Talk About Rugby and Leagues… and Sometimes Sex and Politics

Returning to my roots of fringe sports media, here’s a listing of three prominent rugby sites and blogs that provide a wide variety of coverage and conversation on the sport. You’ll notice that the number of contributors for a couple of these is fairly large. That’s what happens when a fringe sport in this country is a center sport in other countries. Just imagine what NFL fans feel like in Bulgaria.

World Rugby Forum: A relatively new site (I think it was started just a year ago or so), it’s got some lively rugby debates, particularly concerning the south Pacific. Small compared to others.

Planet Rugby Forum: The forum for the Planet Rugby news and information site. Rich, detailed discussions about all manner of rugby. And more, actually. There are frequently political posts (check out this discussion about the US invading Cuba) and while I’ve never seen it, I suspect that a discussion of sex would probably be well received (neither quote me nor test that theory). In a lot of ways, this is what an online fan community should be, ideally: possessed of a shared mission and vision, openly communicative about almost all topics, and close knit. FSC highly recommends this one.

The Rugby Forum: Very well organized discussion of rugby, with a lot of focus on Tri-Nations. It’s easy to find what you want, as the division of conversations is smartly done along topical and geographical lines. Smaller than Planet Rugby, but much larger than World Rugby. Particularly good if you want to compare hemisphere action. The fans are just as passionate here as in Planet Rugby but the conversation isn’t quite as broad reaching.

These are the three that FSC has found most helpful, but I’d love to hear about some that I’ve missed. Any sites where fans bond together over a common purpose, that’s what I’m looking for.