Since our two old friends, COVID-19 and the current living crisis¹ have been stalking the land and intimidating people, like two high school idiot bullies, my half marathon running experience has been rather poor.

To remedy this oversight, I entered in the 2024 Christchurch Half Marathon, which at the time of publication of this average blog post, was held yesterday.

If you’re a supporter, follower, or subscriber of this account; firstly, thank you. Secondly, thank you again. Thirdly, I wrote about my last Dunedin Half Marathon, which you can find here.

It’s interesting to point out that my wife encourages me to run. Since I don’t hang out at pubs or underneath bridges while buying or selling manga, I’m allowed to have this vice. Plus she likes being a semi-professional spectator, as it allows her to drink vast quantities of coffee, waiting for her husband to appear, who has the speed of a tortoise.

Anyway, where was I? Oh right, the race. My preparation for any race can be divided into two different categories: training and diet. To be honest, I don’t know which one is more difficult to stick to; it’s easy to fall off the wagon with both of them. I usually let myself down in these categories, and the preparation for the Christchurch Half Marathon was no exception.

As for the actual race, the course had a loop of 10.55 km, so I did two laps. It started outside of North Haley Park and ended inside it. I enjoyed it, however, I’m starting to find half marathons are becoming difficult for me to run. There are some reasons why:

1.) Once I’ve hit roughly 12 km, I can’t get slower or faster; I’m stuck in the same gear. It means that when I should be speeding up, I can’t. My body has developed a fail-safe device. When it identifies the measurement of 12 km, my body activates the fail-safe device that locks me at the speed, to try and mitigate the damage.

2.) If I haven’t checked my watch in some time, I can trick myself into believing that I’m running at a great pace. This illusion is destroyed when pace runners go past me, with their stupid flags and a hareem of runners. As I look up and see that estimated time of finishing on the flag, suddenly 5 m, 10 m, 25 m, 50 m ahead of me, my broken ego takes another pounding.

3.) I’m running out of excuses to explain what is happening around me, during the race. To explain this, I have to admit, yes, I’m getting older. Yes, I’m getting slower. Yes, I don’t train enough. Yes, my diet isn’t good enough leading up to a race. Yes, I daydream while I’m running, and I get distracted. These factors add up to the finishing time.

In saying that, I’ve tried to shift the blame. If a person that’s 20 years younger than me, runs past me like I’m standing still, I usually point out that person is younger, so they should be faster.

If a person that’s 20 years older than me, runs past me like I’m standing still, I usually point out that person is older, so they should have more experience.

If a person is wearing expensive shoes and breezes past me, I usually point out that it’s because they’re wearing fast shoes; and I’m not. My excuses for not achieving my dream finishing times are scraping the bottom of the barrel.

Having said all of that, plus the fact I can’t currently bend my knees probably, I still love running; it makes me happy, and in this crazy world of climate change, wars, tax cuts, Brexits and hush-money payments to porn stars, finding a sliver of happiness is sometimes all that matters. Maybe.

That’s it for another week! Once again, thank you for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, eat a grapefruit, and I’ll see you next week for the return of We Didn’t Start the Fire. Nice.

^1.) Thanks inflation.

I love cricket, even though I’m a crap batter. Cricket is a crazy and confusing sport at the best of times. Seriously, it really is, because everything in the video below is true.

I told you, cricket is crazy. Have you ever tried to explain the rules of cricket to someone; especially someone from a country where cricket is not popular? It’s madness!

But do you know what is also madness? The Men’s Cricket World Cup Trophy. On Sunday 19th November 2023, Australia lifted the Men’s Cricket World Cup for a record 6th time. The 2023 Cricket World Cup was the 13th edition of the competition, but it was only the 7th time the ICC Cricket World Cup Trophy had been used. In total, there have been five different Cricket World Cup Trophies!

I told you that cricket is crazy!

1975-1983 (Prudential World Cup Trophy)

The first Men’s Cricket World Cup was hosted by England in 1975, and the main sponsor of the tournament was Prudential, which is a British multinational insurance company. This won’t come as a huge surprise that the trophy was named The Prudential Cup, so the tournament and trophy were known as the same thing.

The West Indies won the tournament in 1975, beating Australia in the final, thus being the first team to win the World Cup and lift the trophy. England hosted the tournament again in 1979, with the West Indies defeating England in the final, and in 1983, India defeated the West Indies in the final, to become world champions for the first time.

The trophy now sits at the Lord’s cricket museum, London, England.

1987 (Reliance World Cup Trophy)

The 1987 World Cup tournament was moved outside of England for the first time because India and Pakistan were the co-hosts. This World Cup had another change, which was over the sponsorship rights. Reliance Industries, which is an Indian multinational conglomerate was the new sponsor.

This resulted in the World Cup being known as the Reliance World Cup, as well as getting a brand new trophy; which you guessed it, was known as the Reliance World Cup Trophy. This trophy was gold-plated and covered in diamonds, which was estimated to have cost around 600,000 Indian rupees, and adjusted for inflation, around 8 million rupees at today’s price.

Australia became world champions for the first time by winning the final against England, and they remain the only country to have won this trophy. I’m unsure of its location, but I would guess it would be held in some cricket museum in Australia.

