Are there any fans of "the game they play in heaven" on this board?
For those who don't know, the Rugby World Cup is being played in France right now.
Samoa plays the USA in their final game tomorrow to see who will break their losing streak (neither team has won a game yet) and who will end up on the bottom of their pool - aptly nicknamed the "pool of death". Not surprisingly, a few of the USA Eagles team members are from Samoa. Even though they haven't had a win yet - both teams are playing good rugby, they were just unfortunate to end up in the pool of death where the competition is absolutely fierce.
For the record, the three island teams Samoa, Tonga and Fiji all do their own pre-game rituals derived from their warrior history. Of course the All Blacks from New Zealand do the haka (they are the only ones!)
Fiji's war dance, the cibi (pronounced thimbi), has been performed on the rugby pitch since their first tour of New Zealand in 1939. The cibi is believed to be derived from a Bauan war cry called cibi ni I valu.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzgOEH3rEhU
The Samoan war dance is the siva tau, it was first composed for the Rugby World Cup in 1991. They debuted a new version of the siva tau for this World Cup but they haven't won a game yet so I wouldn't be surprised if they go back to the old one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kV9_pa4TgEA
Tonga's sipi tau is considered by some to be the most aggressive of the war dances as the players advance toward their opponents.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbFnLCIlFdM
The sipi tau is a version of the Tongan kailao war dance. The kailao is typically without words, usually accompanied by drums. However, the Tongan team's sipi tau includes promises to "crunch fierce hearts".
Aside from the war dances, there's been some awesome rugby on display - and the shock of the tournament is that Tonga could go through to the semi-finals. They're on a roll - and a win over England this Friday could see them go through while a loss for England would send the reigning world champions home early... exciting stuff!
For those who don't know, the Rugby World Cup is being played in France right now.
Samoa plays the USA in their final game tomorrow to see who will break their losing streak (neither team has won a game yet) and who will end up on the bottom of their pool - aptly nicknamed the "pool of death". Not surprisingly, a few of the USA Eagles team members are from Samoa. Even though they haven't had a win yet - both teams are playing good rugby, they were just unfortunate to end up in the pool of death where the competition is absolutely fierce.
For the record, the three island teams Samoa, Tonga and Fiji all do their own pre-game rituals derived from their warrior history. Of course the All Blacks from New Zealand do the haka (they are the only ones!)
Fiji's war dance, the cibi (pronounced thimbi), has been performed on the rugby pitch since their first tour of New Zealand in 1939. The cibi is believed to be derived from a Bauan war cry called cibi ni I valu.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzgOEH3rEhU
The Samoan war dance is the siva tau, it was first composed for the Rugby World Cup in 1991. They debuted a new version of the siva tau for this World Cup but they haven't won a game yet so I wouldn't be surprised if they go back to the old one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kV9_pa4TgEA
Tonga's sipi tau is considered by some to be the most aggressive of the war dances as the players advance toward their opponents.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbFnLCIlFdM
The sipi tau is a version of the Tongan kailao war dance. The kailao is typically without words, usually accompanied by drums. However, the Tongan team's sipi tau includes promises to "crunch fierce hearts".
Aside from the war dances, there's been some awesome rugby on display - and the shock of the tournament is that Tonga could go through to the semi-finals. They're on a roll - and a win over England this Friday could see them go through while a loss for England would send the reigning world champions home early... exciting stuff!
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