Quote Originally Posted by uk elephant
And on the topic of Rugby, BF tells me the reason it seems more civilised off the pitch is that is more of a middle class sport. The teams tend to be made up of people with higher degrees (doctors, professors, lawyers etc), rather than the working class football (soccer). It may be more violent on the pitch than football (in general), but they don't let it spill over off the pitch.

LOL... not in NZ... historically the All Blacks have been farmers, dock workers etc... its only since the sport turned professional (I still think that was a defining moment in the motivation of players - it no longer to wear the black jersey... its how much money can I make and I think thats sad...).

Historically (pre-professional/paid) alot of financial sacrifice has been made in order to have the honour of wearing the black jersey.