019 wrote:
Coming from a nation whose entire footballing recent success (i.e. from the Charlton years onwards) has been down to almost always UK players citing grannies, granddads and even mythical relations thats a bit rich.

There was footballing success?  

Apparently highest ever ranking was 6th..

Not bad for a small nation...

http://www.fifa.com/associations/association=irl/ranking/gender=m/index.html

6th was in 1992 BTW

Well technically not really if most of North London were counted in the player pool.