tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59721344863352727762024-03-13T04:54:54.751-07:00RugbyRugby from the hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10798744047690995274noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5972134486335272776.post-1673375419910203522011-04-14T08:42:00.000-07:002011-04-14T08:53:55.088-07:00On the Up.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJOROqZ8HbFWiIXtWo7xkHXqrB4WL2ok4Rpbr1_RMF_YJ7732Eb_orpTiP5PcoRVeLB0bbblDjLXeBj31cwKQXjR6RFHXt8Pa2mEB82E9A2Yjmz0FLdkU3VV0YyiNVeJGahfVAMJzg63Xs/s1600/final+game+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJOROqZ8HbFWiIXtWo7xkHXqrB4WL2ok4Rpbr1_RMF_YJ7732Eb_orpTiP5PcoRVeLB0bbblDjLXeBj31cwKQXjR6RFHXt8Pa2mEB82E9A2Yjmz0FLdkU3VV0YyiNVeJGahfVAMJzg63Xs/s320/final+game+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Sunday saw the Chesham women’s team take on the only team in the league which was still unbeaten. Camberley had had a great season. They were scoring huge numbers of tries and had the best defensive record in the league. I have to hold my hands up and say, I did think this was our bridge to far. The team had done well to achieve the results it had done and my major concern was that defeat on the final day would be what defined their season. I was genuinely emotional about the whole thing, afraid the players who had put in so much over the season were going to feel they had failed due to the fact they lost against a team that had beaten everyone they had faced. My thought was whatever the result the team had achieved so much.<br />
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As someone who has been involved with the team for about eight years I have helped coaches and I have been the coach of the team and standing there on Sunday waiting for the team to come and warm up I was genuinely caught in the moment, the long season, that looked like it was never going to get off the ground was about to culminate in this one game. All the seasons before went through my head, the first game in my role as coach at Thurrock 3 or four years ago, where on a hot day they were put to the sword by a hugely aggressive well drilled side. Hove away in the same season where we were beaten by 80 points and I looked out of the window of their clubhouse and was lost for ideas, words to say and places to go. I remember standing in the snow wearing nowhere near enough clothes in some far flung part of the country with only a red kicking tee for heat. We had broken legs, broken hands, concussions. I can’t deny it we had some bad moments and we had the toughest season of rugby I have ever been involved in. <br />
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All these moments creep into your head and fill you with doubt. I call it the reverse Midas touch. Unlike Midas where everything he touched turned to gold, for me it seemed everything I touched, became something that is only of any use for fertilising a garden. This season was different in so many ways under the head coach all the players had improved the way they played. Even the experienced ones had found new ways to play and had learnt skills throughout the season. This season also saw some girls who had played through the junior ranks playing for the adult team. This is a significant step for the club. More importantly there was an attitude that the girls themselves bought which meant they put themselves out of their individual comfort zones for the good of the team. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuTFxUkO1lCYq_2QrJM2PMwCoDgz0xsmfnirN6sCMXdv3Hz90dX2UYg-1sGtTzOhaK9Izf-yU_-pxrUiVbuFl8iR0IAqrqzOuAch3vvDKfThbBEFzX4I-KUfb_a9sPYLW7PgWDWq6sTvGI/s1600/final+game+3.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuTFxUkO1lCYq_2QrJM2PMwCoDgz0xsmfnirN6sCMXdv3Hz90dX2UYg-1sGtTzOhaK9Izf-yU_-pxrUiVbuFl8iR0IAqrqzOuAch3vvDKfThbBEFzX4I-KUfb_a9sPYLW7PgWDWq6sTvGI/s320/final+game+3.bmp" width="214" /></a></div><br />
Equally important was the amount of girls who came into rugby this season totally new to the sport. They were all willing to try anything, to adapt and in a short space of time and to really become key members in the team. It has been amazing to watch, some of them look like they have been playing for years and the challenge now is bringing in more like minded women for next year.<br />
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The result, oh yes I forgot about that, the result was a resounding victory to Chesham, they won by 29 points. After the opening 10 mins I was never in any doubt we were going to win despite spending the last 2 weeks terrified we might not.<br />
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I said at the start of the season my involvement in Chesham Rugby Club had bought me some of the best moments in my life and some of my worst. Well Sunday the 10th of April 2011 redefined the list of best moments but I hope I get a chance to beat it.Rugby from the hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10798744047690995274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5972134486335272776.post-245717704080687262011-03-15T06:46:00.000-07:002011-03-15T06:46:33.840-07:00Second XV <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnCUJlNKeKbpRRvD0qawqCTL5jY6eDmDmpo8Z13-PU4TvySzrUVDuQoRgPwhNQckt4Bwh2zs71ymc3RRZzUHw3RXPyLeP_2npWk1XHjKUKiREkCT7ZE0CCRR2jltN5iz8QB59ititW0aoO/s1600/old+seconds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnCUJlNKeKbpRRvD0qawqCTL5jY6eDmDmpo8Z13-PU4TvySzrUVDuQoRgPwhNQckt4Bwh2zs71ymc3RRZzUHw3RXPyLeP_2npWk1XHjKUKiREkCT7ZE0CCRR2jltN5iz8QB59ititW0aoO/s320/old+seconds.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old School 2nd XV </td></tr>
</tbody></table> 10 or 11 years ago, I can’t remember which. I played my first game of rugby. I had had a half hour introduction to the sport the then coach Alby saw me arrive on the training pitch and asked “prop?”<br />
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“I have no idea” I said<br />
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“Defiantly prop” was his answer. So after this introduction, that Saturday I took my boots to Wycombe for a second team game. After standing on the sidelines having not the foggiest idea what was going on, I was bought in half way through the game to step in to the tight head spot. The first thing I had to do was take part in my first live scrum. I set myself, we engaged, I went backwards, fast. The scrum came up and my opposite number and the hooker both punched me in the face........I was in love. <br />
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The second team is the team I have played most of my rugby for, the team I care about and the team I have watched grow season after season. My first season we lost every game except one, my second season we won two games in the season. I captained the side I think in my third season and we won just two games then and so that went on. My memories are a bit lost but I remember two games: Winning against Old Verulamians, having been stuffed by them in my first game as captain. Also captaining the side that lost 116-0 I can’t remember the opposition that day as I never saw a lot of them. I have said it before countless times, my dream was to play a season and win more games than I lost. We were always the underdogs always under rated always up against it but week in and week out we took to the field and played and I was lucky enough to play with some great rugby players over the years. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjqANkjtVEj69cM39vDR9ZiT8z71sjeMD-vao1nOx7icoGXuAhZ6lnqNW7EW8Mj8eW-sh2ruOKaykjpj0oqKc1NWhwqbaY54VWfKBkqBys8LLMkM61yL4Mxcc7O9Zz458hdPE9BnOOFqi0/s1600/2nd+team.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="155" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjqANkjtVEj69cM39vDR9ZiT8z71sjeMD-vao1nOx7icoGXuAhZ6lnqNW7EW8Mj8eW-sh2ruOKaykjpj0oqKc1NWhwqbaY54VWfKBkqBys8LLMkM61yL4Mxcc7O9Zz458hdPE9BnOOFqi0/s320/2nd+team.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lots of these lads now in the first XV</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
The current captain I think in his third season has been an exceptional addition to Chesham rugby club. The perfect temperament for a 2nd team captain and excepting of the needs and demands of the first team. He sacrifices so much to make sure so many people get rugby games that I can’t say enough about him. When Chesham 2nd XV could only find or 9 players he would still travel and would still play. As a result of his actions the team last year was able to introduce youngsters onto the field. Coming through the junior ranks they have slowly filtered into the club senior teams. Now many of them are playing in the first XV and are rejuvenating the rugby club. The addition of the new coaching standards has seen the 2nd team take another step. Today we found out the team has won its league losing only 2 games.....I played in both.......I won’t lie it brings a tear of joy to my eyes when I think about it. My only regret, I am not about to step onto the field for the first time and maybe get punched again...... <br />
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Well done to the current Chesham 2nd XV and all the players that played there before and all those to follow.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpYGGvUvY2jI1LEOZqKc_-7KOWMIEnlSClQtHSh8y3giU3_IrOM7jl8rUntu6mAFUX6A42uaIGw1PuPafj2QlSqFmf9efBicyjVBtnWaE_kFAe2o-QmllXiWH_dCUYrxfdL-iPj9UiBgjv/s1600/Alex1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpYGGvUvY2jI1LEOZqKc_-7KOWMIEnlSClQtHSh8y3giU3_IrOM7jl8rUntu6mAFUX6A42uaIGw1PuPafj2QlSqFmf9efBicyjVBtnWaE_kFAe2o-QmllXiWH_dCUYrxfdL-iPj9UiBgjv/s320/Alex1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Rugby from the hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10798744047690995274noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5972134486335272776.post-53941342411369063912011-02-24T14:55:00.000-08:002011-02-24T14:55:53.224-08:00Don’t Fear Loss.I am currently in a dispute with a bank about money; no surprise to those who know me. The unique thing is at the moment, I have had three successful arguments with financial institutes in the last few months and it has woken up a thought in my head about success and failure in a sporting sense. The reason I think I have been successful in my arguments is because I have not cared about the impact of failing. What at the end of the day is worst that can happen? I don’t own anything, I share a room in a piss soaked home with people I barely talk to, and I don’t own a TV a car or anything that is of any worth to anyone. So what do I stand to lose?<br />
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It is a very liberating feeling, it is a freedom that allows you to go out into the world and not care. If you put it into a sporting sense where does the pressure come from in any sport? Last night we did a training session with the girls where we went over a series of moves. They are not complicated, they are just simple but they need to be worked, on over and over again. When the girls were doing the moves they were getting it. When you put it in a game situation it all went wrong. Not because they couldn’t do it, but because they were afraid of not getting it 100% right. Run down a staircase without thinking and you move at a fair rate try and think about every step and you will almost grind to a halt. That is how you need to approach sport and a game, yes the overall aim is to get to the bottom of the step, but what you have to do is free yourself from worrying about every step on the route. <br />
