RFU "Blazers" trying to stop London Welsh taking their place in the Aviva Premiership!

[Hugh Jarse]

I'm not accustomed to the UK scene as others.

Love the concept of the London Irish - the Not Nots.

Looking at the home oval being in Oxford, are the London Welsh having a tilt at the nickname of the Not Nots as well.

...snip....

For those who don't know what SOHK is, it's a Sky Sport TV show where each year Scott Quinnell and Will Greenwood go into an underprivileged area and recruit unemployed men onto a rugby team. Many of them have criminal records or have never worked in their lives. Then for 8 weeks the guys are coached in rugby but are also mentored in other areas with the view to get them ready for a jobs workshop at the end of the 8 weeks. The main aim is to get these guys jobs or at least put them in a better position to get themselves a job. It's an excellent show. Most of the guys have never played rugby before and the aim is not to find the guys who are best at it. it's simply to show how being part of a team and the respect that people involved in rugby have for each other can help improve their outlook on life. So to uncover a guy who could potentially play Premiership rugby is pretty amazing.

Fox in Australia should look at doing something similar as it's an excellent way to spread word of the benefits of playing rugby in traditionally non-rugby areas.

Love the concept of the School of Hard Knocks, but not sure that there would be the market for such a show here though. Mind you, the 'Tahs and their show "The Code" was a rather good little cult show that rated well in Chez Jarse. Just not sure it is a sustainable concept.

With all the $ and passionate support south of the border that Cross Country Volleyball has, "The Club" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Club_(Australian_TV_series) also rated well with the Jarses but only lasted one season on the tele.

If the AFL can't sustain a show of that nature, it would be a major surprise if the School of Hard Knocks could make major inroads into Australian TVland, unfortunately. We all love the underdog comes good and rags to riches good news stories.

 

[Gagger]

My son plays for London Welsh minis - looking forward to the boot money

 

[Bardon]

Looks like London Welsh are going to approach Gavin Henson with a contract offer. He will certainly bring media interest but probably for the wrong reasons. I wonder how many months he would stay this time. Maybe I'm wrong to be cynical and he'll be a reformed character and play for them for many years without incident before hanging up his boots. But I just can't see it.

Hugh I found some of the old SOHKs episodes on Rugby Dump if you or others want to check it out.

http://www.rugbydump.com/2012/05/2544/school-of-hard-knocks-2012-episode-1

 

[Hugh Jarse]

Thanks for the link. A good watch.