They start them young in New Zealand.

Thought for sure this one would make the cut.

Posted this above — the University of Hawaii football team has its own haka.

Ever see the Irish haka?

The University of Hawaii football team also has their own haka.

Tall Blacks, Small Blacks, Baby Blacks, there must be more.

Big problem with The Fall:

Well okay then.

Check Tippet’s archives — cricket was the first non-U.S. sport he broke down.

Shane Byrne and Brent Pope — good sports.

“I don’t know if we’ve met before, but I’m the referee on this field, not you.”

Israel Folau starting to use the AFL speckie mark going for high balls.

BUT THEY BANNED THE BIFF!

This is history, though, and mainly in England and Australia. Rugby’s been professional since the 90's, and that class split seems to be mainly upheld by those old-schoolers who want to uphold it. But the players drift back and forth between codes, and in many places rugby isn’t as closely tied to the middle class as…

I’ve nodded on in both forms (but NRL/Super Rugby are both on so late in the U.S., it’s not always the games’ faults).

Yep. Got my dad into it via the Rugby 7s World Series. Thanks to them streaming games on their site and NBC Sports, he never misses it now.

Inferior? Look at all the All Blacks that find their way to the national Test side via the 7s, and all the 15s stars who couldn’t cut it in the Olympic 7s.

In general in the U.S., or in rugby specifically?

Heh. Never had rugby where I grew up, but then I went to Dublin for grad school, met some players, saw some games, then on St. Patrick’s Day drank with four Kiwis there playing for Leinster. They stood out because they were enormous and kind of dressed like Americans. Over a couple hours they imparted all kinds of…

From a ref’s perspective, how does that interpretation change around the world? Seems like it’s not just release; it’s the tackle are/breakdown/ruck that’s interpreted differently everywhere, especially between the northern and southern hemispheres.