Playing rugby in 2009

[the gambler]

Noddy - White boots, Tahs jersey, 8 tries in two games.... I know rugby whisperer doesnt like to put pressure on kids but this one sounds a little bit special. Can I be his player agent?

Nick - ..... I'm not even going to say anything as I'm sure you are ashamed enough as it is.


Have pulled on the boots the last two weeks and I already think its been too long a season.

First up was the Orange Tens. After being at a charity ball on the Friday night my car load of players arrived just as the first game was getting under way. Only problem was that 2 of us were still in dinner suits so we didnt actually have a full team on the field for the first few minutes as we got desuited and booted. Fortunately I copped a stinger or a burner or something in the 2nd game trying to tackle ex Tiger and i think ex Wallaby James Grant and wasnt able to play for the rest of the day which meant I could start drinking again to get rid of the hangover. We did however have some success both on and off the field with our adopt a colt program working well in ensuring our young guys kicked a few goals.

Then we had our final trial of the year where we fronted up in most grades only to cop a thumping in first grade. I think its going to be a very long year for most of our grades with only 3rds and colts having any chance of making the finals and we must be favourites to drop back down a division next year. Our first game is going to be a very tough initiation, up against club champions and 1st grade premiers the Dirty Reds.

Thanks to my dodgy shoulders and extreme lack of fitness I will be dropping down the grades this year. On Saturday I was part of what must have nearly been the biggest halfback combination in the history of rugby with the 9-10 weighing in at over 210kgs.

 

[Pfitzy]

Nick - ..... I'm not even going to say anything as I'm sure you are ashamed enough as it is.

Once I've taught him to kick off both feet he'll be better prepared for starting flyhalf at RWC2027.

 

[cyclopath]

Nick - ..... I'm not even going to say anything as I'm sure you are ashamed enough as it is.

Once I've taught him to kick off both feet he'll be better prepared for starting flyhalf at RWC2027.

OMG, Nick is Matt Dunning, the Droppie Proppie!

 

[Pfitzy]

Nonsense - Matt can only kick off his right. If he ends up with his mother's build he's likely to be a halfback anyway... at best I can expect a back rower...

 

[Pfitzy]

Grounds closed in the Hills Shire - we're going to Wilton! Yes home ground of the Wollondilly White Waratahs, just on the fringe of the beautiful Southern Highlands. Take your winter woolies!

On a positive note, I think I'm chalked down as starting LHP for 2nd Grade despite only hitting one training session in the pre-season 8)

 

[boarman]

Well we have the season opener tomorrow down here on the south coast of NSW(south coast rugby).
Im running around again for the Batemans Bay Boars(last years premiers.We have had our annual knockout which attracted Canberra, woollongong and local teams.We made the semi's.

Last weekend we had a local 10 a side comp and again we got to the semi's but we had 5 top grade players missing.
Tomorrows game is against Milton away and we should have a convincing win.

We have also picked up some very handy players, being a very mobile prop from Hornsby, an ex ACT schools rep player, an exciting flyhalf/centre from Woolongbar plus a few out of retirement.

We also have a second grade side that will be looking for games throughout the year as the other clubs in our competition will struggle to get a team, so if anyone up there in Sydney wants to make use of their bye weekend then our club would love to host you.

Will keep everyone informed over the season on how we go.

From the Boarman (Steve)

 

[Pfitzy]

Started 2nd Grade at loosehead prop and we ran out winners about 30-nil. The Wollondilly side was a mixture of their young blokes up front and a few of their golden oldies but they stuck to it and only failed to score through a couple of dropped balls. Actually had they held a couple of passes we could have been in real trouble. Our bigger, more experienced forwards were just too powerful. I had against me a rather large lad - about 6'2" and looked like he knew what he was doing before the engage, but I Benn'd him by driving up and at one point had one of his feet off the ground. He'll learn.

I had to leave but just heard First Grade finished up in front 34-14 after being in trouble. Our club captain and star player can barely run with a wonky ankle at the moment but had to play due to numbers. Hope he ices that bastard up.

