The Chewsday Chew

Hello Cobbers,

So haven’t I had a bugger of a weekend for results? Bloody Hell, I couldn’t’ve hit water if I threw the ball from a boat over the weekend! All our franchises lost, my regular club footy got rained out, my first grade club-battlers lost the Tarts curtain raiser on TV and I even managed to lose my bush scratch-match! Christ on His Stick, I should buy a lottery ticket because I have to break this run of losses soon!

To summarise, the Tarts and the Rebels should have won their games. Really they should have. And the Donkeys decided it was a better tactic to have their doppelgangers show up instead and masquerade as footballers while playing arguably the most successful provincial team in world rugby. That went as one may expect. And as for the Pinkos and Westies, well they should’ve just stayed in the sheds. Enuf said.

But I have to call out two events over the weekend:

Firstly, congratulations to Blue Mountains Rugby who beat Drummoyne Dirty Reds 16-11 in the curtain raiser to the Tarts v Canes game at Leichhardt Oval on Saturday night. Some may know of my sympathies to the Dirty Reds, but even so, fair play to the Mountain Goats. The Goats staged one of the great wins of that club’s history over a true perennial powerhouse of Sydney Suburban Rugby. So for Jack, Buckets, Casey, Big George, Cranky Penguin, Parko, Jeffro et al and the rest of the lads who have seen them struggle up the Sydney Suburban Rugby divisions over the years, it was surely a momentous win. Congratulations and full balls to all of you. The bus trip home would have been… interesting.

What the Blue Mountains win also highlights is the shameful neglect by Sydney and NSW Rugby towards the western suburbs of Sydney. Parramatta is rejuvenated for now, but for how long? Penrith has gone to the Canberra competition. Campbelltown gone to the Illawarra competition. Other than a handful of lower-division clubs, what exactly is being done to open up and develop the rugby-friendly +2million people and +750 schools between Parramatta/Richmond/Campbelltown? The success of the Blue Mountains club, despite the open disregard of the powers-that-be, is all the more noteworthy for that. I say that, especially in the shadows of a home World Cup, money and true effort must go into the clear, ready and obvious reservoir of talent that is western Sydney before we start hit & miss poaching of off-the-boil loigee rejects.

Secondly, given some limp-wristed nonces prematurely called off games at my club’s home ground, I was seemingly left without a trot. Until…

Folk may recall I wrote last year about my annual unofficial pilgrimage to play for teams unseen from places obscure. Well last week’s last minute cancellation led to a flurry of calls and texts. And so I found myself braving the narrow passes behind Little Hartley, known as the Jenolan Pass, the Oberon Gate and the Duckmaloi Way, as the only way over the Misty Mountains to the Highland Plains above Crookwell. It’s a route known to few for it be narrow and treacherous. But ’tis the way to the mystical, mythical metropolis of Taralga, whereupon I did grasp the hand of coach Will Henley and innumerable Crokers and Maloneys and did don the proud black & gold for the mighty Taralga Tigers in their struggle against the Hall Bushrangers in the shadows of the Robyn Rees Memorial Pavilion at the showgrounds. As per the rest of my weekend, the Bushrangers took the choccies by a bit more to not much. But nonetheless it was good to have a charge about, a roll in the mud and a wee bit of scrummage. Anyway, beers were bought, hands were shook, whisky was drunk and the chicken parmy at the Sports Club was superb. It was another jersey into the vault and as ever I was humbled by the hospitality shown to a blow-in like me.

Bush rugby is a special thing and we would do well to remember that.

Anyways, enough of the palaver…

Welcome to Episode 9 of the Chewsday Chew. The purpose herein is not to write something overly sagacious, complicated or mesmerising, but rather to pose a simple observation, question or proposition and let the good readers of this esteemed site share their opinions thereafter. Call it the lazy man’s attempt to fill a void by poking our collective bear of rugby knowledge to share their reflections and lift the average beyond the humdrum.

I’ve been watching more of the women’s game lately and last week I watched this cracker of a goal from Irishwoman Hannah O’Connor (go to 1:28)…

And that wee thump got me thinking of some of the other fantastic nudges I’ve seen over the years. So to that, I would like to offer this enormous Francoise Steyn nudge…

And of course, no one could possibly look past the great Paul Thorburn kick for Wales in 1986…

So come one and come all, have a think about some of the truly gobsmacking monstrous shots at goal you’ve seen over the years and refresh our collective memories. As ever, kudos points for age and obscurity…