1992 (Benson and Hedges World Cup Trophy)

The 1992 World Cup moved to the Southern Hemisphere for the first time, with Australia and New Zealand co-hosting the tournament. History likes to repeat itself because the sponsorship and naming rights changed again.

Benson & Hedges, a cigarette conglomerate of all things, became the new sponsor, along with renaming the tournament and a new trophy. The Benson & Hedges World Cup Trophy is a Waterford crystal globe on a wooden base, which was accompanied by the logos of all nine teams. This trophy was rumoured to have cost around £8,000, and adjusted for inflation, around £16,900 at today’s price.

Pakistan won the final, defeating England by 22 runs. There are three facts from the final:

1.) This was Pakistan’s first and only World Cup title.

2.) Pakistan were the only team to have ever won the Benson & Hedges World Cup Trophy.

3.) The trophy is situated at the National Cricket Academy, Lahore, Pakistan.

1996 (Wills World Cup Trophy)

In 1996, the Cricket World Cup returned to the subcontinent, with India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka co-hosting the tournament. By now you would have noticed the tournament’s new name; Wills World Cup, named after another cigarette company, Wills, after they won the sponsorship and naming rights.

The newly named and designed Wills World Cup Trophy was won by Sri Lanka, defeating Australia in the final by 7 wickets. Just like the 1992 tournament, some facts are important about this trophy.

1.) This was Sri Lanka’s first and only World Cup title.

2.) Sri Lanka were the only team to have ever won the Wills World Cup Trophy.

3.) The trophy is situated at the Sri Lanka Cricket Museum, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

1999-Present (ICC Cricket World Cup Trophy)

24 years after the first tournament, the ICC (International Cricket Council) decided to change things up and award their own trophy. With England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and the Netherlands co-hosting, the ICC unveiled the ICC Cricket World Cup Trophy.

This trophy has been constructed from gold and silver, and the centre piece is a golden globe, which is held up by three columns. The symbolism here is represented with the columns, which are shaped as stumps and bails; as well as batting, bowling, and fielding, the three fundamental aspects of cricket. The globe also represents a cricket ball.

The trophy’s height is 60 cm and the weight is approximately 11.0567 kilograms. The names of the previous winners are engraved on the base of the trophy, with space for more. I think the trophy was valued at around £25,000, but I could be wrong.

From 1999, the winning team of each tournament is awarded this trophy; but there’s a catch. As Uddipta Banerjee explained:

“The original World Cup trophy remains at the ICC headquarters in Dubai. A replica of the trophy, which is identical to the original in all aspects apart from the inscriptions of the previous champions, is awarded to the winning team of the Cricket World Cup and remains in their possession.”

So, will the real Cricket World Cup trophy please stand up? You have five to choose from. Alright, that’s another blog finished for yet another week, so I hope you’ve enjoyed it. And speaking of enjoying things, guess what’s coming back next week? I’ll give you a clue, Brian May, Michelle Thaller, Bill Nye, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Brian Cox, and Becky Smethurst, would want nothing to do with it.

That’s right, our Tour of the Solar System continues! Yay. Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. My third anniversary of running New Zealand’s 5th least favourite website is coming up soon, so that’s going to be an achievement of a sort.

Anyway, please don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, go and lose at Risk, watch out for the Fagradalsfjall volcano, and I’ll see you next week.

The 2023 Rugby World Cup has started, and we have already witnessed France vs. New Zealand, Italy vs. Namibia, Ireland vs. Romania, Australia vs. Georgia, England vs. Argentina, Japan vs. Chile, South Africa vs. Scotland, and Wales vs. Fiji. It’s been full of blood, sweat, and tears; and that’s just from the fans!

If this is your first Rugby World Cup, or at the very least, the first time you’ve seen rugby, then firstly, congratulations and welcome to the club. Secondly, if you have observational skills like the Question, you would have noticed the players’ jerseys; namely the numbers on their backs.

Just like any team sport that requires players to wear numbers, their number denotes their position. And rugby has some pretty messed up positions. There are 15 (1-15) players in a team, with another 8 (16-23) as reserves, so 23 in total.

So what I’m going to do today, is try and explain what these positions mean and what the player’s job is during the game. Because I’m a New Zealander, I’ll use Kiwi terminology, but I’ll add other names for positions that other countries use as well. Also, the person that gets the honour of wearing the number 8 jersey, has the greatest positional name in rugby, and maybe in all of sport.

The Positional Numbers

1.) Loose-head prop

2.) Hooker

3.) Tight-head prop

4.) Lock (Second row)

5.) Lock (Second row)

6.) Blind-side flanker

7.) Open-side flanker

8.) No. 8

9.) Half back (Scrum half)

10.) First Five (Fly half, First 5/8)

11.) Left wing

12.) Second Five (Inside Centre, Second 5/8)

13.) Centre (Outside Centre)

14.) Right wing

15.) Full back

Job done then, right? Great Caesar’s Ghost, the answer is no!

The team can be divided into two groups: forwards (1-8) and backs (9-15). There is no better way to illustrate the differences between the two groups, than when there is a scrum or a line-out. All of the forwards are packed together into a scrum, or standing in a line behind each other for a line out. The backs on the other hand, will be standing side by side, stretched out across the field when either a scrum or a line out is taking place.

