A weekend of rugby on the telly, and am constantly amazed that they get to the end of a game in one piece. I used to play many years ago, generally very badly, a standard in all sports that I tried to maintian at all times, though I was really not that bad at table tennis.
I thought I ought to carry on playing rugby even when I left school and turned out for a team in suburban North London, where they were desparate for players, so I was a shoe-in! I even carried on playing after breaking my jaw in two places playing for the advertisisng agency I worked for in those days. I inadvertently put my head in the way of an opposing players knee in what was supposed to be a tackle. He went down like a tree and so did I, but he got up and I stayed down.
Six weeks with my jaw wired did wonders for weight loss and creative cooking, eating everything through a straw! I had to buy a liquidiser.
I retired after loosing some fillings in a game three days after having them put there.
This drawing is from some time ago, and sort of illustrates what I thought I should have done in that match at the time.
Hope you all feel ready to tackle another week! Haw, haw!
It really is some tough game … especially the way they play now, seeking out contact rather than avoiding it, which would be my preferred option Paul!
I was playing, badly, in the early 70s, and the players were definitely smaller then. I go and watch Gloucester occasionally and am amazed at the size of these guys these days.
It’s not a game for humans anymore