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Don’t get me wrong it’s not about not caring if you win or lose, its just rethinking the process which causes people so much mental anguish on a rugby pitch. Where people make the mistakes that in training they never make and where the ball shrinks to the size of a golf ball. The mind makes them think when they get a ball, I must not make a mistake. Now take that pass and think of nothing but what you have instinctively learnt over the years and you can do no wrong. I am the most negative, irritable over analysing idiot when it comes to most things in my life but when it comes to rugby the effects of positive imagery is something that I think is fundamental. Go out and free yourself of anything that might hold you back, forget doubt, forget failure, and forget fear. The game is your staircase, you know how to get down it free your mind and run.Rugby from the hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10798744047690995274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5972134486335272776.post-22444848328437517552011-02-22T05:54:00.000-08:002011-02-22T05:54:51.536-08:00My Declaration of Love.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr5WOV9H7UWHtFDX5IUaS8qu85ESd-gcvKqmPFJ209pC-acMPmpY6mex2OVVaH3hN7oHan_eStgWB2b0zRNMxnr4T55Imz4LqSEeD3EYkgiatibJcRI-Z0cZUMfi2OQGam9NjmI0tq85ao/s1600/croft.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr5WOV9H7UWHtFDX5IUaS8qu85ESd-gcvKqmPFJ209pC-acMPmpY6mex2OVVaH3hN7oHan_eStgWB2b0zRNMxnr4T55Imz4LqSEeD3EYkgiatibJcRI-Z0cZUMfi2OQGam9NjmI0tq85ao/s320/croft.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
This weekend I had the pleasure of a trip to Welford road, sitting in amazing new stand and watching the Leicester v Wasps game. I have to say 3 days later I am still struggling to recover from the amount of alcohol that was consumed. The trouble with the luxurious rugby visits I have been far too lucky to take part in, you actually get totally spoiled by them and just going to a game seems like too much trouble.<br />
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This game was good, the setting incredible; but when news filtered through to me, that Chesham had beaten Princess Risbourgh away, the whole thing was just blown apart. It was such a good result and such a big scalp that I just could not stop grinning. The grinning became drunk dancing; the drunken dancing became joyful emotional declarations of love for all things Chesham. The crazy town, its oddball inhabitants and its nightmare hills were the only place I could think of. <br />
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Chesham is an odd place, its people are bizarre however I have never felt, as at home, as I do here. I am lucky to work live and play here. Yes I love travel and I love London and I love lots of other things but nowhere have I ever been able to call home. I was a Harrow born Cornishman who drifted and blew around the country until the anchors of rugby tethered me to this town. The first day I moved here I thought it was a social experiment to put together the oddest characters in one place and to see if they could establish a community. <br />
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Now I am part of that community and I am proud to be. The result just could not be topped. Then Sunday came.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD3WgMPipJx0SjolAmwKKBzYv1POAKj5-c5jJmqDj51UyoyfCwL27VK8z9x2qLggQEb0sdL8CWH7vu8nmNQmwfO6Y4IUHMvYJZfQP24dgzx53V4wLHJtET2WZUY19uS9N_AcyMvxYk52_D/s1600/vbgame.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD3WgMPipJx0SjolAmwKKBzYv1POAKj5-c5jJmqDj51UyoyfCwL27VK8z9x2qLggQEb0sdL8CWH7vu8nmNQmwfO6Y4IUHMvYJZfQP24dgzx53V4wLHJtET2WZUY19uS9N_AcyMvxYk52_D/s320/vbgame.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Sunday the girls took on Guilford the only team to have beaten them this season. I arrived looking and feeling like death and spent most of the day trying to refrain from being sick. I can’t give you too many details of the game as it was so gripping I was struggling to do anything but live each moment. It was an incredibly physical game of rugby and our 13 particularly took hit after hit in the mid field either seconds after she got the ball or seconds after she had passed it. To her credit each time she got up and got on with it. Our scrum which looked like mice facing down a group of lions never stopped working and the team despite going an early try down managed to win the game 21 -5 in what was the best team performance I have watched. <br />
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I left the club Sunday, shaking, sweating, and feeling like a man on the brink of death. I walked slowly home through the town and thought: this is my town and I am proud to be one of its freaks.Rugby from the hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10798744047690995274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5972134486335272776.post-21331461005681000672011-02-15T04:47:00.000-08:002011-02-15T04:47:48.427-08:00Its all to good to be true.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDdd3wnykFT4k1is68PJw8wqr_1AsqibprmbY8ti_p6gxVbGVE-HoLYjJYWOLYBP0oWxv0da-F00AS4Pp6hYnmhn8-at60JYceXhAQDP0q9U3_gWcc7gGf7yd0DihSgBjw520F5EQhHNPp/s1600/587811.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDdd3wnykFT4k1is68PJw8wqr_1AsqibprmbY8ti_p6gxVbGVE-HoLYjJYWOLYBP0oWxv0da-F00AS4Pp6hYnmhn8-at60JYceXhAQDP0q9U3_gWcc7gGf7yd0DihSgBjw520F5EQhHNPp/s320/587811.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>My rugby blog is like the old bus adage; nothing then 3 comes along at once. I had a great weekend, having a belated Christmas party and watching a bit of rugby; some in the flesh and some on the TV. England v Italy was a great game England looked so good, and had so much attacking flair backed up with a decent forward pack, they look really strong. I still have an irrational hatred for Toby Flood that has gone on for 4 years now; however I am willing to except he is pretty good. I am worried that Ashton is going to get analysed to death in the coming weeks and as a result shut out of a few games. For me though its players like Tom Palmer and Dylan Hartley that have done some great work along with the new boy Corbisero and Dan Cole, they give freedom to the back row to dominate the games. Palmer has been sublime the last two games with his ball skills and work rate. A tight five working that hard it gives so many opportunities to others, that everyone looks good. Like the Jonny Wilkinson drop goal against Australia, it only comes about as a result of a good line out, a good clear out, and some good driving play to put the players in the right place. Some may say I am biased about the importance of the tight five, I am, but that doesn’t mean I am wrong.<br />
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France were made to look very beatable by Ireland, which sets up an interesting battle in the forthcoming game against les Bleus. I am starting to get confident we can win it; now bear in mind my rugby knowledge currently sees me bottom of the fantasy league I created and about 100 points adrift of everyone, I think it’s important to take my opinions with a pinch of salt. <br />
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I did go and watch the England women play on Saturday against Italy and I have to say it was a really good game. The noticeable points were the lineout which looked really good, really dynamic and effective. Italy surprised me in that it wasn’t until late in the second half they started to struggle in the set piece they looked quite tough in the tight. The stand out player, and I have to say the standout player from all the rugby I watched at the weekend; was the Worcester flanker Heather Fisher. I actually think I developed an eighty minute crush on her as she totally dominated the game and appeared everywhere, tackling like a sledgehammer, running lines at pace and with such power she broke the line at will. I guess in the shadow of a personality and player like Maggie Alphonsi it is easy to blend into the background but Fisher certainly didn’t do that. I don’t want to sound like I going overboard because I knew she was good having seen her in action in the past. Seeing her perform up close was impressive, her aggression at the breakdown and work rate were just phenomenal. It’s hard to not go on and on about it and forget the other players on the pitch but it has been a long time since I saw one individual have such an impact on a game. <br />
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All that done, it was a cracking weekend. Next weekend gets tougher as I am away in Leicester to watch Wasps play up there; I think it may involve too much beer and a pretty tough game for Wasps.Rugby from the hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10798744047690995274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5972134486335272776.post-81442865830166705272011-02-09T07:12:00.000-08:002011-02-09T07:38:09.685-08:00219 points.Part 2. Women's game.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje4K1poiw_92gZ8g9zd9MTGf3lRaKxcT3Cfgmq1tmQXNqfmdRbN0bdSQWNFcJtvk6i7vhaHaIXMlxL9t8hC1azJvrAMcX0mme7BYWl2sHgV6Nwn2OHt9l_fmS3jJyvKagSZ9KJY6g5k7rk/s1600/women+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje4K1poiw_92gZ8g9zd9MTGf3lRaKxcT3Cfgmq1tmQXNqfmdRbN0bdSQWNFcJtvk6i7vhaHaIXMlxL9t8hC1azJvrAMcX0mme7BYWl2sHgV6Nwn2OHt9l_fmS3jJyvKagSZ9KJY6g5k7rk/s400/women+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Sunday comes around to soon when you are hanging from too much beer and not enough sleep. With no car anymore I leave my house at about 10am and wander the streets looking for coffee and food carrying everything I believe I may need to get me through the day. On this occasion I left with just a coat, even forgot my whistle as I prepared to wander to the club to see the women play. I actually really enjoy being involved in the small way I am with the women’s set up. -- I am a rugby anorak, I read stats, I look at coaching patterns, when people are watching the dancing girls in the pre-match build up to a premiership game, I am looking at the cone arrangement the coach is setting out or how they use the pads. Some people use the internet for porn, me I am obsessed with finding a warm up drill via YouTube. The other day I even watched a football team warm up and thought “how could you use that in a rugby sense.” For the record I still haven’t worked it out yet. I have never had an eye for detail in anything other than rugby. When it comes to rugby I am obsessed with the minutiae of every single aspect of the game. – The women kindly offer me an outlet for this and the chance to get over excited about defensive patterns, slices, body positions at the scrums and where to opposition look weak without looking to bored. <br />
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<br />
The team this weekend face Kilburn and Kilburn a team with their own issues were unable to raise a side so we found ourselves in the unique position of having more players than them. To ensure the game went ahead we loaned them a couple of players who kindly volunteered and played in a 10’s format. As soon as this decision was made, I was pretty confident it was a win. Our team possess the best and quickest set of backs of any team I have ever been involved with. When the ball moves wide they are devastating and that is not to belittle the forwards, they too have produced the ball that gets the backs going and have done it very well. With the exception of the 2 teams we have not faced yet this season and even including the only one we lost to. The Chesham ladies team are formidable and their pace is terrifying from 9-15 they are like a team of roadrunners and I will be honest 1-8 are no slouches. This season they have had a tough start but with every game they get better and better and better. Every player in the team has improved from the oldest and most experienced to the newest and the youngest and some have exceeded that. We have a quiete young centre who started the season barely able to talk and each game she has improved so much so that on Sunday she was in total charge of the defence pointing out the weakness making tackles and getting straight back up into the back line. It was a vital performance with a few key players missing. Also the team were able to field 2 players totally new to rugby who took to the field and did their stuff for the final few minutes and looked like they enjoyed themselves.<br />
<br />
