London Welsh, Cornish Pirates and non existent promotions.

This is a last minute, unplanned blog, so forgive me if it rambles on and is generally crap.

London Welsh have been told they will not be considered for promotion to the prem due to the fact, as i understand it, that their ground ‘doesn’t meet requirements’ and a projected groundshare with Oxford United would not give them ‘primacy of tenure’ at the Kassam Stadium.

This echo’s the Pirates plight, as their ground again doesn’t meet specs, and a groundshare hasn’t materialised (i think they were in talks with Plymouth Argyle, but can’t remember the facts)

Now i have no affinity to London Welsh, but i remember them being around when i was a kid and being a competitive side. They are looking to get back to the big time, Pirates are looking to give Cornwall a top flight team, over the years there have been several top flight Cornish players, but they’ve never had a ‘home’ club to play for in the Premiership!

The problem i have with this, is that Bath’s ground, The Rec, is doubtful that it would pass the criteria for promotion, yet they are allowed to be a premiership side. Saracens, Wasps, London Irish all share with football clubs, whereas Harlequins share with a Superleague team (though Quins are the primary tenants) and Newcastle can’t play home games on the same matchdays as Newcastle United due to policing issues and yet this is all fine and dandy with the RFU.

my theory behind this is…. in the southwest of England there is Gloucester, Bath and Exeter , in the Southeast there are Wasps, Quins, Irish, and Saracens, the midlands has Tigers, Worcester and Saints and the entire North of England has Sale and Falcons. If you were to take Falcons down and bring in Pirates or Welsh, that would leave just Sale north of Leicester, so is this ‘ring fencing’ to do with that maybe? Are the RFU worried that they will lose their ‘Northern Exposure’? I wonder if the RFU were hoping that Wasps would go down and avoid this issue…

Also, is it not slightly fishy that the Falcons sign on Dean Richards, Rory Lawson, Del Fava, MacLeod, Tuipolotu, Tomaszczyk, Higgins and Crockett, a mighty good selection of players for a championship club to sign, so either someone has done a GREAT job of upselling the club or they KNEW they weren’t going down.

I don’t really want to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but this has huge ramifications for players, clubs, fans and owners and it needs to be made clear what has gone on. There needs to be a level playing field, and if the championship clubs can’t go up, then surely the premiership clubs need to sort out their grounds to meet premiership specifications. I know Sarries and Bath have plans for their new stadia, but the rest seem content to stay put in half empty stadiums.

anyhoo….rant over!

laters

R C-K

Brussels, Rugby and Props who kick drop goals

You may have noticed (but probably didn’t) that i didn’t blog last week, this was because it had been pretty much a rugby free week for me. This week, however has been full of rugby so far!!

Last Friday, i flew to Belgium (Brussels) to support my stepson and his teammates in the 40th Annual Tom Morris rugby tournament, which involves teams from Belgium, France, Holland and England and is held at the  Kituro Schaerbeek rugby club. This years teams (i will try to remember them all!!) Kituro, Red Star, Den Haag, Noisy le Sec, GTO, ASUB Waterloo, Boitsfort, Luxembourg, Dover, Dudley Kingswinford and ‘Team Europe’ (and also one side that didn’t turn up!)

It was an Year 12 tournament (u17′s), and the lads from Dudley are u16′s/year 11 so they turned up with a challenge ahead of them!!

I can’t remember scores and results, they played 8 ‘mini games’ (7 mins a half) over the 2 days so i have no chance of remembering all the various permutations but I do know that the Dudley lads came 4th in the top tier Cup competition, which was won by Den Haag.

Dover rugby club won the second tier Plate competition, and if memory serves me correctly, Red Star of France won the Bowl contest.

It was Team Europe that will be the inspiration to this post. They are the embodiment of the ideals behind RugbyUnited. They are basically the guys from all the participating sides that aren’t going to get gametime, mixed with a base of 4 or 5 from the Kituro club, obviously, language was an issueas the players were from 5 nations, couple that with the fact the majority of the squad were changed game by game and you’d think these boys were cannon fodder. Indeed they lost every game, 2 of which were to the last play of the game, but they scrapped for every second of every game.

