America’s Cup - ETNZ launches 1st AC75 (new)

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

I'm not 166 years old....

but...in my memory it has always been the Louis Vutton Races that selected a " challenger"

Louis Vuitton Cup - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Louis_Vuitton_Cup

MicHughV, It hasn't always been that way (Louis_Vuitton_Cup). They always had a run off, Louis Vuitton just finally got the naming rights.

AND NYC had defender selection trials. Always.

Nothing is new.

[tp12]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

yes, 1983 is almost 40 years ago.....give or take a year or so....so not sure that a "relative recent" change is an apt description...though taken in context with the entire history of the AC it probably is.

Relative to 166 years.

They didn't have too many years prior to '83 where there enough challengers to warrant a series. It was usually two or just the one.

[MicHughV]

England beats New Zealand in the 2019 world rugby cup semi-finals game, much to the amazement and dismay of that entire island nation !!

The Kiwi's have arguably the best rugby team in the world.

Is this a view of the future in AC75 races ? Can the indomitable Kiwi's be trounced on the water as well as land ?

[Pelagic]

It was a great game and England was the deserved winner as they dominated from the very start and overcame two unfavourable calls the cost them 2 additional tries.
The kiwis knew they met a more determined team in England yesterday

The kiwis get trounced often on the water, so no one is indomitable in sports

[MicHughV]

yes, watching that game one would think the ref was a bit slanted....I think those disallowed tries were indeed unfavorable calls.

The South African team beat Wales in their semi-final, so now it's on to the BIG game. Two entirely different styles of rugby.

[Pelagic]

For me the England/NZ match was the final. ...... England will win handedly against SA

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

For me the England/NZ match was the final. ...... England will win handedly against SA

Ruggers is a great game, but I'd rather be sailing, or at least watching sailing (counting down to the first AC Events) especially if TNZ is in it which they usually are.

Same goes for Rugby, so now that they aren't, I have no need to see it.

Do you get that I'm disappointed?

[MicHughV]

yes, one would think that soccer would be the " English" game, but they play a fair game of rugby too....not to mention " cricket"
yes, England beat NZ, and NZ has beaten SA, so it's not looking good for SA, but being the underdog has it's benefits....

In these playoff rankings, should England win, they will be # 1, SA will be #2 and NZ will be #3 (assuming they beat Wales) so those placements don't really reflect the prowess of the teams. The SA/Wales game was a tossup, coulda gone either way. These rugby rankings are a bit confusing.

Though England played an excellent semi-final match against NZ, NZ seemed to have put their "B" team on the field as they were missing their usual flair.

Nothing to do with sailing really, but I know that the Kiwi's are ardent rugby fans and I wonder how this will affect their psyche going into the AC races ?

[Tillsbury]

No, I don’t agree that was a B team. But they sure didn’t play with any determination, and England did. So that’s that. The rankings are already eng/sa/nz even before the final.

[MicHughV]

I think that first English try within 90 seconds after the start put the kibosh on NZ, but I have seen NZ play many times and usually their play is quite electrifying, which seemed to be noticeably missing this time around.

I think that sometimes you get the wind knocked out of your sails and recovery after is a difficult task.

But not to discredit the English team, they played a bang up game!!

[Pelagic]

Rankings AFTER the NZ/England game

[Pelagic]

Before

[jmh2002]

Massive thread hijack again... And again instigated by the same particular member...

I'm all for discussing the rugby, but not in the AC75 thread.

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by jmh2002

Massive thread hijack again... And again instigated by the same particular member...

I'm all for discussing the rugby, but not in the AC75 thread.

Who? Not me I hope.

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by jmh2002

Massive thread hijack again... And again instigated by the same particular member...

I'm all for discussing the rugby, but not in the AC75 thread.

Try not to think of it as a hijack....just an innocent diversion until someone comes up with new AC footage.
We are all anxious to see and read more....but you have to admit
England really spanked the All-Blacks in this other significant sporting event [emoji6]