As for Kilburn, well I can’t help but to feel huge sympathy for them, as a player and coach in the past I have been in their shoes. It is heartbreaking and hard work, and you feel like the world is against you but they did their club proud, and as a result of their trip 23 people got to play rugby. They scored a try which we all felt they deserved; and personally, I got to spout my rugby nonsense for a couple of hours.Rugby from the hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10798744047690995274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5972134486335272776.post-46551044879440735252011-02-09T05:46:00.000-08:002011-02-09T05:48:55.987-08:00219 points. Part 1.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibHzO8A9XPFTyzstwm0LTDwZgo1AW_AesJhq9ky-cyZnyVZ1TH5zqgMrMTm2nAristNrpknlZvWdbzlIoyS2rJ9rqPsqi1cuDr_WQpaH1Ki7Zm88X3Yrp_-q2qsMv3JHTFWlVHgOwGCzlU/s1600/olly2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibHzO8A9XPFTyzstwm0LTDwZgo1AW_AesJhq9ky-cyZnyVZ1TH5zqgMrMTm2nAristNrpknlZvWdbzlIoyS2rJ9rqPsqi1cuDr_WQpaH1Ki7Zm88X3Yrp_-q2qsMv3JHTFWlVHgOwGCzlU/s320/olly2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">footwork</td></tr>
</tbody></table>After a long enforced absence due to having to write poetry for part of an assignment I have to produce; I was left with no option but to write about the rugby that took place at Chesham over the weekend.<br />
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It all started on Friday with the Wales v England game, we had a massive turn out at the club with loads of old boys joining the many young ones in what was a great atmosphere. I have to say it was a really memorable night it was nice to catch up and chat and generally enjoy the game. The result helps but it was just a good night, if a little drunken and we all strolled/stumbled into town and continued; old and young in the local pub.<br />
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Saturday started with a few sore heads and a lot of absences, with people being away, either skiing or just drinking. We were without 21 frontline players; however the club was still able to put out three teams. This achievement is truly remarkable and a great example of the work put in behind the scenes by club captains and team captains to put together sides that are able to compete. Admittedly sometimes you just have to put your hands together and pray that it all comes off and it did in startling fashion. <br />
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I watched the first team take on Banbury II’s and was so impressed with how the game was handled and the ferocity of the warm up, which had been missing for some time, was the marker of the no passenger’s policy that was going to be played out. When the game kicked off Chesham looked so in control and so dangerous. They used all their players well, and set a standard that they are going to have to improve on, and work hard to beat, in the tough games they have coming up. Let’s not beat around the bush the opposition were awful but no other team in the league has beaten them as comprehensively. It goes to show the strength in depth we are starting to find in the club. Our young prop, who has bags of talent to be a great player either in the pack or in the backs if he can just decide whether he can stop eating for 5 mins was a standout player. Another young player, playing full back for the first time, continued his impressive improvement, to score one of the best trys of the weekend. At half time with a commanding lead it’s easy to switch off and come out and ball watch in the hope of getting on the score sheet; Chesham didn’t do that they came out with even more focus and scored again early. The final score was 81-0 and set down a marker that a few teams will stand up and take notice of.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFgwyT74YSOe_exzhZG5dP282-7tiM780KKRiVSPV8xz1VXP2i0KajBkm1oqErslzps0q2Nv7nePkPbfgjtYcQvgHrEpsgw2HnaLQlEt9wzWk39_h8ZnkTsYiCA-Kb57TwjmjeBzMJn2G5/s1600/tom2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFgwyT74YSOe_exzhZG5dP282-7tiM780KKRiVSPV8xz1VXP2i0KajBkm1oqErslzps0q2Nv7nePkPbfgjtYcQvgHrEpsgw2HnaLQlEt9wzWk39_h8ZnkTsYiCA-Kb57TwjmjeBzMJn2G5/s320/tom2.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><br />
The seconds, playing against the team I spent 80 mins trying to fight on one of my first games and lost not only the fight but the game, continued the good news thumping them 54-7(or something similar). There the young man playing fly half put in his third quality performance in a row as he led his team around the park in a controlled and efficient manner while his forwards carried on their good work for 80mins as the clubs huge fitness improvements showed all around the field.<br />
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Our third team went away and faced a wily old team who know their stuff and battled hard but it was a bridge to far and despite great effort came away with a narrow defeat. A third team in the circumstance of the availability of the weekend for me though is a win despite the result and they will continue to build as we did in the seconds a few years ago.<br />
<br />
I have had great days at Chesham rugby club, this season, more great ones than bad. This weekend was probably the best. To say that having not even laced up a boot I find quite remarkable. The more I watch the more inclined I am to leave my boots festering in the bag and end my playing days with past memories of 40 meter tries, a 5 try season and winning more games than I lost. Than actually trying to make yet another comeback and receive yet another injury. I had a lot of fun but I no longer have the desire to play and to be honest I am enjoying my role as a supporter and tee carrier.Rugby from the hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10798744047690995274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5972134486335272776.post-65601789733055722932010-12-22T09:22:00.000-08:002010-12-22T14:39:54.762-08:00Friends + Snow + Travel = Epic!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPoAyJ0zsAfkE2MAssMiQtnHjcBM1u8CuQ3d42WPcnnqTnNv0qj3gkKaTDZT7KmQxqmQsVGSdVTkcrzH3CMF6J3_n-FJ5TKB8lMqpAkD9kT7bbllzSQNlS-ppbHURW1xD7FI4yWG_4wHtw/s1600/paris+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPoAyJ0zsAfkE2MAssMiQtnHjcBM1u8CuQ3d42WPcnnqTnNv0qj3gkKaTDZT7KmQxqmQsVGSdVTkcrzH3CMF6J3_n-FJ5TKB8lMqpAkD9kT7bbllzSQNlS-ppbHURW1xD7FI4yWG_4wHtw/s320/paris+1.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Made it!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I spoke to a random stranger last week about friendships and how they are not always a tangible thing. Sometimes they change and develop; sometimes they grow; sometimes they fall away. Like everything in life they are ever changing and ever challenging.<br />
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<br />
This weekend as a result of a trip to Paris top watch a rugby match, my friendships were tested, challenged, grown and above all enjoyed. In what became an epic journey we had a lot of fun looking back the sense of achievement in getting to the game just after kick off, was only bettered by the sense of achievement I felt at actually getting home. I say ‘sense of achievement.’ I actually have to thank the people I was travelling with. As I slipped into a state of incomprehension at what the next move was going to be; people were on the phone to UK and rounding up the resources to get us from Paris to the UK. I went along for the ride, I wish I could have bought more to the party but in a way with so many organisers it is sometimes better if some people don’t interfere! Well that my excuse.<br />
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<tr><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSFR3wT2WgbmWuSb_L4Bv3neCbw-C4vu-aRQ1hyphenhyphenehqyDxE4NzrY3IULL6EMx-2Rzy2Bc2ntLxRg3HEVDwJkw57VBxXXHhra-GG2aL0z1MTogMHwM6GgKqn12o5wENDLoL-qV25_FgvrYr3/s1600/paris5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSFR3wT2WgbmWuSb_L4Bv3neCbw-C4vu-aRQ1hyphenhyphenehqyDxE4NzrY3IULL6EMx-2Rzy2Bc2ntLxRg3HEVDwJkw57VBxXXHhra-GG2aL0z1MTogMHwM6GgKqn12o5wENDLoL-qV25_FgvrYr3/s320/paris5.jpg" width="239" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXsq9Q8fxbytr7yMYb-nyRi4WUSzfcjf1RsT_YKqKWnU_r2XA_YUXBZ1uBluwxn_mZNFhtIIkrbFw6SL9d-p3RRP7VOaXucIjKHKuUdUw9FUKtDiB1DFs8jQL79ESdaeQOLWx8c7Dinbnr/s1600/paris+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXsq9Q8fxbytr7yMYb-nyRi4WUSzfcjf1RsT_YKqKWnU_r2XA_YUXBZ1uBluwxn_mZNFhtIIkrbFw6SL9d-p3RRP7VOaXucIjKHKuUdUw9FUKtDiB1DFs8jQL79ESdaeQOLWx8c7Dinbnr/s320/paris+2.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">Old friends</td></tr>
</tbody></table> After we actually got to the game we headed back to our base for the weekend cheered by our patients at an 11 hour flight delay. Unaware of the chaos that was growing overhead as more snow was falling. On the Saturday I met up with an old friend who I knew, long before I even was aware of the existence of the good friends I travelled to France with. Since we last met she has made a new home in Paris and become a mother to 2 little Parisians. I spent a lovely extended lunch sinking some wine and eating Roquefort on toast; my old friend battled with stroppy waiters and evil French people: devastated that two British people were taking up seats in their eating establishment. After a great couple of hours we parted company. The trip and the forthcoming chaos were all worth it, to catch up with such a good friend, with whom over the years I had shared some great experiences in the past.<br />
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After the fastest trip around Paris which involved arriving at great landmarks taking a quick photo before route marching to the next destination was hard graft! The snow was falling heavier as we decamped to a bar and found the most stereotypical French waiter on earth, as well as the black waistcoat and long black apron he was also in possession of a waxed moustache, a surly face and glasses just small enough to peer over with distain as we ordered a couple of bottles of vin rouge, in broken French. Despite a nice few drinks the fear of the trip home was not far from the back of our minds and as we made our way back to the hotel. <br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">When we awoke we were under a few inches of snow and found out early our flight was cancelled and so began the long trip home. First a train, then a tube then a longer train from Paris to Calais all along the route the 13 that arrived slowly dwindled in number. 6 not leaving the hotel, 2 making their way to the airport and 5 of us taking the decision to head to Calais and on route organise ferry tickets and a mini bus at the other end. Ironically we got home in less time than the journey out to France. Along the way we had tantrums, mainly from me, we had moments where it looked like we wouldn’t make it, but above all we had fun, in a sick way, it felt like an achievement we would be proud of. My friends all of whom I had encountered through the brotherhood and sisterhood of rugby had made it home and we were better for it. I will say this though: I am never leaving Chesham again! </div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid1wJEbTmtWBckdQ2uNhlYHxoup4_98z1wqYWmVU9ugVc0pR9Tjb7YLvd72-CHpetdAOYeJXsI_KDF15Rvt4uBW5mv_8bnhOm-vrpH6xxiUcByFc48_v3ULMBSbZ9BhLeTD7KFNriz-3AW/s1600/paris+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid1wJEbTmtWBckdQ2uNhlYHxoup4_98z1wqYWmVU9ugVc0pR9Tjb7YLvd72-CHpetdAOYeJXsI_KDF15Rvt4uBW5mv_8bnhOm-vrpH6xxiUcByFc48_v3ULMBSbZ9BhLeTD7KFNriz-3AW/s320/paris+3.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">England!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsAIT_y4-qgypEGbJffCP73ULRHTNQ5H9-qld7sFEBOFcIbMqROH0VZwihy3zF31MkMgiEcqSpS4x20XCNbmx9IviTzwpRVjsBPVzsFyf2mkPnbLYvSrCgbpCMWrwY8B39w5TxPVHqNMCb/s1600/paris+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsAIT_y4-qgypEGbJffCP73ULRHTNQ5H9-qld7sFEBOFcIbMqROH0VZwihy3zF31MkMgiEcqSpS4x20XCNbmx9IviTzwpRVjsBPVzsFyf2mkPnbLYvSrCgbpCMWrwY8B39w5TxPVHqNMCb/s320/paris+4.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bed!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Rugby from the hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10798744047690995274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5972134486335272776.post-81705377294246186282010-12-07T05:19:00.000-08:002010-12-07T05:19:18.488-08:003 Teams.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://slikimages.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/England-v-New-Zealand-3138-227x209.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="http://slikimages.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/England-v-New-Zealand-3138-227x209.jpg" /></a></div>In the last few weeks I have seen so much rugby, of such varying standard that I have found myself trying to look at the similarities they all have to each other. The various states of development all the teams I have seen are in and where they are all going in the future. <br />