Rugby is a sport where all body types can be used and celebrated. This is because each position needs a specialised player with a particular body type and skills. Traditionally, forwards are larger but slower players, while backs are usually smaller, but faster.

Alright then, what’s special about the positions?

Explaining the Positions:

Front Row (Props and Hooker/Numbers 1-3)

Body type in the community:

This is easy. The best way to describe what body types props and hookers would have, would be a bouncer. You know the type, their arms and legs are the same size; they’re born without a neck; they can bench press a small car; and they won’t take any shit from anybody.

What‘s a prop’s job in a rugby game?

Formal answer:

Their job is to “prop” up the scrum, support the hooker, and add lift to the line-out jumpers.

Informal answer:

Their job is to be a human bulldozer and to take as many defenders down as they can. They are also experts in the dark arts.

What‘s a hooker’s job in a rugby game?

Formal answer:

Their job is to “hook” the ball with their legs during a scrum and to throw the ball in at the line-out.

Informal answer:

Their job is to be an extremely niggly player, that acts like they’re a saint, but they’re actually the devil in disguise. If the referee pulls them up for a penalty, the hooker will deny it; even with 20 m wide screens, showing them committing the crime.

Second Row (Locks/Numbers 4-5)

Body type in the community:

Locks would have the body type of basketball players: tall and muscular. However, the difference here would be instead of bouncing a ball on a court, these people have declared that they would rather suffer cauliflower ears, head trauma, broken bones, or torn ligaments than play basketball.

What‘s a lock’s job in a rugby game?

Formal answer:

A lock’s job is to form the second row in the scrum, receive the ball from the kick-off, and be a primary jumper at the line-out.

Informal answer:

Their job is to have the best shoplifting hands on the field, to be lectured by referees half their size, and to be at the bottom of every ruck and maul.

Loose Forwards (Flankers and No. 8/Numbers 6-8)

Body type in the community:

Do you remember how members of the front row would be described as bouncers? Well if they’re the bouncers, then the loose forwards would be the crazy, tough idiots starting fights in the bar/club or in the line outside.

What‘s a loose forward’s job in a rugby game?

Formal answer:

A loose forward has several jobs like being a secondary jumper at the line-out, supporting the ball carrier around the ruck, giving protection at the breakdown, and searching for the ball.

Informal answer:

There have been many epic quests throughout pop culture, like Frodo and Sam’s mission to destroy the One Ring at Mt. Doom, Thanos collecting the Infinity Stones, Ahab’s obsession with Moby Dick, Darkseid searching for the Anti-Life Equation, Ang to master bending of all four elements, and Andy Stitzer’s quest to lose his virginity.

But they all pale in comparison to a loose forward’s mission to hunt and find the rugby ball. They are lunatics, running around searching for the ball during tackles and breakdowns. They are either off their medication or need to be on some, because they are single-minded in their conviction to find and secure the ball for their team.

Half back (Number 9)

Body type in the community:

Picture any group of people working in sales with various body sizes. The half back would be the smallest of them; toned, small, quick, and very talkative.

What‘s a half back’s job in a rugby game?

Formal answer:

Like a hooker, the half back is a singular specialised player. Their job is to be the link between the forwards and the backs; to feed the ball into the scrum; to receive the ball from the line-out; and to gather the ball at breakdowns, to either pass or kick it.

Informal answer:

The half back’s job is to yell at everybody and to tell them where they need to be. Half backs are also well versed in rugby laws since they are always telling the referee what to do. They love pointing out the illegal things the opposition is doing to the referee, as well as convincing the referee that the illegal things their own team is doing are perfectly legal.

Inside Backs (First Five, Second Five, and Centre/Numbers 10, 12, 13)

Body type in the community:

These players are usually attractive, decisive, fast, and agile. You’ll see them at the gym working out and looking fabulous. They are the ones posing during photo shoots for underwear adverts.

What‘s a First Five’s job in a rugby game?

Formal answer:

When the First Five receives the ball, they will either run, pass, or kick it. If they kick the ball, they need to decide if they are kicking for territory, forcing the other team to kick the ball out, forcing the other team to make a mistake, or setting up a scoring situation. They are usually the player that kicks the goals.

Informal answer:

Their job is to crush the opposition by doing three things: kicking penalty goals and conversions from anywhere on the field, landing drop goals, and forcing the opposition back 50-80 m through territory kicks. If a First Five is constantly doing this in a game, it is soul-destroying for the other team.

What‘s a Second Five and Centre’s job in a rugby game?

Formal answer:

Their job is to support the First Five, create line breaks, kick for territory, supply cover defence, and to follow set pieces.

Informal answer:

When done correctly, the deadly partnership of the Second Five and Centre can bust open teams; but also crazy enough to act like loose forwards at the breakdown. Their job is to make the game a living hell for the opposition’s back line. They’re very clever, fast, and dangerous; but still look like a model as they do it.

Outside Backs (Wingers and Full back/Numbers 11, 14, 15)

Body type in the community:

These players will look like inside backs, except for one difference; their speed. These players are generally the fastest on the field, so look for people who like working out, but also sprinting. Outside backs are also great dancers, because of the work they do to evade being tackled.

Formal answer:

These players need to be able to catch the high ball, but also chase it. They need to be strong enough to fend off tacklers, but also to tackle around the waist and legs. Outside backs are try-scoring machines because of their speed.

