Rugby League Four Nations Tournament 2010 + Casula Powerhouse Body Pacifica Calendar

It's the holidays, which means its time for what one J's Theater reader once charitably called "rugby porn." Not real pornography, of course, just shots of ruggers running, tackling, scoring...and whatever else it is they do on the field. This year's Gillette Rugby League Four Nations tournament occurred in Australia and New Zealand in October and November 2010, months in which I was working diligently and postly lightly. This year's participants were Australia, New Zealand, England, and the winners of the 2009 Pacific Cup, Papua New Guinea.

I'll skip all the tournament round-robin play, which amounted to 7 games, to say that the final pitted Australia against New Zealand, and the Kiwis won in a shocker to the dominant Aussie team, 16-12.  And now, that means photos!

Sam Thaiday of Australia

England's side

Frank-Paul Nuuausala of the Kiwis

Kiwi Shaun Kenny-Dowell being tackled by Michael Mark of Papua New Guinea

Paul Aiton of PNG being tackled by Kangaroos

Kangaroo Lote Tuqiri, vs. PNG

Paul Aiton of PNG facing England

PNG celebrating

Kiwis' Benji Marshall, against England

Papuans getting love from a fan

Aussies tackle an Englishman

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On a related but different note, a while back a friend in New Zealand alerted me and other sports fans about the Australian Casula Powerhouse's Body Pacifica 2010 calendar, which coincided with a June 25-August 2010 (winter in Australia) exhibit, as well as a 3-day weekend festival in June, celebrating "island culture." I can't speak to the exhibit itself or how well or poorly it was pulled off, whether it trafficked in exoticism and so forth, but my friend sent the link to the Body Pacifica calendar, which features Pacific Islander ruggers, including Frank Puletua, shown above, in what I thought was a surprising light, not posed in rugby gear, but as they themselves wanted to be depicted. A few shots of the calendar below (it's huge), and worth picking up!

FIFA 2010 World Cup Underway

Amid my reading of the final versions of the novellas, and the conceptual art projects, I've taken some time to catch some of the FIFA 2010 World Cup games, which began yesterday with host country South Africa's match against Mexico. To the relief of the South Africans, and perhaps the Mexican fans, the match resulted in a 1-1 tie. Draws in fact have dominated the tournament's first day; in the other opening day match, France and Uruguay finished 0-0. On Day 2, today, South Korea trounced Greece 2-0, while Argentina beat Nigeria 1-0, and nearly scored several more.
The match to catch (and I missed it because I've been at a poetics conference), however, was England vs. the USA. Despite having a team packed with Premier League stars, England could only manage a 1-1 tie, which counts almost as a win for the Americans.  The game started in heart-dropping fashion for the US when English midfield Stephen Gerrard scored only 4 minutes into the contest, based on a defensive lapse, the sort of harbinger of a US debacle to come. Yet the Americans were able to hang on from that point onwards, even surviving a potential injury to their star goalie, Tim Howard, when England forward Emile Heskey slid cleet-first into the Howard's chest, and, in one of the most remarked moments of the tournament thus far, tied things when Clint Dempsey kicked a squibbler towards the English net and goalkeeper Robert Green couldn't hold onto it before it crossed the goal-line. From that point onwards the US team made no significant mistakes, despite being outshot 10-4 and corner-kicked 8-4. A great deal of credit goes to Howard for unflappable play, and to Dempsey and Jozy Altidore, who nearly got another US goal, for penetrating the English defense.

Tomorrow's games should provide some excitement, though I forsee Germany tromping over Australia, and Ghana v. Serbia ending a tie while I predict Slovenia will defeat the unheralded Algerians. The game I'm waiting for is Brazil's opening match, on Tuesday, against North Korea. In tribute to the match, I even wore my Brazil socks yesterday.  Below are a few of the photos from the games that I was able to cull thus far.

South Africa's goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune (R) and defender Aaron Mokoena (C) try to stop Mexico's striker Giovani dos Santos (L) from scoring during their 2010 World Cup group A first round football match on June 11, 2010 at Soccer City stadium in Soweto, suburban Johannesburg. (GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images)

South Africa's midfielder Kagisho Dikgacoi vies with Mexico's striker Giovani dos Santos during their Group A first round 2010 World Cup football match on June 11, 2010 at Soccer City stadium in Soweto, suburban Johannesburg. South Africa and Mexico play in the opening match of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. (PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU/AFP/Getty Images)

France's striker Nicolas Anelka (C) and France's striker Sidney Govou (R) fight for the ball with Uruguay's midfielder Alvaro Pereira during their Group A first round 2010 World Cup football match on June 11, 2010 at Green Point stadium in Cape Town. (FRANCK FIFE/AFP/Getty Images)

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA - JUNE 11: The French team line up ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa Group A match between Uruguay and France at Green Point Stadium on June 11, 2010 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo by Jamie McDonald/Getty Images)

England's Jamie Carragher (L) fights for the ball with Jozy Altidore of the U.S. during a 2010 World Cup Group C soccer match at Royal Bafokeng stadium in Rustenburg, June 12, 2010. REUTERS/Brian Snyder (SOUTH AFRICA - Tags: SPORT SOCCER WORLD CUP)

U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard fails to stop a goal by England's Steven Gerrard during a 2010 World Cup Group C soccer match at Royal Bafokeng stadium in Rustenburg, June 12, 2010. REUTERS/Brian Snyder (SOUTH AFRICA - Tags: SPORT SOCCER WORLD CUP)

 Clint Dempsey of the US celebrates after scoring during a 2010 World Cup Group C soccer match against England at Royal Bafokeng stadium in Rustenburg June 12, 2010. REUTERS/Brian Snyder (SOUTH AFRICA - Tags: SPORT SOCCER WORLD CUP)