Rugby most popular sport in Madagascar

[renard_ruse]

Suck on that, soccer supremacists:

Favoured game...

In the game against the South African side, their quick backs consistently broke through a lacklustre defence.

About 40,000 people packed into the national stadium to watch. Those who could not afford tickets hiked up to the top of Queen's Palace on a cliff-face that overlooks the stadium to get a bird's eye view.

Captain Noe Mboazafy kicked a spectacular drop goal from the half-way line that visibly delighted President Marc Ravalomanana, who turned up especially.


Rugby is a popular game among children in poor areas

"The Malagasy people are really behind us - I think that gives us a good chance," Mr Mboazafy said.

"Rugby is more popular than it's ever been..."


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4471650.stm

 

[renard_ruse]

The poor in Madagascar prefer rugby to soccer:

...A short walk around Antananarivo's burgeoning slums tells the story of where rugby comes from in Madagascar.

On this island of 17 million people - one of the world's poorest with three-quarters living below the poverty line - rugby is popular above all in deprived urban areas.

Children in filthy rags can be seen doing lineouts and scrums using a screwed-up plastic bottle as a make-shift rugby ball. They play rough: children as young as five are rarely afraid to get tackled into the hard, dry earth.

"Rugby is mostly popular in poor areas because it's a contact sport," said Patricia Rajariarison, a life-long rugby enthusiast...

 

[run_silent]

The only thing I know about Madagascar is they have a zoo full of animals that have wacky adventures.