Informal answer:

These players love to humiliate teams by evading tackles, applying the side step, outrunning or chasing someone down, producing try-saving tackles, but mainly by scoring a huge amount of tries.

What’s your favourite or least favourite rugby position? As always, please let me know.

I hope these blogs are coherent enough for you to be interested in the Rugby World Cup. If it has, I’ll congratulate myself with some Salt and Vinegar chips. If not, I’ll schedule a meeting with the writing team.

Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. I’m also on Twitter and Mastodon, where I post about things that I think are quite cool. Maybe.

Please don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, watch some Rugby World Cup games, and I’ll see you next week for our next stop on the Tour of the Solar System. Good times.

The 2023 Rugby World Cup begins in under a week and for thousands of people, this will be their first Rugby World Cup. Whether it’s watching them in the comfort of your own home, your friend’s house, or a bar, or maybe you’re going to be attending some games; it’s going to be someone’s first Rugby World Cup, or at the very least, it could their first rugby game.

Rugby can be a truly mental and angry sport to follow to the uninitiated. Points are scored every which way, and it can be confusing to begin with, like which indictment Trump should be focusing on first. However, the way points are scored in rugby can be explained. So to help you understand what you’re looking at during the Rugby World Cup, here is a very quick guide to the points system.

Before I begin, I’m only explaining how to score points, what the points mean, and their value.

The value of points scored in a game comes in the form of 5 points (try), 2 points (conversion), 7 points (penalty try), and 3 points (penalty or drop goal).

5 points for a try

Scoring a try in rugby means your team is awarded 5 points. A try is similar to a touchdown in the NFL, except for some subtle differences.

To score a try, a player must place the ball on the opposition’s try line or beyond it. The “try zone” consists of a strip of grass in the form of a rectangle, that starts at the try line, with the parallel line being the “dead-ball” line. The two other lines of the rectangle are the touch/sidelines (out of bounds).

If the ball is placed before the try line, it’s not a try; just the same as if the ball is placed after the dead-ball line, it’s not a try. The ball just has to be placed in between them. To place the ball down, a player either can walk, jump, or run across the line and place the ball down, or simply be lying on the ground and stretch out with their hand, with the ball in it.

With the grounding, you can either do it with one hand or two. It doesn’t matter what you do, and this is important, so long as you have control of the ball and apply downward pressure on it. Even if you’re across the line, you must have control of the ball and be able to force the ball on the ground.

The TMO (Television Match Official) can be called upon by the referee to check the grounding of the ball, in case the ball was lost forward, if there was no grounding, or if another player placed their hand between the ball and the ground; thus preventing the grounding, then the try would not be given.

But if the referee and TMO are happy with the grounding, then your team is awarded 5 points.

I do need to point out, that even if you place the ball legally over the line, you may not be awarded the try, if someone in your team did something illegal, leading up to the try. Rugby is a cold sport.

Here are some examples of players scoring tries:

2 points for a conversion

Of all of the points to be discussed, this is the easiest. After your team scores a try, you have the chance to score an additional 2 points for a conversion. When your team’s try has been confirmed, the goal-kicker; traditionally the first five/fly half (player with 10 on their back) or the fullback (player with 15 on their back), will attempt to kick the ball between the posts and over the crossbar.

The kicker must kick the ball from the ground when the ball is placed on either a plastic tee or a pile of sand, or in the form of a drop kick.¹ The place where the conversion attempt must be taken, is perpendicular to where the try was awarded. Basically what this means is that the closer you score the try to the posts, the easier the conversion is for the kicker. The further the try is scored away from the posts, the more challenging the kick is for the kicker.

The kicker is given one minute to complete the kick, and if the kick is successful; as in the ball passes in between the posts and over the crossover, your team receives 2 more points. If the kick misses the posts, no extra points are awarded.

Here’s a video showing examples of conversions:

7 points for a penalty try (try + conversion)

A penalty try is rare to witness, but they do happen. A penalty try is awarded to the attacking team, if the referee thinks the defending team has prevented a try from being scored through illegal methods. If the try was going to be probably scored, without the illegal actions of the defending team, then the referee would do three things:

1.) Confirm the penalty try under the posts.

2.) Award the attacking team an automatic 7 points, which equates to a try and conversion (5+2=7).

3.) Punish the offending player by showing them a yellow card (the player is sin-binned, so they are sent off for 10 minutes before coming back to the game) or a red card (the player is sent off for the rest of the game. They do not get to come back).

Here are some examples of penalty tries:

3 points for a penalty goal

Since rugby has so many laws and rules, it’s extremely easy to break any number of them. As an ex-player, I really can confirm this. From not releasing the ball, not rolling away after the tackle, hands in the ruck, committing an illegal tackle, to a scrum collapse, and so many more, the referee can and will punish any player and team, in the form of a penalty.

If the referee awards a penalty to a team, within a kickable distance to their posts, they are allowed an attempt to kick a penalty goal. It’s the same routine as a conversion, apart from three differences:

1.) With a conversion attempt, players from the defending team are allowed to run at the kicker, as soon as they start moving, so they can block the ball. With a penalty goal attempt, the defending players are not allowed to move.

