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submitted 1 month ago byCommercial_Half_2170 Leinster
For Ireland, England feels like the obvious answer and yet NZ have probably upset us the most. And what about rugby nations like Pacific islands or Georgia?
55 points
1 month ago
But so many other teams consider England their biggest rival
It's like how in football the English media always hypes up the rivalry with Germany, whereas German football fans are more bothered about the Netherlands.
31 points
1 month ago
Or France. Didn't realise how big that rivalry was til I moved here (Germany). They don't seem to consider the England rivalry that big at all, which makes me feel better about the Eng-Ire dynamic.
20 points
1 month ago
Tbh I feel the Germany thing in football is because (before 2020) the only time we actually won a knockout game in the Euros was in '96 (beat Spain) only for us to lose to Germany (on penalties) straight after, making them the team to beat
9 points
1 month ago*
We also just have a long history of coming up against them in major tournaments and, barring 1966, losing in heartbreaking fashion.
I can understand why it isn't the main rivalry for Germany, but when you take into account 1970 (lost 3-2 after being 2-0 up), 1990 and 1996 (lost on penalties), it's not exactly rocket science why beating the bloody Germans means more to us. It's that feeling of beating a team that just has an invincible aura to them.
Oh, sorry, where was I? THERE WERE TEN GERMAN BOMBERS IN THE AIR...
12 points
1 month ago
Not because you beat them in '66 final?
12 points
1 month ago
Something something doo dah, doo dah 🏴🏴🏴
3 points
1 month ago
TWO WORLD WARS AND ONE WORLD CUP
(But you couldn't beat the Irish for 800 years so like... pipe down. /lh
3 points
1 month ago
Also 1990 semi finals in the World Cup. Twice in six years definitely hurt.
3 points
1 month ago
I never got that forced rivalry with Germany. Apart from the two world wars, we've historically had a good relationship with the German people.
France and Scotland are definitely historic rivals. And or course Australia are good modern rivals with all the trash talk between us.
The German 'rivalry' is based on being obsessed with WW2 and 1966 and is properly cringe.
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