The only other news of the day is my new shoulder pads. I bought some Gilbert Xact Chargers (like these https://www.rebelsport.com.au/ecom/rebel/zoom.aspx?img=1905002800012000.jpg) and their bubbly protection thingies left their mark on my poor senstive skin That's the shoulder I prop with...

 

[boarman]

We won a very scrappy game 17- 10. We must learn to build phases and construct play, too many times our backs tried to go wide all day.They need to learn to attack the midfield first, then go wide.
Our forwards went 1 out too many times and turned over possession or they went too wide of the ruck and didnt get to the breakdown quick enough.Maybe i'm too harsh on them but we really do need to get the basics right .
There were some positives to come out of the game though, our scrum won 4 tight heads and in the end the scrums went uncontested as they opposition ran out of props.Our midfield defence was very pleasing also.

Things will gel through the year though as 6 of the 7 backs were new to the club, with only myself the exception.

On a downside our 2nd grade had to resort to a game of 7's between them as we couldnt find a 15 man game for them.This will no doubt cause frustration for them, and in the 1st grade game we had a bench of 14 players but could only use 7 of them.

On another note we lost our American hooker/prop due to him having to go to Melbourne for work, he will be greatly missed, as he had a lot of experience and was hard as nails.

Easter break this coming weekend , then we have the local derby against the Broulee Dolphins on our home ground.This day will be huge as we are actually playing in pink jersey's to represent the Jane McGrath foundation.This day promises to be HUGE as we will have representatives from the Brumbies plus a former British Lion and ex Wallaby Stephen Larkham in attendance.
There will be juniors, womens, golden oldies, 2nd Grade and 1st Grade on the day.All proceeds will be donated to the McGrath foundation.

Will keep you all informed.

 

[Pfitzy]

The championship system is interesting for Subbies this year - instead of just the usual 30 points for First Grade win, 16 points for Second Grade win etc, they're taking bonus points into account.

So whatever competition points you get is multiplied by a predetermined factor to get your result.

First Grade today got a BP win which is 5 points. Multiplier is 22, so that's 110 championship points
Second Grade today got a BP win which is 5 x 12 = 60

A club that lost a First Grade game by < 7 points will still walk away with 22 points there, 44 if they lost by < 7 AND scored 4 tries. Should make things interesting.

On another point: I didn't find the ELVs any more taxing than the old rules last year.

 

[RugbyReg]

ahem...another game, another 4 tries for the lad.

Seriously, in another 3 or 4 games he would have scored more tries than I did in my entire career.

He scored a cracker try line to try line one. Very fast little blighter. Thanks to his mum, clearly.

 

[Scarfman]

U7s has two plays: pass the ball to the fast kid, and, pass the ball to the fat kid.

Tell your boy to work on his kicking to the corners and we might have something.

 

[RugbyReg]

this is U6s. No tackling so no use for the fat kid (although we have one in our team who does a lot of 'defensive' work and plays with a constant smile on his face.

And no kicking, which my lad is disappointed in because he likes kicking (and tackling).

He's very opportunistic. The length of the field try was a dropped ball by them and he was on it in a second and streaked away.

 

[Ash]

Hornsby had a prop (and hooker, I think) who played 3 and a half of the 4 grades on the weekend. No wonder their seconds (64 - 0) and firsts (74 - 0) got completely pasted - UNSW won a tighthead on nearly even scrum in the firsts, and won nearly every lineout. Although, they went alright in the thirds, dominating there.

 

[Pfitzy]

Hornsby had a prop (and hooker, I think) who played 3 and a half of the 4 grades on the weekend.

Jeez the most I've done is a whole game for Seconds and the last 40 for Firsts. Playing two full games would be enough for most blokes, but better than having the shame of uncontested scrums.

 

[waratahjesus]

feel bad now, i play hooker and loose head for horns fours but couldnt make the weekend!

 

[Ash]

feel bad now, i play hooker and loose head for horns fours but couldnt make the weekend!