My stepson, Pat, was one of the lads who was asked to join Team Europe, which at first he wasn’t overly excited about, but once he realised he’d get plenty of game time (only missed 1 and a half games all weekend, one because it was against his ‘parent’ team and less than half because he was late for the start of one game) he also could play pressure free, and thrived on that freedom and played fantastically well!!

He played so well, in fact that he was made captain for the last game, an honour he has never had (according to his mother!) at Dudley Kingswinford. His big moment of the tournament actually started in the penultimate game. Losing 12 0, Team Europe scored a try in the very last minute and in a moment of comedy, the fly half asked Patrick, a tighthead prop, to convert…. (all kicks were dropgoals to save time!) Now Pat can kick… the lads from his team weren’t to know this and he missed a tricky conversion by about 10-12 inches.

In the last game, with all the pressure gone and the captaincy of the side, Pat flourished. He was comedy gold, asking the ref on 2 occasions to go to the non existent video ref for the 2 dubious tries that were scored by the opposition. Again they were 12-0 down in the last few seconds, a penalty was awarded to Europe, and with the win impossible, Pat decided to re-try his kicking heroics, this time putting it short and low, his chance seemed to be gone, however he got a reprieve when the defending team knocked on and Europe recovered it and managed to get a penalty 5 metres out, which was converted to a penalty try when someone took out the player going for the quick tap and go…. Pat held on to the ball from the various players who wanted to take the kick, and pulled out the captains card to ensure it was his shot at goal….. and he slotted it straight through the middle, causing his teammates from Dudley Kingswinford to storm the pitch to celebrate with him like his kick had just won the tournament! It was a truly fantastic moment that caused his mother to shed a tear (and also one of his teammates dads to do the same…. yes, Martin Fowkes….named and shamed!)

The DK boys then cheered on their British comrades, Dover, in their Plate victory, again with a pitch invasion to celebrate at the end a game which saw Patrick earn himself more plaudits for wrestling the Kituro mascot (a big teddy bear) to the floor and causing a mass pile on!!

The Den Haag boys then played a fantastic game of old fashioned, bludgeoning 10 man rugby to hold on against the hosts, Kituro for a 3 0 victory (despite some dubious refereeing by the Belgian referee throughout the tournament AND the fact the Den Haag captain and unarguably the man of the match and tournament, had spent 12 hours in a police cell for drunk and disorderly the previous evening) to cause a mass 3 team celebration on the pitch. The sort of thing that you would only ever see in rugby. 3 teams that were banded together through having some dodgy decisions against them and ended the day celebrating together like old mates!

For the record, Den Haag and Dover are supposedly ‘arrogant’ as a Kituro official told me, i found them to be some of the nicest guys you could talk to and a credit to their clubs.

In fact there was a lot of respect between the players, in every game, there were no dust ups, on or off the pitch and everyone had a great time. There were a few injuries, our lads had to unfortunately have 2 lads rushed to hospital, thankfully both were released back to us by early evening, and we learnt that the Belgian red cross make St Johns Ambulance look like olympic sprinters.

Brussels itself is a strange place. Parts of it are beautiful, and parts of it are horrible and make you feel very unsafe….reminiscent of Birmingham town centre!!

I came back to blighty to see Gloucester finish the season with another loss in a game that involved a fair old punch up between Jim Hamilton and David Paice, and i bet Paice gets a lesser ban than Jim Hamilton even though he was the aggressor! Jims reputation precedes him in situations like this and the fact Paice ended up with 12 stitches and the London Irish coaches have squarely blamed Jim won’t help his case one bit.

The Union coaches merry go round continues. Gold and Booth to Bath, Edwards to Irish… intrigued to see who Gloucester’s new coach will be!!

about 5 weeks now to the RugbyUnited touch rugby match, so need to step up my training. Had a couple of runs, a really long walk and a trip to the hotel gym this week, so hopefully still heading into the right direction!!

Anyway….

This blog is easily better than my last pisspoor effort,(with 0 views in the last week, i don’t need a review on it!!) so hopefully you’ll have enjoyed reading this one and have forgiven me for the last one!!

til next time!!

R C-K

More ramblings…..

I’ve had a magnificent rugby related week. Apart from in 1 way. The Rugby!

