So it begins..........

This is how long I will last.

We are currently into week 3 of our pre-season, so that is six sessions. I have managed to attend 5 and as a result my ankles now barely function and my knee’s feel like they have been hit with hammers for about 3 days. The only thing getting me through it is work is quite so not too much heavy lifting and lots of ice. So what have I noticed this year that is different to the previous? Well to start with our opening session was hosted by a current England international and a woman well to be fair it was two current internationals who were both women! To be honest, I feel this is an exceptionally good thing for us as a club and in a selfish way the fact she is a prop means I am hoping to get some considerable tips to take into the season.


The coach is now away with England carrying out international duty and will be until September so coaching has continued under all manner of different people. I even did a bit myself one Thursday. I only have one issue at the moment and that is SAQ (speed, agility, quickness). My reason being, as someone carrying an excess baggage of around 5st hopping and jumping over hurdles is the main reason for my now non-functioning legs. I am not one to duck out but I think to save my joints for the coming season, I am going to have to avoid the hurdles. I have never encountered the pain I am getting and that is the only thing that has changed. That and very hard ground do not combine well for my 37 year old joints. Also, I don’t think I have done as many press ups in my life as we have done in the last 3 weeks, and boy am I crap at press ups!!!

So what am I seeing at the moment as the main issues? Well on the whole our handling is terrible and our vision can only be compared to that of Stevie wonder. I think fitness plays a major role in both of these things but the basic skills really need to be honed. At our level you don’t need to have fancy lineout options and 10 attacking moves simple basic rugby executed well will bring about scoring opportunities. Create 4 phases of quick ball at this level and you should score. That said we need to find in us some patience, a lot of our handling errors come from trying to score of every pass we make. The truth is we need to get used to stretching people and teams from one part of the field to the other in order to create the chances. These may not happen first time, but with good crisp clean passing and depth they will come, in our haste to do something magical we are missing the continuity required to open teams up.

push over try from last season. I am wearing 3. 

What am I hoping for from the coming season; really I just want to play a bit. I want to enjoy some games with the young talent coming through the club. The last few games I played last year were some of the most enjoyable I have played. Getting a chance to be part of some of these young guys introduction to adult rugby is an honour and a privilege. I can’t teach them anything but I think seeing how important the work of the second team captains and regulars is to these young players is vital as they move through the club.