2.) Where the infringement took place, is where the penalty goal is attempted; if it’s in a kickable distance to the posts.

3.) If the ball passes between the posts and over the crossbar, 3 points instead of 2, are awarded to the attacking team.

Here’s a video showing examples of penalty goals:

3 points for a drop goal

Drop goals are an easy and effective way to score 3 points for your team, and considering the Rugby World Cup is nearly upon us, you’ll see a lot of them.

To score a drop goal, you need to drop kick the ball. This involves dropping the ball onto the ground, and as it bounces up, you kick it. And just like the conversion and penalty goals, the ball must pass between the posts and over the crossbar to be awarded 3 points.

The drop goal is traditionally used; but only always, if the score is tied, or a team is only 1-2 points ahead or behind. Like I said before, drop goals will be used a lot in the knock-out games at the World Cup, because it won’t happen if a team wins by 1 point or 10; as long as they can stay alive and win. So believe me, a lot of drop goals will be used.

Here’s a video showing examples of drop goals in Rugby World Cup Finals:

Does the scoring system make sense? Does this make you want to watch some rugby games? As always, please let me know.

That’s it for another week. Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Please don’t forget to walk your dog; read a banned book; avoid licking windows, and I’ll see you next week.

¹ Don’t panic, I’ll explain what a drop kick is very soon. It’s also a term for an idiot or loser!

Welcome back! I’m glad I didn’t scare you off from last week’s 2023 Rugby World Cup introduction blog, though it wasn’t that bad. It wasn’t that good, either.

In keeping with celebrating the Rugby World Cup that starts next month, I’m dedicating some blogs to discuss the tournament, purely because I love rugby.

After my intimidating intellectual introduction to the 2023 Rugby World Cup last week, this blog will focus on some of the most important pool games. To refresh our wonderful memories on the matter, the draw looks like this:

Pool A: New Zealand, France, Italy, Uruguay, and Namibia.

Pool B: South Africa (defending world champions), Ireland, Scotland, Tonga, and Romania.

Pool C: Wales, Australia, Fiji, Georgia, and Portugal.

Pool D: England, Japan, Argentina, Samoa, and Chile.

Before I discuss some of these pool games, let’s establish two key things:

1.) Every single pool game is important and deserves your attention, regardless of the two teams smashing each other.

2.) A lot of people like myself, will be following and supporting their team throughout the pool games. I’ll be watching the four New Zealand pool games live, even at stupid o’clock.

Having said those two things, because of my decades of one-eyed bias, I believe that eight pool games will dictate and impact the quarter-finals. To put it another way, these are the key games throughout the four pools. I’m not listing by importance, but the order in which they’ll be played. Also since the games will be played in France, the kick-off times are at local time.

1st Key Game: Pool A

New Zealand vs France (opening game): 8th September at 9.15 pm

The opening game will feature The All Blacks vs. Les Bleus and it will be dangerous. The All Blacks have been performing very well this year, though Saturday’s game against South Africa is something I’m still trying to process, to be honest. On the other boot, I think France is the second-best team on the planet, currently. The last time these two teams played, France won 40-25.

By hosting the World Cup, the French are going to be playing in front of their fans, so they’ll be extremely difficult to beat. They are such an excellent side, especially with their captain, Antoine Dupont, arguably the best player in the world.

In all honesty, the winner of this game will win Pool A, with the loser being the runner-up. The problem here is that whether it’s France/New Zealand or New Zealand/France, they will be facing the winner and runner-up of Pool B in the quarter-finals. That is a mind-numbing prospect. Do I know who is going to win this game? No, but there’s no way I’m missing it.

2nd Key Game: Pool D

England vs Argentina: 9th September at 9.00 pm

At this Rugby World Cup, there are two pools of death: Pool B and Pool D, with both pools having three possible contenders each.

The last time England played Argentina, it was the South American team that won 30-29. In my humble opinion, Argentina has made huge gains over the last 15 years. They can wear down and defeat anybody in the world, but they do struggle with an 80-minute performance.

England’s had some mixed results over the last two years. Adding in the factors of a new coach, a string of defeats, and some key suspensions leading into the World Cup, this clash will be highly important, considering the other team they will need to contend with.

3rd Key Game: Pool B

South Africa vs Scotland: 10th September at 5.45 pm

This is the first key game from Pool B. South Africa, the three-time and current world champions, are up against Scotland the Brave. The last time Scotland defeated South Africa was in 2010 at Murrayfield; this was before the MCU had taken over the world.

Scotland has won six games this year, so they have been progressing quite well; however their magical fullback, Stuart Hogg retired earlier in the year to the shock of many, including myself. In saying that, Scotland still has game-winning players like Finn Russell and Duhan van der Merwe.

South Africa has been doing what South African teams are famous are: producing monsters that dominate and grind teams into submission. These two teams have not played against each other for two years, so both teams will be fielding their top sides to deal with the carnage.

4th Key Game: Pool D

England vs Japan: 17th September at 9.00 pm

Regardless of what happens between England and Argentina, if England wants to progress to the quarter-finals, they will need to go through Japan. Maybe 10-15 years ago, nobody would have rated Japan at a Rugby World Cup. They’re easily the best team in Asia, but they were always a Tier 2 nation at best.

