Well, the Rugby World Cup showdown is rapidly approaching and the two top teams will meet next week to decide it. Who wants to take a guess at the outcome?

My money's on a close game, with a narrow win to New Zealand.

I understand rugby only slightly better than I understand cricket, which is to say that (unlike cricket) I'm pretty sure I know what kind of ball they use. Care to give a clueless Yank the thirty-second explanation?

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, its going to be a huge game and you just cant explain anything in 30 sec, My best advice is to go to the nearest Aussie or Kiwi pub when the Aussies and Kiwis battle it out in the finals , Have a few ice cold beers with the crowd and watch the game to the end. Its a experience on so many levels.

I understand rugby only slightly better than I understand cricket, which is to say that (unlike cricket) I'm pretty sure I know what kind of ball they use. Care to give a clueless Yank the thirty-second explanation?

Slightly similar to your football, but 15 guys a side, and there's no "downs" as such. It's a much more fluid game, without the stopping to reset every time a guy is tackled.

When a player is tackled to the ground, he must release the ball and a player on his team will immediately try to pick it up and pass it to someone else. You can't pass forwards, only to a player behind your line of advance, so there's a lot more running and passing that football. There's no limit on the number of passes that can be made, so the ball might start on one side of the field and go from player to player to player to player, right across the field. The objective is to get the ball over the opponent's goal line to score a 'try' (the equivalent of a touchdown), but the ball must touch the ground to score.

The biggest difference is there's one team for each side, not an offensive and a defensive. There are players more suited to some positions, but they'll generally stay on the field for the full 80 minutes of the game. There are reserves and most coaches like to swap players out later in the game to put some fresh legs on the field. There's lots of hard hitting and crunching tackling, and we don't wear shoulder pads or helmets.

Like Space cadet said, go and find a pub and check it out. You don't have to understand the game to appreciate the spectacle.

Well the aussies beat the Argentineans so I'm gonna have to back them.

In Australia and New Zealand there are 3 codes of football; Rugby union, rugby league and Australian Football (not sure if played in NZ or not).

The rubgy world cup (rugby union) is arguably the biggest event of these 3 codes. Several countries compete Argentina, France, South Africa, Wales, Aus, NZ, England, etc. USA also compete .. but rarely do well (I assume the sport is not popular there). We're coming into the finals and South Africa are playing Argentina (don't quote me on that) for 3rd. More importantly, the Wallabies (Australia) will be defeating the All Blacks (NZ) later this month (not sure of exact date) for the highest step on the podium. Irrespective of the victor .. It should be a good game.

The rugby league season just finished with an absolute cracker of a grand final (seriously, watch a highlight vid on you tube -NRL grand final highlights - the last few minutes before over time are ridiculous).

The AFL season also just finished but I can't tell you much about that sport except that the guys wear zero protection, little singlets and shorts, play on an oval field and kick the footy between giant chopsticks. I would also recommend watching some on youtube becsue it is unlike any other game I've seen played. If you gain an understanding of the rules .. Please post them here for my benefit.

I hope this helps.

I always bet on the all blacks. Just for the Hakka.

In New Zealand, Rugby Union is the national sport. Rugby League is played a little, but it's not as popular, and we don't play Aussie Rules, as no one outside Australia understands the game.

The rivalry between New Zealand and Australia goes back a very long way and we compete against each other regularly every year, so the Final next weekend should be an epic battle.

..l and we don't play Aussie Rules, as no one outside Australia understands the game.

I would argue that no one inside Australia understands them either.

..l and we don't play Aussie Rules, as no one outside Australia understands the game.

I would argue that no one inside Australia understands them either.

And the All Blacks proved too strong! New Zealand wins the Rugby World Cup 2015 34-17.

GO THE MIGHTY ALL BLACKS!!!

as no one outside Australia understands the game.

Isn't it just run, don't stop, if somebody is hurt, let the medics beware, the game must go on?

as no one outside Australia understands the game.

Isn't it just run, don't stop, if somebody is hurt, let the medics beware, the game must go on?

Yeah, I think it's something like that.

as no one outside Australia understands the game.

Isn't it just run, don't stop, if somebody is hurt, let the medics beware, the game must go on?

Yeah, I think it's something like that.

Just like hurling then, only slower. .

Great match. love to watch rugby.

I love the Haka, the Sipi Tau and any other wardance before a match starts and love the matches that follow.

Can't wait for the next Tournament!

If only I could watch more rugby here on TV

Great match. love to watch rugby.

I love the Haka, the Sipi Tau and any other wardance before a match starts and love the matches that follow.

Can't wait for the next Tournament!

If only I could watch more rugby here on TV

We've got a dedicated Rugby channel here in NZ, and Sky TV is currently running a 'pop-up' channel in their sports package that is only playing the replay of the World Cup Final match. Where in the world are you?

I live in the country with wonderfull people, the best beer, the best chocolate, the country with more (in)famous battlefields than any other country on this planet, and currently the best soccer-team; AKA Belgium

No rugby on tv here

I watched rugby on French Television, with the added bonus of trying to understand French

(No offence to the French speaking community, I really try to learn your language to understand the Southern half of this country)

Well I'm a bit late posting this but well done kiwis. The best team won on the day and deserved the win, but the level of competition was simply awesome by all countries who played.

Well I'm a bit late posting this but well done kiwis. The best team won on the day and deserved the win, but the level of competition was simply awesome by all countries who played.

I would prefer to like this post more than once

All I know is that if you ever tried to call a team the All Blacks here in the USA, you would be tarred and feathered while some city burned to the ground because of riots.

They've had the name for over a hundred years now. If you think that's got racist overtones, try our national soccer team, the All Whites.

Somewhat related: the haka performed by the All Blacks before matches is something to behold. One of the player's on my alma mater's (American rules) football team is Tongan and he did haka after a big win, which prompted me to look it up. Don't want to take anything from the Maori and Tongan peoples, but the All Blacks' haka was one of the most epic and frightening pre-game rituals I've ever seen in any sport!

It's written into the international rugby rules that other teams must respect the haka. And those of the other Pacific Island nations that have one.

One game the opposing team tried to get nose to nose with the All Blacks during the haka. Needless to say that it didn't go down well. I think we absolutely thrashed them after that just to give them a little lesson in haka etiquette.

If you think that's a frightening spectacle, you should see the pre-game when the All Blacks play Samoa. You've got both teams doing a haka trying to intimidate each other. That's truly awesome!!

The Haka is probably the best pre-game ritual in sports. Better than any stupid thing we do here in the US except play the National Anthem.

The Haka is probably the best pre-game ritual in sports. Better than any stupid thing we do here in the US except play the National Anthem.

You know, that's the one thing that irks me at a major game - the national anthem. At least your national anthem sounds ok. The New Zealand national anthem is usually played slowly and sounds like a funeral dirge. We're currently awaiting a referendum about whether or not we should change our nation's flag. Which is a real non-issue here, as 80% of the population have already said 'no' in so many different opinion polls. I think what they should really change is our national anthem. The government is spending an estimated NZ$27,000,000 to find out that the voters don't want the flag changed. Money best spent elsewhere I think.