This year, the Rugby World Cup will be taking place in France. When I was a teenager, this would have been a great source of excitement. Both the anticipation in the run up the cup and then the event itself would make heart beat so fast it hurt. These days, it will probably provide no more than a vague distraction.

The problem is, unless you’re able to pay for subscription based television, you can’t follow the game in England. Although take-up of such services is increasing here, it’s still not the norm. Most people have analogue five-channel TV, or Digital Freeview, which consists of a fairly basic selection of channels. For this reason, I’ve really lost interest in rugby over the years.

But that’s not the only reason I’m feeling underwhelmed by the imminent World Cup. The fact is England are looking increasingly likely to get beaten by just about everyone. Ever since they won the last World Cup (after which some of the best players and the coach quit), they’ve been totally abysmal. Most recently, they’ve been on tour in South Africa, being made to look like amateurs.

Like I say, I don’t really follow the game that much these days, but I’ve decided I’m going to be making a conscious effort to watch the World Cup. However, I have a feeling I’ll watching England’s games through the gaps in my fingers.

06/05/07 | Posted by Anthony | Category Rugby 31 comments | Permalink | No Trackbacks |