Would better inter-nation support make the British & Irish come good?

It makes me sad to see so many people wanting their NH cousins to do badly in matches just because their own team isn't setting the heather alight. I ventured into the England v Australia thread after the Scotland match and got scared off pretty quickly I have to say.

When the SH comes here, shouldn't we band together and hope to whitewash every single team with ours? Sure, when the 6N comes the banter should come in and we will defend our lines and attack the opponents' with the fervour we ought to ... but aren't the AIs effectively an 'invasion' on our territory that we should see off with gusto and togetherness?

Would better inter-nation support at this time of year make the British & Irish come good? I'm not talking about Lions, because the Lions, eventually, get the support they need after all the moaning and complaining about team choice. I'm talking about the nations individually.

If , for example , Ireland held no.1 in world rankings, would they prefer Aus, SA & NZ to be just below them or England, Wales & Scotland? Same question for supporters of other British & Irish countries. To me, the answer *should* be that we'd prefer to see our NH cousins up there with us ... don't we have some sort of allegiance there? Perhaps Ireland less so, but England Wales & Scotland are after all part of the same country. There's a technicality with 'country' because we are all 3 separate countries whilst being part of the same country. The official documentation tells us that the U.K. is the true country, though.

I personally enjoyed watching the NH hemisphere success of the 2003 WC ... i.e. England beating Australia in the final. And in the most recent World Cup I thoroughly enjoyed Ireland's success over Oz as well. This is all while having an Australian girlfriend too ...

Next week I'm cheering Wales to take on NZ and come good, for Ireland to get one over on Argentina, and for England to stomp out SA. Of course I'll always be supporting my nation Scotland. Only exception, which I think is fair, is if there was a possibility of them getting 2nd tier seeding, which I think is now all but gone.

In summary of my long and boring message:
1st priority Scotland
2nd England Wales Ireland in no particular order
3rd Australia I guess... pah.

Disclaimer : I don't hate the SH, France, Italy, et cetera. But I do love rugby.

Well, Kick... I'd simply say that despite us existing on two relatively small islands, we have diverse histories, backgrounds and affinities for any number of reasons.

For example, why should you mention Ireland, England and Wales so readily in a 'fellow NH brotherhood' sense and only mention Italy and France in the last line - saying you don't hate them but the implication being that they don't have the same draw for you.

So the NH in your eyes would be only the 'home' nations supporting each other?

I grew up being in awe of New Zealand...it has always been a team I admire and, just like you want a great race horse to do well, I enjoy them in aesthetic terms and if they're not playing against Ireland I'm always up for them, always wanting them to turn on the style. I can appreciate the efforts of their opponents and wouldn't be annoyed if their opponents won, but they are a side that I've grown up with. I couldn't artificially set aside my loyalty to them simply to champion an idea of NH unity.

Australia, I've always had a connection to it with family members, I've travelled in and have a kind of a spiritual connection to its outback and its deserts, I'm an uncle to a handful of young Aussie teens - so I have a strong affintiy to the country and like it to do well.

Wales, Scotland and England are rivals. Enjoyable rivals to be sure - I don't hate them but we meet them all the time and the rivalry often extends to taunts of "we beat [ fill in any SH side] and you couldn't!" So sometimes, the 6 Nations, when we all fight each other, can extend out beyond that competition itself. I don't mind specific NH nations succeeding when they need a victory....but when they've had a good few and are gloating endlessly ........................... my sympathies are less acute when they fail I'd assume that's the same for all of us.

Good article.

You say :"Of course I'll always be supporting my nation Scotland. Only exception, which I think is fair, is if there was a possibility of them getting 2nd tier seeding, which I think is now all but gone."

Has it not been the case so far that various games would have an impact on "cousin" country's rankings? Thus, SA's defeat of Ireland and Scotland was of benefit to Wales and Argentina in relation to second tier ranking. Equally, France beating Argentina and Samoa beating Wales was of benefit to Ireland and Argentina. Australia beating England of help to France, etc, etc.

When it comes to neutralism I think most genuine (yes we are out there) fans just want to see a good game no matter who are playing.

I have been to both club and international games where I have no affiliation to any of the teams playing other than being invited byt friends of the relative club country we are watching.

I went to England SA a few years back and have been a regular visitor to the shed, now whilst yes I am happy if the home side wins because it pleases my host but first and foremaost for me I just want to see a decent hard game of rugby.

It's a strange set up because England, Wales and Scotland all belong to the same country so it's a bit more like club or provincial pride and I can see where you might want fellow nations of the same country to win. But frankly I don't get this sense of hemisphere fraternity. When I watch another game like England vs Australia, France vs Argentina, Wales vs South Africa I'm not saying go you good things from the SH. I just want to see a good game of rugby. I really don't mind who wins if it's not NZ playing.

Family roots or sentimental favourites can turn you to certain teams but I don't see how living in the NH or SH should get you on side with all of those teams. And I fail to see how united support suddenly makes each team stronger. People go to the games because they want to see their team play and the team responds to those people at the ground. Not reading the comments from all over their respective hemispheres soaking up the love and goodwill.

Some craic..... I'm having a hard enough time supporting Ireland these days let alone cheering for the rest of yees!...

I've always time for our Scottish friends though

Wales v Samoa - Samoa
Eng v Aus - Eng
Scot v SA - SA
Irl v Fiji - hmpphnnh
Ita v NZ - NZ
Fra v Arg - Fra

Four out of five ain't bad.

Only England lost to Australia Pot. France only flew the flag as the Ireland game wasn't even considered a test.

kiakahaaotearoa wrote:It's a strange set up because England, Wales and Scotland all belong to the same country so it's a bit more like club or provincial pride and I can see where you might want fellow nations of the same country to win. But frankly I don't get this sense of hemisphere fraternity. When I watch another game like England vs Australia, France vs Argentina, Wales vs South Africa I'm not saying go you good things from the SH. I just want to see a good game of rugby. I really don't mind who wins if it's not NZ playing.

Family roots or sentimental favourites can turn you to certain teams but I don't see how living in the NH or SH should get you on side with all of those teams. And I fail to see how united support suddenly makes each team stronger. People go to the games because they want to see their team play and the team responds to those people at the ground. Not reading the comments from all over their respective hemispheres soaking up the love and goodwill.

I agree with this. I actually really wanted Samoa to beat Wales. I love watching the PI's play.

I love how Manu Samoa have put their heads down and changed their game and improved on their weaknesses notably in the set piece. They are an inspiration to us all. It wasn't so long ago that Fiji were the best of the PI teams and Samoa were languishing. Their turnaround in just a few seasons is inspirational.

Amazing article! One second you think that NH teams should support each other, the next you leave out France and Italy from that list! Where's your NH solidarity?