I finally (along with my hetero life partner, Troy and my dear OLD daddy) got to meet loads of the Glawsfamily last saturday at the Sale game. I met so many (and drank so much) that i doubt i could remember all of the wonderful peeps i met, but if you read this and met me last saturday, i mean you. I had one of my best ever days at the rugby, even though we pigging lost! Of course, away from Glawsfamily, i also met Mark Horbury, the Sale fan, Hazel from CHD UK and Maria from the wonderful Posh Totty on Tour blog. she was a pain in the arse. Kidding….kidding!!

After the game, me and Troy met up with some of the Glawsfamily elite squad to pop along to Gloucester stalwart Peter Buxtons testimonial evening where the fun and frolics continued. As well as the wonderful Glaws fans, i bumped into Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu who is an absolute diamond geezer, and as promised, i will put it in my blog. HE KISSED ME. ON THE LIPS. (and i don’t care that you got his hat, Yeates!)

The final port of call for the evening was The Regal, now if you’re from Gloucester, you will know this is a bad thing, lol,It was myself, Sharon Hill (who wimped out and left early) Gerri Walters, Emma Brain, Gareth Balmer and Troy…. we saw some of the worst dregs of humanity in that place AND OUTLASTED THEM ALL!!! We were the last to leave a place full of alcoholics!!! Thats quite some claim to fame!!! lol

I’ve been off work, looking after my Mum who’s had a Hip replacement which has given me time to sort some bits and bobs out for the first #RugbyUnited touch rugby match.

I am arranging the womens game, so if any readers are interested in playing, please contact me at rich_rugbyunited@mail.com. The game is to be held at Chosen Hill in Gloucester on June 10th. Not 100% certain of the start time yet, but it should be a great day of fundraising for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The opponents will be the SouthWest patriots, another side formed especially for this game.

We have arranged some great raffle prizes, not so sure if we’re announcing them yet, so watch this space!!

Lastly, my running.

Well, after the odd pains in my legs last week, and the fact i’ve had a sore throat and blocked nose, i’ve had a rest for most the week, but tried to go again tonight, and the leg pains are still there… pains possibly not the right word, its a hollow feeling about 3 inches above my knee and about 2 inches below, its irritating though as my CV is starting to improve and i can’t shake this odd feeling in my legs.

I’ve tried to stretch, cool down, various supports,ice baths but nothing is helping it.

anyhoo. it’s taken me an age to write this blog, and it still doesnt really say anything. but i’ll leave it til next week if i think of anything exciting to write!!

laters!

x

Jogging on….. and jogging off

Well its sure been an odd week to be a Gloucester rugby supporter.

Losing at home 20-29 to Newcastle was tough to take, I still maintain they are the worst side i’ve seen at Kingsholm, yet Gloucester didn’t even take a losing bonus point. It was truly one of the worst displays i’ve seen in 20+ years of following the cherry and whites.

A couple of days after the papers online were quoting Sale’s Steve Diamond as saying Redpath was on his way to Sale next season. Tosh, we all thought… Glaws recruitment for next season is well underway. Surely a coach wouldn’t build a squad and walk out….. Just to add to the intrigue, Sale and Glos are battling for the last Heineken Cup qualifying spot and play each other this Saturday.

Good news greeted us on Tuesday morning with the truly world class signing of Jimmy Cowan, and thus, Glaws fans rejoiced. The late part of the morning bought reports of Glos chairman, Ryan Walkinshaw asking Brian Redpath in for a ‘chat’  about whether or not the Sale rumours were true.

Well…. we were answered soon enough, Redpath resigned, quoting that the team weren’t responding to him….well. Yeah. OK. Lets wait to see how long it takes for Sale to announce their new coach!!

The twitter response from the players was almost relief. Its VERY odd. But with Cowan, Twelvetrees and Ben Morgan lined up for next season (amongst others), the new coach  will be left with a great potential line up!!

It certainly bodes well for the atmosphere this weekend. A REALLY heated crowd backing the team against a)our Euro qualification rivals and b) the team that have seemingly ‘poached’ our head coach should make the shed LOUD. and when the shed is loud, there is NO better place i’d rather watch sport. Its spine tingling!

Talking of Saturday, it’s a #rugbyunited / #glawsfamily outing (with some very special guests from Sale and Maria who writes the posh totty on tour blog) which should prove to be great fun. I also have tickets to Peter Buxtons testimonial evening do after the match(es).