Over time, they have beaten teams like Canada, Tonga, the United States, Samoa, Fiji, Georgia, Argentina, and Romania. Then Japan rolled Wales in 2013, and Italy in 2014; however they had never won a Rugby World Cup game. That changed at the 2015 Rugby World Cup, when they defeated South Africa 34-32, to achieve their first-ever win at the tournament.

Since then, Japan has drawn against France and defeated both Ireland and Scotland at the 2019 Rugby World Cup in front of home fans. The last two years have been difficult for them, but the self-belief is there for the Brave Blossoms, so England vs. Japan will be very interesting.

5th Key Game: Pool B

South Africa vs Ireland: 23rd September at 9.00 pm

The current world champions playing the world’s number-one-ranked team in a pool match seems insane, but it’s true. Over the last 10 years, Ireland has slowly become a powerhouse in world rugby, and within the last three years, they have become the team to beat and the number-one-ranked team in the world.

Ireland’s work at the breakdown, coupled with set pieces, line breaks, and the ability to problem solve out of terrible situations, are the envy of the world. They are currently on an 11-game winning streak, but that will be put to the test against South Africa.

The South Africans have won the World Cup three times, with Ireland never progressing past the quarter-finals. Having said that, Ireland is going into the World Cup as one of the favourites to win it, and they will be desperate to do it. They are an amazing team, but they will need to overcome South Africa to get there. What a game that’s going to be!

6th Key Game: Pool C

Wales vs Australia: 28th September at 9.00 pm

Even though Fiji’s win against England in the weekend was impressive, I still believe the biggest game in Pool C is Wales vs. Australia. Both teams are very similar: they have endured some mixed performances against Tier 1 and 2 nations over the last three years, and they are both rebuilding, as well as having ex-coaches returning, in the forms of Warren Gatland and Eddie Jones, respectfully.

I get the feeling that this game will be more about the coaches than the players. Both Gatland and Jones are under massive pressure, because of their mixed results. They have been touted as the saviours of their team’s woes, so they will need the players to prove to their home countries, that they are still the right person for the job.

There’s a lot of history between Wales and Australia, so this game will be brutal.

7th Key Game: Pool B

Ireland vs Scotland: 7th October at 9.00 pm

Just like England and Japan, if Ireland wants to progress out of their pool, they need to go through Scotland. Currently, history is against Scotland, with Ireland winning the previous eight games. But the thing is, this is the World Cup and anything can happen.

Ireland would be quietly confident about this game, but we have no idea the condition of their players after the South African game. For all we know, half of the forwards could be injured, with some of the backs could be sitting on red cards.

On paper, Ireland should win this, but Scotland will not go quietly into the night. From the Scottish point of view, Ireland is in their way to reaching the quarter-finals, so they will start their A-side to battle them. This game will be crazy!

8th Key Game: Pool D

Japan vs Argentina: 8th October at 1.00 pm

Out of all of the key pool games, this could be the most explosive. Whatever team loses this game, could be going home. Yes, it does depend on England’s results against Japan and Argentina. I mean if England lost both games, then some of the pressure would have been let off for this game. However, if England wins against both Japan and Argentina, then this game will be utter carnage.

Both teams will need to be firing at full strength, and a draw may save one team, but doom the other. This game will feature the top team in South America vs. the top team in Asia, with a potential quarter-final berth as the prize.

It would also be remiss of me, not to mention the dangers Italy, Tonga, Georgia, Fiji, and Samoa will represent in pool games. They will be desperate to impress as well, along with the other remaining teams.

What pool games will you be watching? Have I missed any key pool games? Like always, please let me know.

This blog got away from me, like Bugs Bunny from Elmer Fudd. I was going to talk about rugby’s scoring system, so I promise to do it next week.

I need to get in some extra hours of sleep because I’m going to be losing a lot of it, through watching games and anxiety. Damn it, I just felt another hair turn grey.

Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. This entire project is pure hubris, but it means a lot to me. Don’t forget to walk your dog; read a banned book; and please understand that releasing your mugshot on your social media account, is an own goal. I’ll see you next week.

When I came up with the idea of Some Geek Told Me during the first lockdown, one of the main reasons was to discuss different things that interest me, like popular culture, science, salt and vinegar chips, and the list could go on and on.

I’ve discussed many important topics on my blog like my socks, my favourite Saga covers, the order in which children should watch the Star Wars movies, and how my wife is weird. However, there is one topic I have mentioned in passing, but I have never taken the time to enlighten the world on it. This gets corrected this month.

I love rugby. I mean it, I love it. I’m a New Zealander, so I have to by default, but I still love it. Firstly, I know for some strange reason, some people in the world either don’t like rugby or don’t care about it. I’ve said this before, but no one is perfect.¹

That being the case, I’m going to talk about the 2023 Rugby World Cup. Few things in this world make me feel fear and excitement like a Rugby World Cup; apart from eating some random chips at a party. Will they be Salt and Vinegar or Sour Cream and Chives or something else? I live on the edge. Aerosmith doesn’t have anything on me.

Every four years relative to their trophy, the world’s best rugby teams compete to be world champions. In 2022, the 2021 Women’s Rugby World Cup was held ² and the next one will be in 2025. For the men’s trophy, it actually starts next month; with various emotions already flooding into me. Anxiety, hope, fear, happiness, depression, excitement, apathy, and jubilation. They’re fighting for control of my mind because I want my country to win, and I can’t do anything about it.

