The RWC 2011 is just a few days from kickoff. As a fan there are those steps we take to try to get the most enjoyment of out of the World Cup. Here are some of the step I have taken, what are you doing?

 

The Kit

Springbok Rugby Jersey to wear on Fridays and weekend match days to show my support. Ok so it’s not the current year edition of the jersey but it will do

 

Official Andoid app

Get it here  (link)

It looks pretty impressive, with a long feature list. Some of them I can only check out when the tournament begins, but the page lists :

• live match coverage, including live commentary, stats and video highlights.
• A news feed for all the latest, and the RWC Daily video.
• Details on all the team and the players. There is even a place for a headshot photo of the players, though that didn’t seem to be working for me and may be populated later.
• In New Zealand and want to know what to do? Go to the Fan Zone section to find out what events are on near where you are right now. Details on stadium locations, seating plans and facilities.

All in all, everything you need to find out anything about the teams or the games as the tournament progresses. Be great if it works as advertised.

 

Follow our Springbok World Cup players on Twitter

I tried to find as many of our Springbok world cup 2011 players and coaching staff on Twitter as possible. So far 13 players, 2 coaching staff, SA Rugby and Springbok Supporters club.  If I have missed any please mail me or send me a message on Twitter.

I added them to a list available here: http://twitter.com/#!/jjza/worldcupbokke2011

 

The results pool

One of my clients invited me to join their predictions pool on www.SuperBru.com. The site has tens of thousands of members (almost 50 000 South African supporters by the looks) and manages many pools for groups of people. Quick to set up, easy to use.

I have made my predictions for the first rounds of games and am very interested to see how I do. A look through the challengers in my pool make me a bit nervous. Some of them have hundreds of Caps, and I sit on a cool zero. I get the feeling their experience will count for something and me being the novice of this am going to see a drubbing, but hey, it’s all part of the fun and you never know.

After making my predictions it was also interesting to see what the rest of the pool members and people around the world were predicting. The site gives you nice graphs of the predictions and you can see where the favourites lie. None of my predictions were too way out. You don’t get to view the predictions of others until you have submitted your own. And once those are in you don’t get to change them. Looking forward to see how I compare. The lure of being in the top 5% calls.

 

Mobile TV

In this fast paced life we live, knowing where you are going to be when and planning around the games isn’t easy. That doesn’t mean you have to miss the games. DStv’s range of mobile Drifta decoders is going to be a real boon for rugby lovers during this world cup. At just R399 for the USB version, and R36/month subs (free if you have a premium DStv subscription already) this really sets you up.

Carry on working with a quarter of your screen given over to the game, headphones incase someone in your office wants to work and not hear the game, and you are set. Don’t have to miss a thing. You can even flip the picture to the back and just listen to the audio commentary if the games are a little slow and work calls.

If you have an iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch you can use the bigger wireless Drifta (R599) to stream over wi-fi to the little screens wherever you are. Really nice feature if you are out an about and don’t want to miss a thing. Battery life of the Drifta is around 2.5 hrs which more or less matches what you will get from the iPhone when streaming like this. Enough to catch a key game, some highlights and still make one or two calls to keep out of trouble.

Review of Drifta here, USB Drifta here and frequently asked questions here.

 

The PC/Xbox/PS3 Game

There is an official video game for the tournament. I was tempted to get it, but the reviews have been scathing, accusing the developers of cashing in for a quick buck. It is a watered down version of previous versions, with the same limited graphics and gameplay, far fewer tournaments to play, and only about half of the players/teams licensed. Scrapped that idea. A search at metacritic doesn’t leave me with much hope of finding a decent alternate.

Have the game and have some thoughts? please share.

 

Real Beer

I visited my local craft beer brewery (Robsons/Shongweni brewery) and picked up a case of their beer. It is really great and probably won’t make it to the first game of the tournament. I will have to make another visit next weekend to pick up some more. If you are in KZN, try and get hold of some of their bottled conditioned beers. Taste those flavours and see why so many people are moving away from mass-produced beers.

 

What prep are you doing ahead of the RWC2011?

I would be interested to hear what other preparations you have made/are making to enjoy the tournament to the maximum.