On to important matters. My jogging quest.

Had a running partner for the first time the other night. My sis. We had a great run, i really seemed to go better with someone to run with, and though i don’t think i particularly challenged my sisters pace, it was a decent run, without a doubt the best i’ve had. For the first time i struggled with knee pain, so i went out to buy some knee supports. My legs now look semi mummified….

Thats 2 knee supports and 2 ankle supports. My legs are falling apart! lol Check out my solid calves! Screw Bully Ray, I’m CALFZILLA!!

My Brother in law decided he fancied a run (he used to do 18 miles a week) so we went for a small run this evening, unfortunately, my quads and shins started killing me about 2/3 of the way through our route and even though i tried to push through it i ended up walking the last part of the course. Cue ibuprofen and a hot whirlpool bath and the legs don’t actually feel too bad, but i reckon i’ll have a day or so off. i think my run with my sis kinda knackered my legs and the run the next day was a step too far for my aching old muscles!

Blog is a day earlier, but i was bored!

Til next week!

Rich

(_@pyr8_)

(By the way the pic was inserted as a promise to Gemma!!)

Random Rugby Ramblings

Hey up Ratfans!

I don’t really have a topic this week, but when has that ever stopped me from talking nonsense?

 

First up, More rugby retirements with Lloyd Burns and John Hart both forced to give up this week. Wasps seem to be cursed at the moment, Thompson, Rees and now Hart. good luck in the future to all the guys and let this be a lesson to all players. Enjoy every game, you are a LONG time out of the sport! Believe me, i miss playing on a daily basis!

On the topic of Wasps, they have apparently lost their buyer this week, when the owner of Barnet FC pulled out. The theory seems to be that if Wasps stay up, they should easily find a buyer, if they don’t, their future could look bleak. As a Gloucester fan, i wish them all the best in finding the money to carry on.

My big pet hate at the moment is crap and lazy rugby journalism. Over the last few weeks, there has been a couple of CORKERS relating to Gloucester. Firstly the total non story that, SHOCK HORROR, Mike Tindall and Zara Phillips are putting up Ollie Phillips while he is on loan at Gloucester. Whoop di do. The second article, and the one that irritated me was the Guardian story regarding my Twitter buddy Eliota Fuimaono Sapolu http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/apr/11/eliota-fuimaono-sapolu-twitter-gloucester

Now. I have no issue with the fact that sports writers, well, rugby writers clearly cyber stalk Eli waiting to pick up some crumbs to shit stir and sell their rags to people who are gullible enough to believe everything they read, what i do have issue with is the fact that the headline and tagline read as Eli had done something wrong, all he had done was use some good old anglo saxon language, eg, the word Fuck. sorry if that offends, but….actually i’m not sorry, its a word.

Defending someone who has been racially abused should surely be just cause to give the defender a pat on the back, but no, as usual, they push Eliota as the bad guy, apart from one line

“It appears, however, that despite the nature of the comment it does not contravene the conditions set by the IRB over the player’s behaviour on Twitter.”

so your story is, ‘Samoan international swears on twitter whilst making a valid point.’ what a shame. it could have been ‘Gloucester star speaks out against racism’ but that would be positive, and the dickheads who write for these papers clearly have no interest in positivity. Ever.

Combined with a small but vocal minority at Gloucester that have decided to blame EFS for everything from JFK’s assasination to the start of the second world war, it seems to me that Eli is leaving Kingsholm under a cloud, I hope this isn’t the case, he has truly been one of the great entertainers i have seen at Kingsholm and always gives us 100%, if you read this, uce, Thanks for the memories! there are many, many good ones!

Seems Warren Gatland has been in the wars, falling off a ladder and breaking both his heels (Gats always land on their feet….couldn’t resist!) Get well soon Warren, that sounds bloody painful.

Of course the potential offshoot to this is that we may now need a new Lions coach…. who’s your money on?