Host

This year’s tournament will run from 8th September to 28th October 2023, but because of the differences in time zones, it’ll be 9th September to 29th October for me. ³

The host country is France, and they have held the tournament before; 1991 with eight games (co-host), 1999 with eight games (co-host), and 2007 with 42 games as the main host. France will host all 48 games, over 51 days, covering nine cities.

They are:

• Paris: Stade de France. Capacity: 80,023. Will host the second and fourth quarter-finals, both semi-finals, the bronze play-off match, and the final.
• Marseille: Stade Vélodrome. Capacity: 67,847. Will host the first and third quarter-finals,
• Lyon: OL Stadium. Capacity: 58,883.
• Lille: Stade Pierre-Mauroy. Capacity: 50,096.
• Bordeaux: Stade de Bordeaux. Capacity: 42,060.
• Saint-Étienne: Stade Geoffroy-Guichard. Capacity: 42,152.
• Nice: Stade de Nice. Capacity: 35,983.
• Nantes: Stade de la Beaujoire. Capacity: 35,520.
• Toulouse: Stade de Toulouse. Capacity: 33,103.

Teams

There are 20 teams across four pools. The draw looks like this:

Pool A: New Zealand, France, Italy, Uruguay, and Namibia.

Pool B: South Africa (defending world champions), Ireland, Scotland, Tonga, and Romania.

Pool C: Wales, Australia, Fiji, Georgia, and Portugal.

Pool D: England, Japan, Argentina, Samoa, and Chile.

Previous Winners

After the first edition in 1987, there have been only four countries that have won the Rugby World Cup:

New Zealand: 1987, 2011, and 2015

South Africa: 1995, 2007, and 2019

Australia: 1991 and 1999

England: 2003

So why should you care about the Rugby World Cup? Hang on, here’s a better question, why do I care about it?

Nothing, and I mean nothing, brings me more quadrennial stress than the Rugby World Cup! For my elevated stress levels, this event is more dangerous to me than my job, children and my wife combine. This is my wife’s third Rugby World Cup with me, and I’m already annoying her, with only 18 days from the start of the tournament. And it’s slowly going to get worse. I’m terrible.

Why do I do this to myself? Easy, I love rugby, I love my country and I want them to win. But as past World Cups have shown, how you deal with victory, is just as important as how you deal with heartbreak.

Case in point, it’s a life lesson I’ve been explaining to UMC1 and UMC2. With any team sport, and especially World Cups, you want your team to do well because you love them. You support and follow them because they’re your team. When they win, you love them because they’re winning. And if they lose, that’s when you need to love them even more.

I’m an All Blacks fan. I always have been and I always will be. I’ve ridden the highs with them, as well as suffered and stressed about the lows. This Rugby World Cup is going to be extremely competitive and tight; particularly with the phenomenal way Ireland and France are currently playing. Although that is another blog for another week.

Rugby is a wonderful sport, with crazy rules and outstanding players. From the scoring system, the dark arts of the front row, the lexicon, and players’ positions, rugby is simply amazing.

If this is your first Rugby World Cup, then welcome. If you’re a returning fan, then it’s great to see you again. If you’re interested in watching the games, please do so. If nothing else, they will give you an excuse to complain about forward passes, hands in the ruck, collapsing scrums, offsides, head-high tackles, and whether the referee is actually watching the game or not.

I can’t wait, though my blood pressure can. I can feel individual hairs on my head slowly turning grey, just thinking about the Rugby World Cup. Good times.

Will you be watching the Rugby World Cup? Who are you supporting? Who do you think will win? Please let me know. Next week, I’m going to discuss which pool games to look out for, because they will have the biggest impact on the quarter-finals, as well as discussing the scoring system for any rugby novices. This only happens every four years, so I’m making the most of it. Sorry, not sorry.

Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. I’m also on Twitter and Mastodon, where I post about history, geography, movies, politics, music, sports, comics, and anything else that can hold my attention. Don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, block Elon Musk, and I’ll see you next week.

1.) Dear single people, please remember that.

2.) Thanks COVID-19, once again.

3.) Can any Flat Earther explain time zones?

I want to talk about football. Why? If you’re a follower of this inarticulate blog, then you know I love football. I failed to discuss the 2022 FIFA World Cup, so I thought I would rectify that by ranting about the upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup. Because of my OCD, I’ve made the executive decision to break down the World Cup into sections, because…well, I can. I’m sorry, but this blog is short and quite factual than anything else.

On 20th July 2023, the ninth edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup will begin. It will run until the final on the 20th August.

Hosts

There are two firsts for the host country for this World Cup. This will be the first time, that we have two host countries instead of one.¹ The second fact is that it’s the first time the tournament will held in Oceania, with previous tournaments having been hosted in North America (United States and Canada, Asia (China), and Europe (Sweden, Germany, and France).

The co-hosting countries are Australia and New Zealand, with 64 games being played, covering nine cities and 10 venues.