You'll be glad to hear then that we tied 5-all with the Hornsby fourths. However, the Hornsby try was a bit of a joke - the guy was mid-dive when the ref awarded the try, but unfortunately he bounced the ball like a basketball instead of grounding it. Clear as day knock on. Ref stood there like an idiot with his arm in the air while the guy bounced the ball, and then left the try awarded.

 

[waratahjesus]

i take it you ply fours ash and are a bit dissapointed by drawing with the mighty horns fours!

we go alright in fourth and third grade, we just lose to much cattle to eastwood and gordon from our colts teams to be competitive in firsts and seconds.

we were on the right track last year building a new first grade team with young players but a few of them have taken off for higher ground, so should be interesting if those left behind can bounce back.

plus we were away and half the horns boys dont travel (me included most of the time!)

 

[Aussie D]

We had our second trial on the weekend (my first) against Southlakes up in Morriset (yes it was played with banjo music in the background). I came on 10 minutes into the second quarter, had a nice first scrum (need to work on positioning my feet correctly before the crouch and engage) and went up with the defensive line, unfortunaley our fullback, whilst chasing a kick went high on a big bloke and needed an ambulance and later a helicopter called, so game was called off. A bit disappointing but hopefully he is alright. If anyone knows anybody up the Central COast who may even be slightly interested in playing rugby this year telll them to come and play for the Rams as we are desperate for players. I may have to play firsts if we don't get more players and that prospect is rather scary.

 

[Red Beard]

I am back playing rugby for the Rams this year (go you good things) on the Coast and have even put my hand up to help out on the committee. The coach told me a couple of days ago that I will be the starting prop with the express purpose of destroying the opposition scrum.... which would be okay if I knew what I was doing as in my 3 years playing prop in Sydney we only had 2 scrum training sessions.

Anyone else playing this year and have some good propping advice (think I will be playing loosehead as my propping buddy is an absolute monster of a human and prefers tighthead).

The key IMO initially is to keep it simple. Run a mental checkilist each scrum reminding you of your feet placement, body position and body height and bind. Get as close to your hooker as you can so the opposing THs head has nowhere to go. Cramp him for space and time to nullify his hit. In the old days LHs used to have their outside foot way ahead of their inside but nowadays guys like Woodcock usually keep them in line, in a weightlifters squat sort of stance. Feet shoulder width apart are best to maximise speed, strength and agility. Keep your body weight on your toes, well forward dont ever sit back. Win the race to the centre line every time. On their ball at LH I would I engage on the 'en' of engage. If you weight for to hear the whole word from the red you will be dog tucker.

Dont get to hung up too much on binds, one of my close family members was a recent AB prop and still playing pro rugby. He said he hits most tighthead props in the same place (on the side of their jaw and slides down so the back of his head is into their sternum. He binds wherever he can get a good grip but punches his arm up early.

The best advice Ive had is adhere to the basic principles of scrummaging and then find a method/technique that works best for you and continually refine it. Depending on your height, size, strength, width you will learn to adapt your tecnhnique to best suit your attributes.

But the number one requiremnt is mental. You have to want to dominate every scrum at all times, even when you are hurting and under pressure. Props are selected to scrum first, lift second, hit rucks and tackle hard. Everything else is just a bonus. Always look to learn off every scrum you see for the rest of your life!

Godspeed

PS When everyone is playing touch or warming up at training I have my props scrummaging with each other, one on one, two on one etc. Most props just seagul on the wing during touch anyway so its better to put them to good use.

 

[Red Beard]

I'm keen. Mrs the Aussie isn't. Plus he'd have to play for someone other than the Renegades which is just not on.

My young fella is seven and is also playing soccer this year. He had played four season of tackle rugby now but wanted a change. Im abit dirty about it but but needs to put on a few more kegs before he can be really competitive at rugby, so soccer will be good for him. One of the dads of another boy in my sons team used to play first grade rugby against me for about a decade. We both never thought wee would see the day when our kids were kicking a round ball!