 

Lastly. Following my last blog, i KNOW you’re all waiting for my jogging update. Well. I’ve jogged 5 days out of the last 8, and i’m truly awful. lol.  I am starting to notice minor improvements, and i do mean minor, but i am also starting to realise why people get addicted to running. I am setting myself ‘targets’ to run to, and most of the time i am hitting them, whether its running from bus stop to bus stop or traffic lights to traffic lights, and yes, i know anyone with a modicum of fitness will scoff at that, but read my last blog, i am riddled with injuries, haven’t exercised for a decade and trying my best. I’m taking baby steps, and i am HAPPY with that for now!

 

Til next time!

@_Pyr8_

Return of the king……maybe…..

Bit of a different blog spin today….. and the first in a series.

I first played rugby when i was at primary school, at that point, i’d never been ‘bitten’ by the Ruggerbug so I wasn’t a ‘fan’, and i knew nothing about the game, but i was selected from my school to take part in a day of ‘new’ sports for kids, UniHoc was one. The other was new image rugby (as it was called back then) it’s now more commonly known as touch rugby.

In a strange way to bring life full circle, I am hoping to play in a touch rugby game this June, which will be my first rugby match for (i estimate) 12 years.

The problem i have is…. well, my body gave up on me about a decade ago. Firstly, i herniated 2 discs in my back playing rugby, it was my first season playing for about 3 years after a couple of nasty injuries to my right knee and my right shoulder. I then decided to take up football. Only 5 a side, but hey, what damage can that do to a big tough rugby player. Well just under 3 years later and snapped ankle ligaments in my left leg and an absolutely destroyed left knee (partial dislocation, snapped patella tendon and ACL) pretty much finished me and sport, bar a couple of charity 5 a side things!

So now my involvement with Rugby United has led me to an interesting situation. We’ve been asked to provide a team for a charity touch game versus a team representing a couple of Multiple Sclerosis charities, and my first response was to say I’LL PLAY!

Now when i was playing 5 a side, this wouldn’t be a problem, but now, i’m 33, my body is a wreck and aches daily anyway, and my decade of inactivity has left me vastly overweight. I’m a chef, so with food available all day, i pick. This makes weightloss nigh on impossible through dieting, believe me i’ve been trying, So exercise, my old adversary, seems my only way of getting in some reasonable cardiovascular shape. I’m not fussed with the weightloss, i’d just like to play for 20 minutes without being embarrassed.

I walk a lot, always have, so i thought i’d start jogging, or at least interval training, and this is really what the blog is about, i want to keep people informed about my attempts to get fit, maybe someone can throw encouragement, maybe it will inspire someone to try themselves. On the other hand, it may give you all a massive laugh when i fail miserably.

So today. I left home for work at 915, i finished roughly 12 hours later, and it was pretty busy all day, so the natural thing for me to think was ‘Hey Rich, why don’t you try that jogging malarkey this evening!’ so thats exactly what i did. Mistake. I started off tired, and it didn’t make it easier when i started jogging. New jogging trainers, new tracksuit bottoms, t-shirt…. that sounds standard, right…. add in the hockey jersey, my fleece lined leather jacket and my work bag, and yeah, probably not the best attire. I usually walk about 2/2 and a half miles to my bus stop, and i reckon off and on, (more off than on), i actually ran less than half, but to be fair, i’m quite happy with that, and when i wasn’t running i was speed walking. So i’ve proved i can actually force myself to jog, now i just have to keep regularly doing it. No aches, pains, strains or over tiredness, so a good start!!!

 

What have the 6 nations taught us?

As the 6 Nations draws itself to an end, i find myself wondering what we have learnt about the competing teams over the last couple of months….

 

1) Owen Farrell ain’t bad is he?

When the EPS squad was announced, there was mass groans of ‘he’s only there cos his dads the coach’, well, he’s proved people wrong. His size was one of the ‘issues’ people had with him, but originally at centre, and latterly at 10, he’s been impressive in his defence. Look at the hit he made at the end of the France game on Harinordoquy. Fantastic. 

2) Stuart Lancaster wasn’t out of his depth after all!

Not much to expand on, but despite some turgid, kick and chase performances, its the first time in several years that England have won all 3 away games, IF England beat Ireland tomorrow, we will be left to rue Courtney Lawes sloppy ball handling against Wales…. a Grand Slam potentially given away! So can we take supporting a side that wins ugly?

3) Wales are the real deal.