In Australia we have:

• Sydney: Stadium Australia (mainly used for rugby league, rugby union, football, cricket, and Australian Rules Football). Will host the fourth quarter-final, second semi-final, and the final.
• Sydney: Sydney Football Stadium (mainly used for rugby league, rugby union, football, and concerts).
• Brisbane: Lang Park aka The Cauldron (mainly used for rugby league, rugby union, and football). Will host the third quarter-final and playoff for third place.
• Melbourne: Melbourne Rectangular Stadium aka AAMI Park (mainly used for rugby league, rugby union, football, and Australian Rules Football).
• Perth: Perth Rectangular Stadium aka HBF Park (mainly used for rugby league, rugby union, football, cricket, and Australian Rules Football).
• Adelaide: Hindmarsh Stadium aka Coppers Stadium (mainly used for football).

For New Zealand we have:

• Auckland: Eden Park (mainly used for rugby union, cricket, and concerts). Will host the second quarter-final and first semi-final
• Hamilton: Waikato Stadium (mainly used for rugby union).
• Wellington: Wellington Regional Stadium aka The Cake Tin (mainly used for rugby union, cricket, football, and concerts). Will host the first quarter-final.
• Dunedin: Forsyth Barr Stadium, aka The Glasshouse (mainly used for rugby union and concerts).

Teams

There are 32 teams across eight groups. The draw looks like this:

Group A: New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, and Switzerland.

Group B: Australia, Republic of Ireland, Nigeria, and Canada.

Group C: Spain, Costa Rica, Zambia, and Japan.

Group D: England, Haiti, Denmark, and China.

Group E: United States of America (defending world champions), Vietnam, Netherlands, and Portugal.

Group F: France, Jamaica, Brazil, and Panama.

Group G: Sweden, South Africa, Italy, and Argentina.

Group H: Germany, Morocco, Colombia, and South Korea.

After the first edition in 1991, there have been only four different countries that have won the FIFA Women’s World Cup:

United States of America: 1991, 1999, 2015, and 2019

Norway: 1995

Germany: 2003 and 2007

Japan: 2011

This brings me to ask a question: Why should you care about the FIFA Women’s World Cup?

Maybe football is not popular in your community or country. Maybe you may hate football, or your country may not have qualified for the tournament. Maybe you don’t watch women’s sports, or possibly, you may not even watch any sport. Many different reasons could drive you to not watch the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

But before you completely write the World Cup off, with 100% certainly, let me tell you a story.

Having grown up² in New Zealand, sport is part of our culture and identity. I’ve played many sports over the years, but there are four sports that I follow and support; rugby union, rugby league, cricket, and of course, football.

My definition of following a sport is having a favourite team (professional club(s) and/or national team) and doing seven things:

1.) Attending live games.

2.) Watching live games via television or streaming platform.

3.) Purchasing and wearing your team’s merchandise.

4.) Watching highlights on YouTube of your team’s game, whether you saw the game or couldn’t because of time zone difference.

5.) Watching highlights of games involving other teams, because you want to know what the competition are doing; just in case they’re cheating.

6.) Reading articles and news updates about the squads, and religiously checking draws, results, and table standings.

7.) Talking about sports to your non-sporting spouse.

I do all of these things, except money plays a large part in attending live games and streaming the games. I have to save up to selectively choose what months I can afford the service.

Anyway, a few years ago I made the observation that I was only watching male sports. With exceptions for the Summer and Winter Olympics, and the Commonwealth Games, the only female sport I would watch was international netball.

This resulted in me asking myself an awkward question. If I liked watching and following males playing rugby union, rugby league, cricket, and football, then why do I not watch females play?

This led me to conclude that if I truly cared, supported, and followed my four favourite sports, then I couldn’t just care about the players with Y chromosomes; I needed to care about all the players.

I’ve taught UMC1 and UMC2 that sport is sport, so I needed to listen to my own advice.

So this has been a goal³ of mine since then: for every male team that I support in rugby union, rugby league, cricket, and football, I now try to give the women’s teams of that sport, the same amount of support; whether with club or national teams. Granted the coverage is not the same as males, but I’m trying.

I wrote a blog about women’s sports last year, if it helps to reinforce my point.

We’ve now arrived back at the beginning: Why should you care about the FIFA Women’s World Cup?

You should care, because this is the biggest women’s single sporting tournament on the planet. 32 teams containing the best female football players in the world, are representing their countries and competing in a knock-out tournament, to see which team will lift the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

So what can you do to show support? If possible, go buy a ticket and attend a live game. If not, you can do the next best thing by watching some games. As for me, I’m doing both. I’ll be watching live games through my overpriced streaming service, and watching highlights through YouTube.

I’m also attending a game. Back in October 2022, I saved some money and purchased tickets for UMC1 and myself to watch New Zealand vs. Switzerland in Dunedin. To be honest, I’m not sure which one of us is more excited; him or me. I’ve never been to any World Cup match in any sport before, so I’m riding a wave of excitement. I’m planning on writing a blog about the experience, so we will have to wait and see what happens.

What World Cup games are you planning on watching? What team will you be supporting? Please let me know.

Well, that’s another rant finished for another week. Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, go watch some football, and I’ll see you next week.

¹ In 2002, Japan and South Korea became the first co-hosting countries in the men’s tournament, with Canada, Mexico, and The United States of America, co-hosting the men’s tournament in 2026.

² There is a subtle difference between growing up and getting older.

³ Pun very much intended.