KEY POINTS:
After complaints to the International Rugby Board about the All Blacks being allowed to motivate themselves by performing the haka, other nations were asked to suggest pre-match rituals of their own. The IRB Rugby World Cup 2007 Organising Committee has now agreed to the following pre-match displays:
* The England team will chat about the weather, wave hankies in the air and attach bells to their ankles before moaning about how they invented the game and gave it to the world, but no one appreciates them.
* The Scotland team will chant, "You lookin' at me, Jimmy?" before each of them smashes a bottle of beer over his opposite number's head.
* The Ireland team will split into two, with the southern half performing a Riverdance, while the Northerners march the traditional route from their dressing room to the pitch, via their opponents' dressing room.
* Unfortunately, the committee was unable to accept the Welsh proposal to form a choir and sing Tom Jones' It's Not Unusual.
* Two members of the Springboks will claim to be more important than the other 13, whom they will imprison between the posts. These two will then go about selecting the best parts of the pitch to settle on and claim that they have been there for centuries.
* The Italian team will arrive in Armani gear, sexually harass the female officials and then prepare pasta dishes, which they will flog to the crowd for a fortune.
* The Japanese will shock fans by demonstrating how to capture a whale for scientific research by harpooning an opposition prop.
* The Australians will have a barbecue on their side of the field and invite the opposition over before the game. The food and alcohol will be in abundance and by the start of the game no one will remember what they came to the stadium for. After some streaking, the singing of dirty songs and the occasional chunder, everyone will go home thoroughly convinced it was a bloody good night.
(Doing the rounds on email yesterday, complete with fake IRB letterhead.)
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Two students at a Canadian high school made a stand against bullying after a younger student was harassed and threatened for wearing a pink shirt. David Shepherd and Travis Price used the internet to encourage people to wear pink and handed out 75 pink tank-tops before class for male students to wear. They also brought a pink basketball to school as well as pink material for headbands and armbands. David and Travis figure about half the school's 830 students wore pink. David said one of the bullies angrily asked him whether he knew pink on a male was a symbol of homosexuality. He told the bully that didn't matter to him and shouldn't to anyone. "Our intention was to stand up for this kid so he doesn't get picked on." (Source: ChronicleHerald )
Today's Video Webpick:There are a few slapstick moments in this top ten compilation of UK home shopping bloopers and a spectacular faux pas& Watch it here. These are the very best online videos from Ana's online magazine Spare Room.
