World Cup Rugby

On the rugby world cup….

Being as it is a big deal, I guess I ought at least to acknowledge the event!

Actually, I like to watch the rugby so it is good to have an excuse to sit around watching during the day when I should be doing far more important things!

But this being a feminine(ish) household, don’t expect any relevant punditry! The types of conversations we have do tend to veer around the clothing, players’ physiques and critiques of the fashion choices of the fans – but we are watching the sport too: honest!

So here is what is intriguing us mostly:

• COUTURE: Who the heck decided that the seventies-style tight sleeved t-shirts were appropriate for such top-heavy figures as the generic rugby player? I guess the reasoning is something to do with having the ability to grab at the opponents’ shirts or something, but the look is far from flattering! Baby is redesigning the rugby kits of the entire world as we speak!
• PHYSIQUE: This is quite possibly the only sport (unless you are one of those people who consider wrestling to be a sport rather than ballet for the perpetually unfit) in which the more out of shape you look the better you are considered at your game. Seeing a tall, fairly skinny guy on the pitch at the weekend we all just looked at one another as though to say “that guy is going to be killed in minutes!” Strangely, he wasn't - but there is something quite peculiar about a relatively good-looking slightly gangly figure amidst the more traditionally-shaped players!
• HAIR: Baby’s contribution was this: “They should shave their heads to stop them getting all sweaty in the head – especially that one; he’s far too beardy to play rugby!” She had thought it through though! The man in particular had quite a curly, bushy beard and in her mind the other players could grab it to stop him running. Says a lot for the type of matches she has been exposed to I think that she sees it as a possibility, but anyway I have to say she had a point – and they were all extra sweaty so maybe they should consider it!


The indoor games must be a bizarre experience for the players too. I grew up watching rugby with my dad and saw many games in the snow or in inches of mud which added enough to the atmosphere as a spectator; even more so for the players themselves; so to play completely void of any outdoor elements at all must make the game feel pretty strange.

Miss-middle and baby are both quite interested in playing. I remembered how as teenagers, my best friendling and I were once chatting with our PE teacher (mostly as a means to get out of doing any actual activity!) about how badly we wanted to not be playing cricket and he offered to teach us anything we chose instead … adding that favoured teacher expression “within reason”. I always suspected his next sentence was a lie and who knows I may meet him again one day and ask him, but he told us that in order to teach girls to play rugby required a “special licence” which none of the school staff had; but we could learn football! In reality, actually playing rugby at that time would not have been much fun (far too dirty – and as for all that running around! Ugh!!) and we were perfectly happy with our chosen fielding positions in cricket, passing entire lessons making daisy chains having opted to “go deep” far from anywhere the ball might ever reach but it made for a lively discussion nevertheless. Our request was not entirely unfounded, though; for one thing, there was a second playing field which was only used for rugby so the girls had never even seen it. That hardly seemed fair to us so we wanted to get onto that field too!

And yes, maybe the thought of being tackled to the ground by certain boys fuelled our request a little….


So anyway, that is about all I will say on the subject....



I don’t generally link to the IPlayer because the shows don’t stay on it for long enough – especially radio shows! But you really must listen to this – very funny ‘coverage’ of the rugby from the GLC boys which almost makes us sound like experts on the sport!

Rhys and Eggsy's Goldie Lookin' Cup