Important things first: Luke from Epic Beer has given us some free beers for after the cricket at the Malthouse tomorrow. So if you come see me at the Basin tomorrow I can fill you in on the details. Even if you can't make it to the match but still want to meet and drink with other PASers then pop into the Malthouse later in the day (I have no idea when).
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Have you been practicing in the backyard? Can you run, pass, catch, kick and maybe even tackle for about an hour without getting puffed? Do you have your own socks? Then you might be the new star player the Warriors are looking for:
Anyone out there any good at league? We need a centre, prop, winger, second rower, utility back, must be free @ 2pm Sunday. Apply within.
I had a dream once where I came on in the last minutes for the Warriors in the Grand Final, but that's probably not what they were after.
But seriously this puts quite a dampener on the Warriors' season. They were looking like one of the in-form teams, and many people were picking them to make the finals. Now with big injuries to at least three key players they look to be in dire straits.
Maybe the Warriors will be able to pick up some former rugby players returning from France. French rugby is to limit the number of overseas players in their top-flight clubs.
Clubs will be set a minimum number of home-grown players and will be allowed to have no more than 30% of their squad from overseas by the 2011/12 season.
This will of course be a boon to our local rugby tournaments too. The Super 14 is still churning along with, I'm sure, people still attending matches. Of course if you're an Australian (and some of you are) you pay a premium for your rugby experience.
Naly-D over at the Dropkicks has done a comparison of ticket prices at various homegrounds around the Super 14.
The Aussies are the most expensive with the Force leading the way (cheapest ticket NZ$37.30, most expensive NZ$80.88). The New Zealand team's tickets range from $15 to see the Chiefs for cheap to $53 to splash out on the Hurricanes.
But really South Africa is where it's at. The cheapest ticket to a Bulls game is NZ$1.89 and the most expensive is NZ$20.80, and currently they are the second best team in the competition (bonus points are ball-sack let's not into that again).
As one South African blogger said:
…in general, when a stadium like Ellis Park only pulls in a few thousand for a match, and they're charging R100 (for a good seat) to travel into the middle of town and watch an underperforming team, it is a bit much.
Hear that Crusaders and Blues? Also seriously who pays $38 to see the Force? Or $32 to see the Reds?
Both Naly emailed the various unions for comment on relative prices and I did the same, so far we have not had any comment back (though we have discovered that they "are aware" of the post). But if you live in Australia I suggest you write to your local club and find out why prices are so high.
Finally, for those of you who give a shit about such things, I am currently feeling that emotion you get when a player who is talented, yet also flawed (and quite expensive), does not end up at your team. It's the emotion where you say things like: "wow, that was… lucky?"