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I have had the privilege of seeing England get squeezed by the All Blacks- at this point I want to bring up what I said about Hosea Gear in the summer. I knew he was good: on his trip over to the UK, I think he proved himself more than capable of holding onto his shirt for some time to come. My stand out performer of the tour- The same England produce a master class against Australia, battle past Samoa and then fall short against an aggressive and wounded Springbok team. Despite the last game I have never felt more positive about England. The six nations are going to be a tough tournament but I am predicting England to win it this year. So that’s England: a team in development.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU6k9nvN0VHvFmeFdnp-P-6dcXGK6XD2wui6CKi9-TBiByPFH8WN5hSlA6QEDas-Ufvw10EbqQlqPEonAyiDS3QsGE6RRHmA4VU5ypXDS6a2wPrS111wUIhZMWqZ8ejo69DyZ8jiHvo66A/s1600/princess.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU6k9nvN0VHvFmeFdnp-P-6dcXGK6XD2wui6CKi9-TBiByPFH8WN5hSlA6QEDas-Ufvw10EbqQlqPEonAyiDS3QsGE6RRHmA4VU5ypXDS6a2wPrS111wUIhZMWqZ8ejo69DyZ8jiHvo66A/s320/princess.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><br />
That brings me to the Chesham men’s team. I have watched this team start to grow and find its feet and I have nothing but a positive feeling about where they are going. The youngsters continue to grow in confidence and that is what they need most. They have in the armoury, all the equipment to win games. They just need to start believing in themselves. The old heads have a role to play in that and something we are very bad at is providing positive encouragement. Stand on the sidelines and you can hear everyone telling people what they are doing wrong but struggle to hear people telling people what they are doing well. The coach is the one whose job it is to lay into people, the supporters have the job of doing exactly what the name suggests “supporting”.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxaTX3jkwn3uzqW6vKWSyGyLHUuiAuUnSj6ioTJM6r3y508oZ8m2yTZCWnca2pELnBefWE-GVOlIYXxROZ3bZoxcstPEMLiR6sdAWCLslpZI8PD9_jhStCug3YVoeHy4hXYLc39AjDrG70/s1600/Women+v+Marlow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxaTX3jkwn3uzqW6vKWSyGyLHUuiAuUnSj6ioTJM6r3y508oZ8m2yTZCWnca2pELnBefWE-GVOlIYXxROZ3bZoxcstPEMLiR6sdAWCLslpZI8PD9_jhStCug3YVoeHy4hXYLc39AjDrG70/s320/Women+v+Marlow.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Then my last but not least team the Chesham Women. I have after some resistance found myself involved in the team again in a small way assisting the coaching and going to the games and helping to get the women prepared and warmed up. To be honest it is pretty much suited to me, putting out a few cones then coming on and trotting out a few things at half time. The women have it sussed they have a few wise heads out there; who know more about what they need to do than me and they communicate it perfectly. All that said this weekend seeing the girls take to the field with 15 players was so good, it was just a joy to watch and I tell you something else they were good, very good. What I would give to be able to have that availability every week. With the addition of the players we were missing on Sunday you would have a league winning squad of players with no problems. Does that sound arrogant? Only if you don’t think it’s true.Rugby from the hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10798744047690995274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5972134486335272776.post-7797148203481608242010-11-22T09:31:00.000-08:002010-11-22T09:31:14.455-08:00Positives<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnVMIFJDp60o4RZCjoogpLSssQq6L1xTqMNh2hFqHsZDAgf8NdJvZRfovoXDtyIavMqLVpEqRp8Po-g93kfTELKhwTpKVspKG4zJqC48D6_3vYM215D1qmnZZ8PLosjmvM426UjqhamiUi/s1600/snow+rugby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnVMIFJDp60o4RZCjoogpLSssQq6L1xTqMNh2hFqHsZDAgf8NdJvZRfovoXDtyIavMqLVpEqRp8Po-g93kfTELKhwTpKVspKG4zJqC48D6_3vYM215D1qmnZZ8PLosjmvM426UjqhamiUi/s1600/snow+rugby.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Well another eighty minuets of rugby under my belt and I have to say it was far more enjoyable than the last eighty minutes. I still hate losing, but I have learnt to realise that in a team sport which involves games against teams of all manner of skills. You sometimes have to except you can’t change the world and you can only do your best. Individually I felt I did ok and offered a lot more by way of positive encouragement than I have done in the last few outings. I know I need to reign in my big mouth a bit but when I feel the need to say something I find it hard to stop myself. I made a couple of shocking errors, the biggest one that haunts me is the missed tackle on the centre who left me with more pain in my shoulder than any full on tackle ever could have. The second pushing out and calling a drift only to overrun my man I was left to tackle. I tend to at times beat myself up over these things and I have to say on this occasion I was right to. Silly mistakes and the first allowed in a try. Having to take pills after games which mean I can’t drink was harder than I thought possible. That said: no migraines so it seemed to work, however the thought of not being able to drink on the final autumn international weekend is too much. So it’s social over playing for me this weekend. As a result of Saturday’s game I really want another one. As I was stepping on the platform of retirement (again); I found that maybe there were still another couple of stops left on my journey and I have to thank a lot of the people who have been so positive and encouraging. It’s hard to pick someone up when they seem to keep falling down but people have been brilliant in doing that for me. </div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS9pH2PQRp7Y3ojSEdDRhmR63-xeJAQgJVSSDpN7T6hTAwBLuKXFGn8ANhxbksOzayKA_sv2SCbpSG1sWgSreVpMsj-6VFuFBNv4CIyewF9x5VI5VhqB1IcvT-x4I2ohmrY6Lb2hS2q_Az/s1600/2nd+team.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="155" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS9pH2PQRp7Y3ojSEdDRhmR63-xeJAQgJVSSDpN7T6hTAwBLuKXFGn8ANhxbksOzayKA_sv2SCbpSG1sWgSreVpMsj-6VFuFBNv4CIyewF9x5VI5VhqB1IcvT-x4I2ohmrY6Lb2hS2q_Az/s320/2nd+team.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of the youngsters and some oldies who started the season.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The young lads again led the way around the field on Saturday. The 2 young flankers had real standout performances. I have developed an unbelievable respect for these young lads who have come through our club. Every one of them I take to the field with exceeds my expectations. They put in a work rate that is far and beyond what I can do and they also play with their heads up. They seem to be coming out of the woodwork at such a rate; each week I see another one with great potential and great skill. Even though they all love beating me up and smashing me around I can’t help but feel hugely protective of all of them. It’s not just in the men’s section that this is the case. I got to watch the junior girls play on Sunday and in amongst them, some players with great potential. The ones who have stepped up this year into our senior women’s side have already shown how quickly they can settle into the set up. Not only are these young rugby players filled with talent and capable individuals they are all genuinely nice lads and lasses too. They are entertaining and enjoyable company. I have socialised with a few of the guys who came into the adult section this year and although at times I feel like I have stepped into an episode of ‘the inbetweeners’ I can’t help but enjoy it. Managing them in a rugby sense and keeping them all keen is the real challenge facing the club.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Rugby from the hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10798744047690995274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5972134486335272776.post-65718404718332983812010-11-15T09:21:00.000-08:002010-11-15T12:21:11.642-08:00Scrum Again<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.greenandgoldrugby.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/scrum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="208" px="true" src="http://www.greenandgoldrugby.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/scrum.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
I love the scrum; I love it so much I could easily watch eighty minutes of it. At international level, you can have great trys and I appreciate the deft skill of these flighty ball handlers. They work their way through defences; unlocking them like a prison guard opening cell doors at slop out time but for me these are different games. The one that sees people: fleet of foot, dancing through a psychotic back row, intent on destruction, is beautiful. There is a huge part of me that wishes I had the ability to step and dance like that. However, like my golf swing, which resembles a man throwing a sack of spuds onto a lorry, my stepping ability looks like a man trying to put out his shoes after they have been set alight. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Football/Pix/pictures/2009/10/22/1256248149006/Andrew-Sheridan-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" px="true" src="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Football/Pix/pictures/2009/10/22/1256248149006/Andrew-Sheridan-001.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
The scrum though. The scrum is more than beautiful. When those eight men are locked together like a giant 3 headed mythical beast and stop being eight individuals; when the focus of the one, becomes the focus of all for five seconds of furious battle. They share the same goal, a destructive aggressive aim to rip apart the threat that sits in front of it. When you get a scrum right; when all the shoulders shunt up; when all the feet move forward at the same time, there is little sensation capable of bettering that feeling in the world; When the opposition start to grip on to the turf in a desperate bid to hold their ground before finally letting go and retreating. The feeling is primitive; the feeling is all the things we are encouraged not to feel in our lives; dominance of someone else through sheer physical force.<br />
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To the outsider it all sounds a bit odd, a bit of a weird thing to do for pleasure. To those who do it and most importantly enjoy it, there is no better place to be. That is the key though; there are hundreds of front row players who dream of being a ten, or an outside centre. They don’t want to be in the scrum, they are just biding their time for that call to glory. “Prop we need a new fly half, we decided on you”, is how they dream it will happen; it never does. These players are worth their weight in gold. The pillars of the game; you can have your miss pass, dummy switch, back inside to the full back. Me I would rather see a push over try.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Rugby from the hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10798744047690995274noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5972134486335272776.post-24723694856653000162010-11-01T10:15:00.000-07:002010-11-01T10:15:31.181-07:00A Better Day. Weekend Part 2.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkyREQ-cQYHD8v5WOrOMQb5CSWFLgzSuMZdKCAQm7ffIVJoGckghimU4XuVyXImukdM7MvIwI126CRZnvyFDpJl0ON9lJl0dxd0m_O3JP93oHp8XBrvuv_MhH3ulfNgQdzJSlm7cy0jPdS/s1600/womens+game.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkyREQ-cQYHD8v5WOrOMQb5CSWFLgzSuMZdKCAQm7ffIVJoGckghimU4XuVyXImukdM7MvIwI126CRZnvyFDpJl0ON9lJl0dxd0m_O3JP93oHp8XBrvuv_MhH3ulfNgQdzJSlm7cy0jPdS/s320/womens+game.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the Charge.</td></tr>
