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UK politician responds after World Cup gaffe

By AAP
Jonny Wilkinson of England kicks the winning drop-goal against Australia in the 2003 Rugby World Cup Final at the Telstra Stadium on November 22nd 2003 in Sydney, Australia (Photo by Tom Jenkins/Getty Images).

Having eaten an ostrich anus, a camel’s toe and lamb’s testicles in the Australian bush during a reality TV show there is little British politician Nadine Dorries could do to surprise.

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Since becoming a surprise selection for UK PM Boris Johnson’s cabinet, the Conservative Member of Parliament has regularly proved that supposition wrong.

But the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport surpassed herself on Thursday.

Speaking at an event to promote this year’s Rugby League World Cup she said: “I’ve always quite liked the idea of rugby league. My long-standing memory is that 2003 drop goal.

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Dan Biggar talks about the ‘no fear’ factor in the Wales team

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Dan Biggar talks about the ‘no fear’ factor in the Wales team

“I’ll let you into a secret. I think we were drinking bloody marys at the time. It was 11 o’clock in the morning but wow, what a moment that was.”

That ‘2003 drop goal’ was, of course, scored in Sydney by Jonny Wilkinson for England against Australia to win rugby union’s World Cup.

It should not be that easy to confuse rugby league and rugby union, not if you are the government minister with responsibility for sport.

League has 13 players and union 15. League doesn’t have line-outs, proper scrums or phases of play that go beyond six tackles.

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And most pertinently for a government trying to curry favour with northern voters, in England league is traditionally played by hard-bitten men from northern mining towns while union is the province of ex-public school boys who move on to posh jobs in the city.

That Dorries was speaking in league’s heartland, in the Lancashire town of St Helen’s, only made the gaffe worse.

Having been informed of her blunder, Dorries tweeted: “Like (former England union and league winger) Jason Robinson I may have switched codes in my speech.

“Both league & union have a rich heritage in the UK. Obviously I’ve followed rugby league much less in my lifetime, but I’m looking forward to watching England (& all the home nations) in the RL World Cup this autumn.”

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The tournament takes place from October 15 – November 19.

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Jon 8 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 11 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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