England v Australia at sport

[stefanovic]

Kind of guessed that after England's women footballers had not lost in 30 games, they would lose to Australia, and they did.
They are good at sport and I'm wondering why.
Okay, so their climate allows for outdoor.
Hammered us recently in cricket and rugby league.
I remember England 1 Australia 3 in soccer at Upton Park.

 

[Beezerk]

It seems to be bred into them at an early age which was very refreshing to see. The family I stayed with near Melbourne in 2019 were telling me about it, IIRC schools take on another school in a sports day (think it was every other Saturday) and every kid at school must take part.
I guess coastal cities also helps as they were massively into their swimming.

 

[Neilds]

They also care about winning and losing from an early age, not this "participation is the main thing" rubbish that we seem to be preaching to kids nowadays.

 

[D-S]

I guess coastal cities also helps as they were massively into their swimming.

You’ve got to be to get away from the sharks, crocs and killer jellyfish!

 

[stefanovic]

Looking at a list of obesity rates Australia is slightly higher than UK at 29% compared to 28%.
But I take the point that in England winning is not everything.
Cricket analogy: Aussies want you back in the pavilion. English will give you a long-hop to get you off the mark.

Do Aus. parents push their kids harder to succeed at sport? Usually.
Is there an element of beating your former gaolers? This was described to me once.
Diet could also be a factor. In WW1 the enemy noticed how mutton fed troops from down-under looked stronger.

 

[stefanovic]

You’ve got to be to get away from the sharks, crocs and killer jellyfish!

True. Aren't there more things in Australia that can kill you than anywhere else?
England has only a few small snakes, and they are mostly harmless.

 

[cliveb]

True. Aren't there more things in Australia that can kill you than anywhere else?

The animal which kills the most people in the world is the mosquito (primarily in Africa).
The animal which kills the most people in Australia is the horse.

 

[Tashyboy]

I was in Oz same time as Beezerk 2019. To see how the system is set up towards a family environment is unreal. Pavements in some coastal towns are as wide as roads so you can walk, ride, skate do whatever you want. Because of the weather there is a lot of outdoor pools that don’t require heating. Where as in the UK councils are struggling to pay for heating. Dog walking fields the size of footie football pitches. It is an environment that encourages you to get out of the house and get naturally fit.

 

[Voyager EMH]

We can beat the Aussies at sports that involve sitting down - rowing, sailing, cycling, equestrianism etc.

 

[Captainron]

School has a big part to play in this. Sport is part of the ethos at school. It’s also massively popular because of this. It’s cultural.

Weather has a part to play though as it is easier to enjoy when the weather isn’t horrid

 

[TheDiablo]

Talented kids get a lot more focus in a specific sport

Good at sport? They will look at your biology and encourage you into a specific sport, and almost all time goes into that at the expense of other sports, at a pretty young age.

The GB Olympic team have since used this and copying this is a big part behind their success in the last 3 Olympic cycles

 

[Lord Tyrion]

It's easy to cherry pick sports that Australia do well in but the breadth of sports we play in the UK is quite remarkable. We punch above our weight in so many.

The one consistent that Australia dominate is rugby league, the others go in cycles.

 

[Wilson]

Talented kids get a lot more focus in a specific sport

Good at sport? They will look at your biology and encourage you into a specific sport, and almost all time goes into that at the expense of other sports, at a pretty young age.

The GB Olympic team have since used this and copying this is a big part behind their success in the last 3 Olympic cycles

This, plus the money that is invested in those that show talent, the Australians were miles ahead of us in this, but the lottery has helped GB massively.

School/weather also plays a part, my brother lives in Sydney, and his two boys who are 10 & 8 can spend the majority of their lunch break on the Oval playing football/Cricket etc. At both my daughter's school, and my nephews of the same age who live in the UK, the playgrounds don't have enough space for sport during lunch break.

 

[Neilds]

This, plus the money that is invested in those that show talent, the Australians were miles ahead of us in this, but the lottery has helped GB massively.

School/weather also plays a part, my brother lives in Sydney, and his two boys who are 10 & 8 can spend the majority of their lunch break on the Oval playing football/Cricket etc. At both my daughter's school, and my nephews of the same age who live in the UK, the playgrounds don't have enough space for sport during lunch break.

A few years ago, when schools got more funding it they said they were academies that specialised in certain things, my niece was at a school which decided they were going to be a sports academy - they didn't even have a sports field!!

 

[GB72]

Sounds like I have a grudge the amount I mention it but football can be our own worst enemy. Everything from media, to social media to TV covereage to magazine covers is focused for football and so fewer kids gravitate to other sports. Some have a summer sport but if you are a generally tallented sportsperson, football is going to try and hoover you up at a young age. I think that the attention given to certain sports is wider in Australia with rugby (league and union), Aussie Rules, cricket, swimming etc getting pretty equal attention and so are more able to attract the talent.

 

[stefanovic]

Are you Beezerk?

Australia just beaten Canada 4-0 in Women's Soccer World Cup.
That's after beating England in a friendly earlier this year.
Their men's cricket team have retained the Ashes against England this summer.
We need to invent a new sport where we'd probably beat them first, then lose forever after.

 

[sunshine]

AI generated response from a new poster. But it's too similar to other posts, need to work on the algorithm.

As others have mentioned, the culture in Australia encourages competition from a young age. And it translates from the playing fields to other areas of life... I've worked with many successful Australians in the UK. As a nation the Aussies do seem to punch above their weight.

 

[sunshine]

Talented kids get a lot more focus in a specific sport

Good at sport? They will look at your biology and encourage you into a specific sport, and almost all time goes into that at the expense of other sports, at a pretty young age.

The GB Olympic team have since used this and copying this is a big part behind their success in the last 3 Olympic cycles

Is it more accurate to say that the GB Olympic team have tried to identify sports where there is less competition, and then invested heavily in them to produce medal winners? It has been a successful strategy, but very obvious they have targeted niche sports with low participant numbers / popularity.

 

[stefanovic]

AI generated response from a new poster. But it's too similar to other posts, need to work on the algorithm.

As others have mentioned, the culture in Australia encourages competition from a young age. And it translates from the playing fields to other areas of life... I've worked with many successful Australians in the UK. As a nation the Aussies do seem to punch above their weight.

Should have noticed that Gloria ends in AI.
I've slapped my wrist, and apologies to Beezerk.

Forgot to mention that Aus. Women won Ashes.
I think the Kiwis also punch above their weight considering how small their population is.
Well done to them.

 

[D-S]

Forgot to mention that Aus. Women won Ashes.

No they didn't.