Why is Australia better than England at sport?

population
aus-21mill
UK-71mill

both have the fatest kiddies
both are a nation of boozers
both have similar genetic backgrounds

Only at rugby and cricket...

Lots of compulsive behaviour.

• dingos
  
• weather
  

...both have similar genetic backgrounds

how very dare you! :D

Shit TV and good weather.

because you left dogs...

Milo.

population
aus-21mill
UK-71mill

England's population is just over 50 million. Don't confuse England and the UK.

its sunny init.

population
aus-21mill
UK-71mill

UK population as of 2001, i.e. the last time a census was held, was 58.8 million. I doubt it has grown by 12 million in the last 7 years, despite what the Daily Mail would have us believe.

Haven't we already been through this on the Olympics thread? Just cuz you're slappin' us down in the rugby, you tart...

When I was at school the general attitude was that those pupils who showed an aptitude for sport were making up for being “hard of thinking”, and that the ability to run/swim/throw something a long way was in some way recompense for an inability to breath with their mouths shut, or operate a pen or pencil with any degree of utility.
This was a state run school with large playing fields (which may now have been sold for “executive housing”).
So I think part of the problem may have been one of peer opinion- I was certainly considered to be insane for cycling everywhere, and going out on the weekends for 6-8 hours on my bike, often returning covered in 70% mud and 30% blood.
Having no direct knowledge of how the ‘strines view sport I cannot draw a direct conclusion, but I suspect the attitude toward athletic ability was less pejorative?

YouTube - Jonny Wilkinson Wins the World Cup

Lots of chocolate cake and children kept in cellars.

Oh sorry you said Australia not Austria.

No idea then.

It's a question of attitude.

Australians are all 'FTW'.

Englanders are more 'to the pub'.

perhaps because there is no culture or history there (apart from that belonging to the suppressed indigenous peoples) sport which just requires personal effort and manual skills thrives in the intellectual vacum and clement weather.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=zGNttA3XwTA

That's when we one this (It's on loan to South Africa at the moment)..

We lost this on Saturday...

You can have your bit of glass back.

;)

... returning covered in 70% mud and 30% blood.

Good ratio.

I agree with the school playing fields point and the weather point.

However Czech republic does have bad weather too, worse* in the winter, but they are a very active nation.

*worse as in colder but then again this is more conducive to winter sports.

What is the per capital funding rate of Oz vs England for sport?

http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRM/ENG/INF/GL/95A/GL0000000.shtml

http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/ranking/lastranking/gender=m/fullranking.html

http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRM/ENG/INF/GL/95A/GL0000000.shtml

I prefer this one...

http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRM/ENG/INF/CT/C95/CT0000000.shtml

A.i.s

I prefer this one...

http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRM/ENG/INF/CT/C95/CT0000000.shtml

True. 'tis a thing of beauty that one. I didn't want to rub salt in the wounds :)