After some impressive displays during the world cup, some people wondered if the Welsh could keep developing, and yes, they have, North, Cuthbert and Halfpenny could be one of the best back 3′s in the game before long. Size, strength, speed and most importantly, youth is on their side. The forwards are beginning to find there stride, though the strength in depth of the pack is somewhat questionable. 

Pre tournament, i had Wales winning, but not doing a slam, a’la England last year, but Gat’s boys have really stepped up and with England and Wales seemingly headed towards very young teams, 2015 and 2019 could be very interesting world cups for the home nations!

4) Scotland. 

Well. What can you say about the Scots? So much promise, again, gone down the pan as they again face a wooden spoon shoot out with Italy. Patience must be wearing thin with Andy Robinson. I think Scotland have something like 1 win in their previous 12 or 13 games, its not good enough!

The seemingly early retirement of Dan Parks forced Scotland to add more youth to the ranks, Ruaridh Jackson needs to step his game up, as does Greg Laidlaw, but add them to guys like Stuart Hogg, Lee Jones, Duncan Weir etc and the emergence of Richie Gray as a genuine talent and David Denton and Ross Rennies very promising (and aliterative) back row partnership and also several players to return from injury and maybe they are a year away from being competitive.

 

5) France.contradictoire

France constantly amaze and disappoint. Phillippe Saint Andre was supposed to be the glue that added steel to the flair, and it hasn’t worked, They are blessed with some amazing players, but never seem to show up for an entire tournament. Fofana with 4 tries in 4 games looks like one to watch, but key players in Servat and Bonnaire are retiring after the 6 nations and they will need to replace them ASAP

 

6) Italy. la stessa vecchia Italia

I know Italy have improved. BUT. They are not competitive, they have tried several combinations in most positions over the years, but its not clicking. The Bergamasco’s and Parrisse are not getting any younger and as soon as these guys go, its hard to see where the future lies for Italian Rugby. Is it time for Georgia or Russia to have a chance? Personally i’d like to see the bottom side in the 6N, which seems to annually be Scotland or Italy’s private battle, should play off with the winner of the European Championship (or Tier 2 6 nations) with the winner playing in the 6 nations, and the losers having to fight to get back in. 

 

7) Ireland

No BO’D, PO’C injured, Sexton never looking comfortable, RO’G sat on the bench…. it didn’t look good. but Donncha Ryan, Sean O’Brien, Stephen Ferris et al have been frequently great performers and add in to that the phenomenal Tommy Bowe, Keith Earls and Rob Kearney and also Sexton proving people wrong by holding off the challenge of Ronan O’Gara and its actually been a moderately good 6 nations for Ireland in everything but the results. A loss to Wales and a draw with France won’t be enjoyable, sneaking past spirited Scotland and destroying feckless Italy leaves Ireland in position to jump into 2nd place if they can beat England at Twickenham, with it also being St Patricks day, that game could well be an epic encounter!

 

8) Overview

Its been an odd tournament. All 6 sides are trying to rebuild, whether on the pitch, or in the coaching department (and in Englands case, both!) and mostly they all seem to be pushing for young guys to emerge and make the positions their own, its truly been a proving ground. 

The player of the tournament shortlist is utterly ridiculous, for the record. 

Malzieu, Maestri and Harinodoquy of France, Denton and Rennie from Scotland, Phillips, Lydiate, Warburton and Cuthbert of Wales, Parisse of Italy and Sexton and Ryan from Ireland.

Basically, the men of the match from the first 4 rounds. I don’t understand how that can find a player of the tournament! For example, Harinordoquy got MOM v England, but i think everyone outside of France felt Tom Croft far more deserving, but the award was chosen by French TV. Thats a really unfair system.

So. With a round to go, i will give my personal 6 players of the tournament, 1 from each side.

England :- Owen Farrell. (honorable mentions, Croft for consistency and Tuilagi for his gamebreaking ability)

France :- Wesley Fofana (Honorable mention to Harinordoquy, he’s a beast.)

Italy :- Sergio Parisse. (Honorable mention to Mirco Bergamasco)

Ireland :- Tommy Bowe (Honourable mention to Ferris, who is a silent assassin!)

Scotland :- Richie Gray (Honourable mention to Ross Rennie)

Wales :- Leigh Halfpenny (Honourable mentions to…. well, just about everyone else!)