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You will see this is part 2 of the weekend. I don’t really wish to advertise part 1. So we will just leave it at that.<br />
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Now I woke up Sunday feeling pretty fed up. The thought of travelling across London in the rain to watch the women play wasn’t really top of my list but I really was pleased to see the Chesham team take to the field again. <br />
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I have said before that for rugby games to take place it involves an awful lot of work from the same very few people. The people who have fought and battled, to get a team together to play on Sunday, deserve all the respect that they can be given. They did not give up when they easily could have; they didn’t walk away when so many others did. They kept on, they battled and they pulled in every favour they could find to get the team back onto the field. As achievements go I don’t think they come much bigger. You could see in the face of the captain on the day and the players that have battled with her to make it happen how much it meant. That enthusiasm filtered all the way through the team. <br />
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I am not going to glamorise the game it was a very confusing thing to watch as Kilburn looked like team intent on smashing through Chesham. Chesham had other ideas and regularly sent them backwards. The truth is though the result, which was a resounding victory for Chesham was secondary to the attitude and effort the team put in. Players playing their first games were put in positions players in their first games don’t often have to play. Yet they did it without complaint, and they did it well. People were asked to hook who had never hooked and did it well. The scrum half played out of position and was quite brilliant. The team was lead well and in the right places you had some experience to guide people around the field. <br />
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The most exciting thing about the game is the young players coming in. Raw talent and pace was in abundance and really good players. Everything in life goes through cycles. The same thing stands for rugby clubs. Our men’s team is in a cycle of growth and development which is impressive. The women’s team also now has light at the end of the tunnel with youngsters coming in who can start to create a team of their own and take ownership of it and its responsibilities.Rugby from the hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10798744047690995274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5972134486335272776.post-52392345470920644312010-11-01T09:34:00.000-07:002010-11-01T09:34:45.625-07:00Actions Speak Louder than Words. Weekend Part 1.Take everything I wrote last week and throw it away. I don’t think I have ever been as disappointed with myself as I was on Saturday. Not just the performance, but the behaviour was something I am mortally ashamed of. <br />
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I had so many high hopes for the game so much desire to make a difference and really I was left floundering. I basically walked my way from one scrap to another around the rugby field unable to provide any real impact on the game. There are one or two things I really need to sort out before I can carry on. All in all it was a very frustrating 80 minutes and as my good friend said to me after the game. I allowed myself to be “mindf****d” and you couldn’t sum it up with any more eloquent language. That was exactly what had happened. <br />
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In the past I would have sucked it up, but this guy was shouting all the things I was thinking in my head. Verbalising my own annoyances and I let it get to me. When I missed a tackle I heard my opposition prop shout “haha ha ha ha good work prop what a great tackle”, It’s worse when someone tells you something you are already screaming at yourself. I went the only way I knew how which was trying and punch him at every opportunity and choke the life out of him at the scrum. I actually wanted to physically hurt him. It was so bad; I am ashamed to admit I never even shook his hand at the end of the game. I didn’t want to, I didn’t like him and I didn’t want to pretend it was all harmless fun. It wasn’t, my pride was seriously hurt my ego smashed. That is all I want to say about it. Let’s call this an apology to all the people I played with on Saturday.Rugby from the hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10798744047690995274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5972134486335272776.post-17986146140552257902010-10-27T16:54:00.000-07:002010-10-27T16:57:04.024-07:00Fear Replaced by Fear.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUcRggTzlYf5KjKsgPzrJWm7wpRzRSG_xDdtYyPNCaBvjgBDX87BeB1ENu3kMUgtzvXaS5kDn7ltMBNavHXwNS5iebs2WO7w1ELzuaD4BOImD3xr_CyBxjS8xKDmwJwkfKLTM4uK5JFePY/s1600/001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUcRggTzlYf5KjKsgPzrJWm7wpRzRSG_xDdtYyPNCaBvjgBDX87BeB1ENu3kMUgtzvXaS5kDn7ltMBNavHXwNS5iebs2WO7w1ELzuaD4BOImD3xr_CyBxjS8xKDmwJwkfKLTM4uK5JFePY/s320/001.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I am hoping to channal my inner Castro.<br />
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<div align="left"><span style="font-size: small;">My love of rugby is returning to its previously extreme state, for two reasons. One I am really, really ready to play. I don’t think I can remember a time when I felt more confident and more ready than I do now. I have sat back; I have watched; I have commented; I have opinionated. All that has done is made me want to take my place on the field. For the first time in an awful long time, my nagging doubts have been lifted and my confidence restored. I don’t want to beat around the bush, this isn’t a confidence based on a belief I am the best player in the world. It is however based on a realistic belief I can counter any of the challenges I am likely to face at the level I am intending to play. </span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size: small;">In fact all my previous fears have been blown away. My fear of my knee is replaced with a belief in its strength. My trepidation around the scrum has been replaced with a belief that I can hold my own. The biggest problem, my fear of contact in the loose and a real desire to avoid it, has been replaced with a real passion to smash someone in a tackle. I don’t care how they come, head on, from the side, through the ruck or round the gate. I just want to knock someone backwards. Only one fear has replaced all these others, it is a new feeling it is one of letting down the people I am playing with. I never really thought about it much in the past. I just went out and did what I could do. Now I want to do what is best for the people I am taking to the field with. I have watched quality performances this season. Real performances of pride, and watched all the teams develop enormously. It feels like a privilege to play with them so I am going to relish it. I am under no illusions that it won’t hurt and I will be struggling like never before with match fitness but I hope when the final whistle blows I will have contributed something positive to the people around me. </span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
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</tbody></table>Rugby from the hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10798744047690995274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5972134486335272776.post-91478811335054148802010-10-11T06:41:00.000-07:002010-10-11T06:58:51.328-07:00Losing Lessons.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://resources1.news.com.au/images/2010/08/27/1225910/864589-world-cup-rugby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="180" src="http://resources1.news.com.au/images/2010/08/27/1225910/864589-world-cup-rugby.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hurt<br />
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</div><div align="left"> <span style="font-size: small;">Clive Woodward said, when you lose you go to the pub get drunk and forget about the game. Then you come back and examine it but try not to put too much emphasis on it. When you win he said, that was the time to break the game to pieces and see what it is you did right and what you did well.</span></div><span style="font-size: small;"></span><span style="font-size: small;"></span><br />
<div align="left"><span style="font-size: small;">Much as his record speaks for itself I am not sure I agree completely. I think from losses you find out how much heart and desire people have to go that extra mile to win. You don’t learn much from hammering teams week in week out. When you lose by a point here and there you can then ask the important questions. What did you do when you had the ball that was right, and what you did that was wrong. Mainly it comes down to two things at the level Chesham plays. Firstly decision making and the ability to see where the space or weakness is in the opposition. Then you need to find a method in which to take advantage of that weakness. Secondly, purely and simply it comes down to fitness. Many times I have played for Chesham and in the set parts of the game we have destroyed an opposition. However because they have had the fitness to keep going and to keep challenging us they have come out on top at the end of 80 minutes. </span></div><span style="font-size: small;"></span><br />
<div align="left"><span style="font-size: small;">Many people might think I am over simplifying the game but it is a dead simple game; quick ball played into space, results in trys. To produce it for 80 minutes, you need to be fit or you need to be sensible and manage the game well. A combination of the two would be even better.</span></div><span style="font-size: small;"></span><br />
<div align="left"><span style="font-size: small;">Losing a game in a league format this early in the season isn’t fatal. It gives you a chance to have another look at what you are doing during games. The key is people taking responsibility for their part in the failures. If it was because the team wasn’t fit enough, then if you want to win, get out to the gym and get fitter. Or go for a run and put the effort in. If it’s because of the decisions that the team made then ask yourself what you did when you had the ball and what you did when you didn’t. If you squandered a 3 on 1 overlap then you should learn the harsh lessons that go with that.</span></div><span style="font-size: small;"></span><br />
<div align="left"><span style="font-size: small;">To win a rugby game you need to have 15 people who are better than the opposition 15, who make the right decisions when they have the ball, and reduce the opposition’s choices when they don’t. To win a league you need more than that. You need lots of people to be selfless, committed and above it all driven by a desire to put their all into it week in and week out for a long season. Losing helps to discover how much inner desire we have to be part of a winning team. It has many positive lessons and is essential for any team to develop. Don’t dwell on them, don’t replay them, just take from them the feelings you are not prepared to encounter the next time you tie your boots and step over the whitewash.</span></div><span style="font-size: small;"></span><br />
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</tbody></table>Rugby from the hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10798744047690995274noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5972134486335272776.post-4605860510912046712010-10-04T01:13:00.000-07:002010-10-04T01:14:33.993-07:00Another team, another photo.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrKJat5LRN3A7tW82o5yP85LSDhJ7pXLwhyphenhyphenAeKcwOEHv6ghraTOdwJ7JGtwZbahLoW0Nuaer80if52ZMCjS1RcvGOJTydIerrpY3u6HxVByRE2NXylrTb3suQusTR-Bf55CwGYUa-UzTc9/s1600/3rd+team.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrKJat5LRN3A7tW82o5yP85LSDhJ7pXLwhyphenhyphenAeKcwOEHv6ghraTOdwJ7JGtwZbahLoW0Nuaer80if52ZMCjS1RcvGOJTydIerrpY3u6HxVByRE2NXylrTb3suQusTR-Bf55CwGYUa-UzTc9/s400/3rd+team.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anther photo where the addtion of two cameras gives us a distant look. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>For the second week in a row, I ended up in a team photo. This time however I actually played for 40 minutes. I say played for 40 minutes, I actually probably achieved 20 mins of play. The rest was a futile search for any sort of fitness that would just enable me to ride out the remaining 20. I don’t think I have ever been as pumped up coming onto the field as I was on Saturday. My head was spinning with self doubt and fear and my legs were like jelly. I think, as a result, I had shot my bolt after 20 minutes. By then the adrenalin that had got me off out of the starting blocks was starting to subside. I was left with the realisation that no matter how hard you train nothing compares to that first game of rugby for making you realise what it takes to play the sport.<br />
