"Rubgy Worlld Cup/Blaine Walks Away...Crying"
by European Correspondent "Pistol" Pete Repka

"Rugby is a game played by men with odd shaped balls".

I don't who came up with that classic gag, but it always makes me smile. Some of you will have heard of Rugby but others will not. Campers and Councillors of Camp Susquehannock will have had some exposure to Rugby as Stu (He's a turtle) was a great purveyor of the sport and attempted to run clinics on it.

Personally, I've never been a massive fan because i've never fully understood it. However, I'll try and explain what little I do understand.

Trys (unlike touchdowns) are scored when the ball is placed across the try line while still in contact with the body. The ball can only be passed backwards, but can be kicked forwards. Scrums, rucks and mauls are common, as is stamping on the opponents head. I refer you to sunday's Ireland versus Nambia game which finished 64 - 7. Irelands Paul O'Connell "stumbled" (shyeah, it was hilarious - he trod on this dude's head repeatedly) on Archie Graham. They also don't wear any armour. This makes the frequent stamping, punching and blood letting, (England's Neil Back got another nasty gash to his head and bled all over himself) more audience friendly. There are two types of Rugby; Rugby Union and Rugby League (I don't know much about the difference and it's not important right now). The Rugby Union World Cup is currently taking place in Australia. South Africa won it in 1995, and Australia won it in 1999. Twenty teams are taking part, including England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, France and several others are all slugging it out. The big difference this time is that England are actually tipped to win it. England used to be pretty shameful, but a couple of years ago things started to turn around for us. On saturday, England successfully beat South Africa 25-6 to ensure a passage through to the quarterfinals that avoids the traditionally strong New Zealand All-Blacks. Troye Larson, and his sister Tarryn Larson Rozen (and I guess baby Dara Larson) are all proud South Africans, so ha ha!!

Amazingly, the USA are taking part too. They were beaten 39-15 by Scotland at the weekend. Still, they do remain the only Olympic Rugby Gold Medal holders since it stopped being an Olympic sport back around 1910 or something.

So the quarter finals are shaping up as follows:
England vs. Wales (more than likely)
Ireland will be taking on either Scotland (if they beat Australia ) or France (if they lose to Australia)
South Africa will probably take on New Zealand, and if they beat them they will probably take on the mighty Australia in the semis.

Last night David Blaine emerged from his box. 100 million people around the world were watching and he cried. Classic. They reckon he may have lost some of his marbles and may not be fully fit for six months, and won't even be able to eat a full steak dinner for a month. On the bright side he claims it was the most amazing experience of his life. Well, who wouldn't enjoy sitting around scratching his arse for a month? Although beer, chips and TV usually accompany my extended periods of idle slothfullness.

'til next time,
"Pistol" Pete Repka