As the current world has seen somewhat of a mix up of things in the last year or two, we too thought we’d mix things up with some sports that aren’t baseball, hockey or basketball. We know, that’s not very Canadian of us, but hey, there’s a whole world of random sports out there, and if you haven’t tried it, you just don’t know.
And whilst mixing things up, there’s some great Canadian real money casinos out there that could help you pocket some coin while house-bound and depressed, as found on new-casino.ca. It may be that break from the norm that you didn’t know you craved. As could be those random sports of cricket, rugby and soccer. Who knew?
Rugby
Like NFL without pads, ridiculous money and a whole lot of stoppages, 2021 is due for some epic international games with southern countries like Australia, South Africa and New Zealand battling it out. Playing in a round-robin style, South Africa is the current world champions after defeating England in the 2019 World Cup.
The Championship, as it’s known, see’s these three teams, and Argentina, play some extremely hard and physical games to become the pride of the southern hemisphere. In the north, Europe’s crown went to Wales who were too strong for the likes of England, France and Ireland in what was a great tournament that came down to the wire.
Whilst newbies will find the game a little hard to follow, there’s absolutely no mistaking that the physicality of the game is unmatched in any other sport. And when you remember that no pads are worn, it may come as a surprise that no deaths occur! The Canadian women’s team is currently ranked third in the world, so get behind them!
October and November will see the famous “All Blacks” from New Zealand take on the USA Eagles in Washington before touring Europes best. Other games to watch out for include the World Rugby Seven-a-side tournament in Vancouver and Edmonton, plus USA taking on Ireland in Las Vegas and England facing the world champions, South Africa, at Twickenham, London (the home of rugby)
Cricket
Yes, it’s confusing as hell and some games can last for 5 days with no team winning, but did you know it’s actually the second most played sport on the planet after football? The national game of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh has over 2.5 billion players the world over and the Canadian national team is ranked at 22nd in the limited overs, Twenty20 game.
Think of it a little like baseball but with only one innings each, 11 batters and each batter staying “in” and accumulating as many runs as possible until they get out. Three variants of the game exist with the original, 5 day game, a shorter, one day version and the most recent 3 hour contest, which Canada participates in.
You can check out some great matches coming up in October when the Twenty20 World Cup kicks off. England, Australia, India, The West Indies and South Africa will all look to battle it out to be world champions, and with only three hours of game play, you won’t lose too much of your life giving it a go. And why not, you just may get a new favourite sport.
Soccer
The World Cup kicks off again in 2022 in Qatar with current champions France defending their title against formidable Brazilian and German teams. The worlds most played sport is certainly popular in South America and Europe, and its popularity is increasing here in Canada too.
The Canadian mens team did once qualify for the World Cup, back in 1986, and will co-host some games in the coming 2026 World Cup, along with USA and Mexico. This should bolster the “beautiful game” here as participation, especially in the junior grades, is increasing rapidly. And with top players worldwide like Lionel Messi, Christiano Ronaldo and Neymar becoming international sporting gods, the youth of today will certainly look to copy them.