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We were uncontested in the scrums on Saturday in the 3rd 15 and that was a bit of a shock. I didn’t actually tell anyone I was going to play. I thought in that way it would be a choice I could make if I wanted to play. That said as soon as I entered the changing room and taped up and got ready there was no doubt I would be playing if given the chance.<br />
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So what happened? Well I came on at half time fuelled by much red bull and fear and decided to get the ball as much as I could. Maybe too much for some of my teammates liking, but to be honest, for the first time in a game, I really needed to be selfish so I could test myself out. I wanted to take a tackle with the ball, I wanted to get hit at a ruck to make myself realise it wasn’t as bad as I thought. In fact like the old days it was good fun. So I made a few carries and hit a few rucks and generally got into the game and enjoyed myself. I even managed to put in a tackle which used all the techniques we had been learning at training pushing up on the inside shoulder of the attacker and coming forward dropping and hitting with the shoulder. Some people have suggested I didn’t wrap my arms around the guy. I will state for the record I did but he shot out of my arm so fast I couldn’t hold onto him. Anyway the ref saw nothing wrong with it so I don’t care. For me I had achieved the Holy Grail I had been looking for my whole rugby career, a really big hit on someone. I tell you what it felt so good I could have easily walked off the pitch there and then. <br />
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What of the newly formed 3rd 15? Well they are a work in progress, they have some great talented young players and with the right people in the right positions on Saturday I do think they would have won against Beaconsfield. Hopefully that will come because it is a great place to come back from an injury or a knock or like me to get some confidence under your belt. At the same time developing and introducing young guys into adult rugby. <br />
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The club gained a win for the first team in a tough game at the prison and the 2nd team smashed another team, and with a 3rd team out for the second week in a row, things are good. How long players in the seconds can keep smashing teams before they start taking first team spots is now the question. Competition for places at Chesham........who would have thought it!??Rugby from the hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10798744047690995274noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5972134486335272776.post-25329528495399020282010-09-28T05:42:00.000-07:002010-09-28T05:46:44.859-07:00Vicarious Living.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd6tiGLlM5ClgfWA4kzn7DPBPDgPEoo9wkXjKclqxUD6deb7NxpNeYYsG-CeKvfHk22ZgD8gLds5PsThHU7FhmivAANGALyY1MxiPxxkS59hD0I29bcYxufAX_O2PRLQbWAwudnJArcd7I/s1600/2nd+team.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="192" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd6tiGLlM5ClgfWA4kzn7DPBPDgPEoo9wkXjKclqxUD6deb7NxpNeYYsG-CeKvfHk22ZgD8gLds5PsThHU7FhmivAANGALyY1MxiPxxkS59hD0I29bcYxufAX_O2PRLQbWAwudnJArcd7I/s400/2nd+team.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1 day we will get a well posed photo.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>This Saturday I had the joy of travelling away with a second team to our old foes Fullarians. Over the years we have received a few thumping’s at their hands, and on the odd occasion we have gained a victory they have complained about the ref, moaned about us cheating or just generally felt we never deserved it. Saturday, and I really want to make this emphatic, they got well and truly stuffed. The score line was 43 points to nil and in truth they were lucky it wasn’t 70+ points. Which it easily could have been, add in missed conversions and 3 disallowed trys. The score line does not really go far enough in giving the full effect of the dominance those witnessing this game can attest to.<br />
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I am going to put my hands up now and say I really didn’t see a victory of this quality, coming from the team that stood in front of me during the warm up. Please accept my apologies for that statement. They all looked a little bit delicate with the exception of our behemoth front row that I can only be grateful I have never had to face. They looked like they would be bullied around the field a bit. How wrong I was, if anything in the end I actually thought our team were going to take the dinner money off their opposite numbers, considering the nature of their dominant performance.<br />
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Not only did the team dominate in the forwards, the backs were simply outstanding. The ten pulled forward defenders and sent his inside centre into acres of space. When there wasn’t acres of space the inside centre created it with footwork that Kevin Bacon would be proud of. At one point I thought he was going to go over the line, then come back and do it again, just for shits and giggles before touching down. The key thing is though not just the attacking flair. Defensively their attitude caused the Fullarians attack so many problems they could find no way out of their half. When they did it was with a badly aimed kick that would then fall to another Chesham player who would continue the dance of death on any hopes Fullarians had of scoring points. <br />
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I don’t know who coached these young lads through their Chesham careers but whoever it was deserves an awful lot of thanks. They have created a group of lads for whom the sky is the limit. For now I am going to put this performance down to one simple thing..............the warm up............No in all honesty it was a joy to watch. I would happily fill the role of water boy to watch performances like that every week. In fact vicarious living has it's benifits, no sweating or neck ache! The question is can this standard of performance continue? Well winning builds confidence and on this performance this is going to be present in abundance next time around so watch this space.Rugby from the hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10798744047690995274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5972134486335272776.post-65999987091580914672010-09-24T04:58:00.000-07:002010-09-24T05:00:04.452-07:00Buzzing.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjDAVcGyLSALcS-SP7Nnw-N4VYY_-X1KDeujVKZAvT_VELs6jpc1cRBek4N6nGUn0SeGVXIftMe3GLisZ89mSyETxekqH9sRZ9JzcuFriWX7qrFJ6ZeA93i32slYE781ue3a7iA-iG3jU1/s1600/fitness+session.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="232" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjDAVcGyLSALcS-SP7Nnw-N4VYY_-X1KDeujVKZAvT_VELs6jpc1cRBek4N6nGUn0SeGVXIftMe3GLisZ89mSyETxekqH9sRZ9JzcuFriWX7qrFJ6ZeA93i32slYE781ue3a7iA-iG3jU1/s320/fitness+session.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How I feel following shuttle runs. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>The reality of the opportunities facing the men’s playing section and the club as a whole hit me last night like the pain in my hamstring. Sharply and with a bang. <br />
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Having had various discussions with people, it is clear there is an incredible buzz about the club at the moment. Coupled with a real desire to put into action the things we are looking at on a Tuesday and a Thursday. In no way is this meant to disrespect the people who have gone before, and probably they have been effected as much by timing as anything. However the challenges being set down by the coaching that is currently being promoted are something I have never had to face. <br />
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Up until last night my ideas as a forward in the back line were to stand behind the ten and shout “inside ball!” or finding myself on the wing as a result of being to unfit to get from the previous phase of play that found me there in the first place. Now we are looking at people being able to perform rangies, slices and diamonds. I am sure these are very basic moves in the rugby world but for me last night it was like I was trying to perform a mathematical equation using the my feet. The fact that now, it’s not just backs but also forwards in the back line, which are being asked to perform these moves. This in turn means should they find themselves in the position to fulfil one of these roles; they can do so with confidence. <br />
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I won’t lie, for me these moves were incredibly difficult to get to grips with but I am sure we will, in time, get them right. This goes back to what I have said previously in other blogs, success and failure come down to one simple thing, hard work. You can be an ordinary player and perform if you are willing to put the effort in, and you can be a great player and consistently fail to achieve if you fail to put the required effort in. There is nothing in life that can’t be taught and honed by even the most ordinary player if they are willing to commit themselves to that task. <br />
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The most exciting thing for me now is with the clubs new set up is that this commitment is coming through. At the end of the last two sessions we have taken part in shuttle runs, I know personally I would probably have found an excuse not to perform these or maybe even given up half way. Now however no one gives up, they all put in the effort and it is a joy to be part of.......did I just say that about shuttle runs!?<br />
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I have for many years had a love hate relationship with Chesham Rugby Club. It has bought me some of the best moments in my life and at some points left me at my lowest. For now I don’t know when I will be back on the field but just being part of these moments we are going through makes me realise how much I love it.Rugby from the hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10798744047690995274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5972134486335272776.post-42161893951745918122010-09-15T09:25:00.000-07:002010-09-15T09:26:11.109-07:00Memories.<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Legend</td></tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This week, as I struggle more and more with the required confidence to play rugby; I was thinking back over games I had played in and what they had meant to me. I think it was put into perspective by the fact I was kindly invited to the Wasps season launch dinner last night by my boss, but due to my commitment to training (I gave up after 40 mins). I decided not to go. It turns out I missed a chance to be at a table shared with Phil Vickery the Wasps and England prop. The fact that this is a man who has played a key part in some of the best days I have ever had in my life. My most amazing shared rugby experiences as a fan have involved this man. No he wasn’t there when I had sex, but in rugby terms, as a tight head prop, he was ever present. To me he was an example of what I wanted to emulate. World cup finals, Lions tours, premierships. He has been there and achieved at the highest level. Yet I wonder how you put the careers of someone who has achieved so much into perspective alongside my own playing career.</span></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNNWxg1ZI1K4uzqbNfxYHWI-wUxUa8nOtGE_wPVYCM7F6JrOCF9nJh25gBeKxiBww6Dk_i6-vw59MFuiRyPtIGGFQVK_roCZi0V9PJ2HzfVSjJn5gfyxtQQidLyapfEt_NE64uPTbGyMAu/s1600/profile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNNWxg1ZI1K4uzqbNfxYHWI-wUxUa8nOtGE_wPVYCM7F6JrOCF9nJh25gBeKxiBww6Dk_i6-vw59MFuiRyPtIGGFQVK_roCZi0V9PJ2HzfVSjJn5gfyxtQQidLyapfEt_NE64uPTbGyMAu/s320/profile.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leg-end</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Where he has the World Cup final of 2003 and a winner’s medal; I have a victory over Old Verulamian’s third team at home in the league. Where he has his runners up medal in the 2007 World Cup Final; I tasted bitter defeat at a merit league plate final we had received a bye to get into. Where he has Lions tours to New Zealand, South Africa and Australia; I have Breda in Holland, Prague and the infamous Leret De Mar. Now joking aside the achievements, or lack of them, are incomparable none of it makes them any less memorable. <br />
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If we take the first game I listed, this sits as a game for me that I will always remember. Not just for the game itself but the away fixture which preceded it. It was at the start of this season and I became captain of the second team and my first game was against Old Verulamian’s. I was nervous of fulfilling the new role of a captain and as the game started off the opposition scored straight away. This continued for the whole of the first half. It was an absolute rampage and as the half time whistle blew, we had already conceded half a century of points. I don’t think I have ever been so upset, I knew we were better than that and I think I told people that. I may have even thrown a few swear words into the mix too. In the second half we didn’t concede another point and even scored two trys. I think for me this was more upsetting than losing by 100 points. Yet it wasn’t that, that spikes this game in my memory; it was the actions of the opposition flanker. I picked up a loose ball and as I passed it away he hit me with a really good tackle. As I got up he shoved his hand in my face and sneered “why did you come here, you lot are shit” That stung more than any score line or any tackle. Those words rang in my ears at the final whistle and I am not afraid to admit it, the whole thing bought me to tears in the shower. My first game as captain was a heavy loss and I found myself saying “why did we go there, we were undoubtedly shit”. <br />
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When they returned to our club at the end of the season we had put together a very good team and some very good players. We were mixed with experience and exuberance and I also like to think motivation. I don’t remember any words I say before a game I try to say what I feel from the heart and hope people trust my honesty but this game is different, I related the story of what had happened at the end of that game, I told the players how it made me feel and I just said “we do not lose this game today, whatever it takes” The next 80 mins are a blur for me. I have never played in a side so motivated, so driven to do well. Every player that day put in their best performance. There were players who were always on the periphery, who played fundamentally important parts in that game and scored trys. Hell I even scored my first ever one. It wasn’t the try I remember most though it was towards the end of the game when we were camped on our line and they were pushing and pushing for the winning score when we got possession of the ball and our centre kicked it as hard as he could and the ball travelled in the air passed halfway and nearly into the opposition 22. That was the moment that broke them, that was the moment we knew it was our day. It had been a long time coming.<br />
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There were no trophies at the end of it, no bus ride through London or tea with the queen, it was just a sweet moment which is a memory I will treasure for a long, long time. It was my world cup final moment.Rugby from the hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10798744047690995274noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5972134486335272776.post-45659607405374088742010-09-13T01:08:00.001-07:002010-09-13T01:08:51.752-07:00Frustraitions.I have just come home from the rugby club event of the year which was the first Chesham Sports Festival. As an event it was very well executed. It seemed to me that all the people who were involved in it enjoyed it and the range of sports on show benefited the rugby club in building some partnerships. There are some aspects that I am sure the organisers would change but all of them minor and just with regards to space available. I don’t think it can be denied that this 1st outing was a great success.<br />
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This leads to the reality of small clubs and raising their profiles and the work involved. At this event we managed to attract a Sky sports team and the England Women’s Legend Maggie Alphonsi. Now to put that into perspective it is a bit like getting Lawrence Dallaglio to attend a week after the England team played a world cup final. The major disappointment was the lack of women at the event. If I had the chance to meet one of rugby’s real heroes, I don’t think there is much aside from family weddings or funerals that would have kept me away. For a club like Chesham whose women’s team face major hurdles this year to even field a side this was without doubt a major disappointment. I did get a chance to speak to Maggie (I can call her that now) about the situation in the women’s game and she was actually quite candid in her view which was that the women’s game faces some huge hurdles. Like anything at the lowest levels of sport. To even get the basics right involves a lot of sacrifices and usually from the same very few people. <br />
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To put on an event like the Sports festival involves an incredible amount of work, this work is usually carried out by the same people, but that is just the tip of the iceberg. Before a ball is kicked each season the club needs to find somewhere in the region of £20,000. That’s probably a conservative estimate. As someone that has fulfilled a couple of these minor rolls behind the scenes, as a second team captain and a coach of the women’s section. Involving yourself in the committee is a bit like being the first man over the top during the First World War. Chances are you are going to end up dead and the people behind you will be running right over your corpse. You won’t get any thanks and 95% of the people who you commit your time too will either not have a clue what is involved or simply won’t care. They will have no qualms about complaining about what is wrong but will put very little effort into helping put it right. This is the dilemma facing small clubs. When do you say enough is enough? If you have a team and more than 50% of its players don’t care if it fails, do you say at some point we can’t do any more? If you provide that team with an international standard coach and match day assistance and still many of its players and members don’t feel they want to be involved. You have to make some tough decisions based on what more you can do. <br />
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I said earlier in the piece rugby clubs and teams survive because of a handful of people who are willing to make huge personal sacrifice. To just simply keep things ticking over is an effort; more than that, it is relentless and time consuming. In life as well as sport there are those who do and those who don’t. This is thanks to those who do.Rugby from the hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10798744047690995274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5972134486335272776.post-36840768074468118412010-09-06T15:16:00.000-07:002010-09-06T15:16:30.854-07:00Big Weekend Part 2- Womens World Cup Final.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.therugbyblog.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/WomensRWC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" ox="true" src="http://www.therugbyblog.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/WomensRWC.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
So it was back to Twickenham on Sunday to watch the Women’s World cup final, with the hosts England taking on the Black Ferns of New Zealand. I have to say the atmosphere at the ground was amazing and as we walked towards the stadium from the flats behind the ground we were being heckled by a group of Kiwis dressed as wrestlers. To be honest they showed up in huge numbers and it made for a cracking feeling in the stadium.<br />
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The Haka is a very different thing in the women’s game I am led to believe they need special permission to perform it and I am glad they receive it unlike the men’s game it doesn’t seem as blood curdling and threatening but it is still a fantastic sight and at the end as they stepped towards each other and faced off it set out the format for the next 80 mins. <br />
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I am not going to go into every aspect of the game but the standard of rugby New Zealand produced was up there with the best, only matched really by the immense defensive performance that England put in. Immense does not do them justice. For huge portions of this game New Zealand hammered and hammered on the door of the England try line, and time and time again England kept them out. Jo McGilchrist, the second rowers, tackle on the flying Kiwi winger was just an incredible effort and an example of the bloody minded determination England showed all game. It is hard to criticize England really, there were one or two errors of judgement but the truth is when you are starved of the ball as much as England were; you are going to face problems in doing positive things with it when it comes your way. <br />
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What makes New Zealand so good? I talked about the funding reduction the women have faced but they just seem to have a glut of natural talent. Maybe this comes from a national rugby obsession but oddly enough I realised today New Zealand are World cup holders in Men’s League, Women’s League and women’s Union. How odd they can’t transfer that to the ultimate New Zealand team, the All Blacks. In reality, it’s tough for a country to justify, a reduction in funding, for a team that wins successive world cups for 4 tournaments in a row. A team whose players are unpaid and make huge sacrifices to play, yet throws money at a team that has, with the exception of the inaugural tournament, failed to bring home the trophy. If I were a New Zealand woman I would probably be kicking up a hell of a fuss over that…….obviously I am neither so maybe I should just butt out…..<br />
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For England I don’t know how you get over a defeat like that. I cried for a day when Chesham 2nd IV lost a plate final of a merit league trophy we got a bye into. So to lose a final of that magnitude would probably require years of intensive therapy. I am sure they will come to terms with it and hopefully look back with pride at just what they did manage to do against a team so advanced in terms of skill’s and game play. There is talk that this result may see a reduction in their budget for the next few years. I hope that doesn’t happen. I think all that need’s to happen is to simply look at the way the foundations are laid and stick huge resources into bringing women into the game and find ways to do it with urgency. Our own club faces a real crisis in terms of its women’s section in the coming year, simply because there is a huge gap in who has gone and who is coming in. I wish I could find a way to solve that issue. They are a team I have a huge amount of affection for and have been lucky enough to play a small part in their history, all be it one of the most unsuccessful parts but all the same it was a good learning curve and something I will always be very proud to have been involved with. <br />
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</tbody></table>Rugby from the hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10798744047690995274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5972134486335272776.post-30178505261245704262010-09-06T14:27:00.000-07:002010-09-06T14:27:50.916-07:00Big Weekend Part 1- Saturday<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Twickenham from the Gods </td></tr>
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A weekend of incredible rugby action has just passed; involving a tri nation’s classic, the new boys of the premiership turning over Gloucester with a cracking result, a Twickenham double header and the women’s world cup final. I am going to post separately about the women’s game as I feel it deserves a bit of attention.<br />
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The Australia victory over South Africa in Bloemfontein, the first in 47 years was an example of how far the Aussies have come. Let’s be honest when I say how far they have come, even at their worst they have never been far off perfect. The quality of their back division has always made them an incredibly dangerous outfit. Certainly for stodgy great lumps who want to power through the game. Australia sits in a position where with one or two tweaks they could be the main threat to the hosts in New Zealand 2011. I wonder if South Africa has not peaked now and are on a downward slide. Whether they are an aging team in need of an overhaul or just simply a team out of sorts is up to the coaches and managers to decide and I suppose we will see the answers at the next fixture.<br />
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Now the Premiership and the big noise of the weekend were coming from the West Country....At Last!! The real South West of England has for so long been underrepresented at the top flight that you would not believe as an outsider it is such a rugby dominated area of England. A Welsh like ferocity and attitude to the game, is all around and the Cornwall v Devon rivalry is up there with the biggest in sport. Personally I desperately want to see a Cornish side in the premiership but we will have to wait a few more years yet I think. All that aside, for the new boys to turn over one of the dominant teams of the south west must feel great. They are very quick to talk down the win and they are right to do that, they have a long and tough road ahead, but what a start. <br />
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I was at Twickenham for the double header on Saturday and got to see some good rugby. The physicality of the premiership has gone up another level and the hits going in, in the early stages of the Saracens game were bone crunching and unforgiving. Schalk Britz played a sublime first half and his offloading game was the best I have seen for years. However I am guessing Saracens are going to face some tough challenges this year, their players are now known and as a result analysed. They will struggle to maintain the impact they made last year and as the second half showed when Irish put numbers and pressure onto the likes of Britz their impact was nullified. I still think they are going to be there at the end but it will be a harder test this season. Steffen Armatige was out of this world for Irish a real powerhouse performance from the little barrel of a flanker. I really hope England persevere with him in some capacity. He looked fitter than ever and stronger; a result of some hard work in the off season and an example of his desire to work on his game. Wasps v Harlequins was another battle really even contest a début for the Welsh bad boy Andy Powell saw him score with some great support work and to be honest the game sort of fizzled out towards the end. Now that is a bit of an excuse to be honest for the fact my attention fizzled out and the tray chucking Mexican wave was far more fun!! I have to add a few beers also affected my capacity for reasoned analysis at this point. However all in all a good day, and a good scoring weekend in the premiership. If the opening scores are anything to go by the title and the relegation are not certainties......Though much as I hate to say it, I am tipping Leeds for the drop.Rugby from the hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10798744047690995274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5972134486335272776.post-70759315742987408242010-09-02T01:54:00.000-07:002010-09-02T05:11:29.979-07:00Personal Questions.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEHVxmkojc1c8pmMidiYbRHBs-z0XG-MLgi4B4iDyQbUW3WN893-m0z-ety9QJ9zs71TP1bbRdcSCM90nxi7z1-dqJOQUWuOSkagd_olEh1hLTLidhpb4zXAPFHQ4tcSfky4O4HEQbB9SC/s1600/rugby1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEHVxmkojc1c8pmMidiYbRHBs-z0XG-MLgi4B4iDyQbUW3WN893-m0z-ety9QJ9zs71TP1bbRdcSCM90nxi7z1-dqJOQUWuOSkagd_olEh1hLTLidhpb4zXAPFHQ4tcSfky4O4HEQbB9SC/s320/rugby1.jpg" /></a></div>So the season is as good as here and the clubs pre-season has seen large numbers taking part. I am not sure if that translates to quality but it does encourage talk of 3 teams....This works right up to the point that you have 3 games and only 28 people. As our pre season interclub game proved in the amateur game lots of people training does not equal lots of people playing. “When Saturday comes” is no longer a phrase you can associate with sports most religious followers’ holy day of the week. Now “when Saturday comes” means kids need to be entertained, wife wants a shelf put up, I have to work or any other manner of necessary distractions from taking part in the sports we love.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Do I have enough tape for another season? </td></tr>
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So personally where do I see the season going? To be honest as much as it hurts to say it I really don’t think I am good enough, fit enough or committed enough to offer much this season. I know the argument could be put forward that I never have been. The big difference though is I always imagined I was that mental aspect of my game is what I loved and thrived on. I am currently frozen with fear when involved in any of the physical aspects of the game to the point I can’t offer anything positive on the field. I started with a lot of enthusiasm for the season with the thought of honest selection processes and quality coaching but having seen the effect on my body and the fact that I just simply can’t sustain any consistency has left me racked with questions. The standing joke about my retirement is funny but I really don’t have a love for playing at the moment which I always did. That really hurts. I still love the game, with passion. Just not enough to want to go through the potential pit falls of another season playing. I hope my mindset changes at some point I really do as it stands, I am going to wait a little longer and see what happens.Rugby from the hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10798744047690995274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5972134486335272776.post-20085250197766612242010-08-22T15:51:00.000-07:002010-08-22T15:51:42.533-07:00A game for all.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.scrum.com/PICTURES/CMS/8300/8328.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" ox="true" src="http://www.scrum.com/PICTURES/CMS/8300/8328.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
The Women’s world cup began on Friday and the hope is high for an English victory at the end of the tournament. The hurdle of the New Zealand “Black Ferns” is a potentially slippery one. This is a team that has played 53 games and won 50 of them. Then there are the knockout stages of the competition where form and consistency can sometimes be overturned by bloody-mindedness and a bit of heart and passion. Ask countless favourites who fail at the final hurdle when the pressure comes on and there is nowhere to go.<br />
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This is a real problem for the England side. People on the whole are talking about who will win; England or New Zealand. If anything motivates teams to perform, it is the suggestion they do not exist in any other entity than as a stepping stone to the forgone conclusion. As Ireland showed in their tough defence this is not as easy as many are suggesting.<br />
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There is a bigger picture here and that is the health of the women’s game. If you look first at New Zealand the land of rugby. This year they pulled its women’s version of the NPC completion in a search to make budget cuts. Major figures from the women’s game in New Zealand see this decision as potentially fatal for the women’s game in New Zealand, League and other sports may become more attractive to the disappointed players. The decision to provide them no competitive rugby in a World cup year is a major handicap for success. Such is the depth of talent they will still sit as the team to beat, however the long term effects of this decision may mean an end to their dominance. England sits astride the world with a massive playing budget which really should see their investment sit well. Yet the women’s game in England is not a healthy one in my opinion. From my own experience the numbers are not growing and when you take away the elite level and the premiership, where even there some teams struggle to field sides, below them is league after league of mismatched teams and threadbare administration.<br />
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I am of the opinion that the women’s game needs a complete overhaul of its structure from the top down. With the teams so spread around the need for county teams is vital and some tough decisions on bringing clubs together to raise the quality of the game is essential. I am not an expert but if you take Buckinghamshire with its clubs all whom struggle to produce decent numbers for games. Why not create two county teams one north and one south combining the clubs in the area and in that way raising the numbers for training and matches and therefore improving the consitancy. These are tough decisions and some clubs would suffer but the long term health of the women’s game is in dire need of proper restructuring and nurturing. Competitions like the national 7s have been in rapid decline when only 8 years ago they were big events that drew people in and represented all that was best about the game. You cannot say that 7’s is in decline because the growth of weekends like the Bournemouth 7’s proving this is not the case. <br />
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Where do the answers for these problems lie? Well I can assure you I don’t have them but I don’t think it can be denied they exist. The solutions lie in the hands of the women who play week in week out. Whether on the back of the women’s world cup they can raise not only the profile but the issues they face in the game is up to those who wish to see it continue.Rugby from the hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10798744047690995274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5972134486335272776.post-9695357810249224052010-08-08T03:35:00.000-07:002010-08-09T09:07:16.403-07:00So it begins..........<div align="center"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is how long I will last.</td></tr>
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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. <br />
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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!!! <br />
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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. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">push over try from last season. I am wearing 3. </td></tr>
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">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.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Rugby from the hearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10798744047690995274noreply@blogger.com0