Your match

First topic message reminder :

I've been following the progress of Sam on his thread about starting his rugby career with his first game this weekend and I was just wondering how many of us actually lace up the boots at the weekend?

I'd like to hear about other posters weekly experiences on the pitch. You don't have to give too much personal info but maybe:

did you start/sub
how did you play
result
did you score
did you smash anyone
did you get on the sauce afterwards
did you score (ahem)

Persoanally I have a game tonight hopefully playing 12 but at my stage (over 20 years playing) I could end up anywhere bar prop. I'll update tonight, probably quite late as I am definitely going on the sauce afterward.

Right so it's been a little while since my match but for some reason I couldn't get my user account working on here.

Anyway here's my anecdote from my first match as an adult at the budding age of 24. We already beat the opposing team in a walkover so we invited another for a friendly and had only 15 men on our squad sheet. Fortunately we ended up having 17, one of which is actually a first team player banned from playing for the first team for 2 weeks because of misconduct, so we'd rather not use him to unbalance the game; he is an absolute tank on the wing that most 1st team players do not tackle with success. Yet they only had 13 so we had to give them 2 of ours, and we think it's a great idea to give him to them for one half. Okay, that is absolutely fair but nobody thought about the fact that *I* turned out to be the unlucky bugger on his opposite wing ... for both halves. Yep, at half time they do a straight swap. Cheers lads.

I think if we were looking at some rough stats of my match we'd have something like:

Points scored: 0
Tackles made: 4 (1 on him)
Tackles missed: 8 (all on him)

Attack not too bad though:

Run / Passed / Kicked : 3,3,0
Clean breaks: 0
Half breaks: 0
Gainline success: 3

My actual team won in the end something like 47-27 - unfortunately I was on the losing side both halves , not particularly a surprise given the circumstances - that guy waltzed through often 7 or 8 defenders on either side. Was a shame he was playing really, kind of unbalanced the game.

Anyway , battered and bruised and a million things to work on. Tackle technique, fielding the ball and related positioning, running better lines, having a word with the captain before the next match about my OC actually trying to help me make the tackle on any guy like that next time...

Not sure when the next game is, yesterday's was cancelled. But enjoying it nonetheless!

So finally
did you start/sub : Start
how did you play: Like a winger that's been out for 10 years
result: "Win"
did you score: I never score
did you smash anyone: Not this time
did you get on the sauce afterwards: Yes, but my housemate had a house party so chose that one this time around
did you score (ahem): I always score  wingers eh

This threads gone a bit quiet, a shame I like hearing about how others are getting on.

My league match last weekend was called off as our opponents couldn't get a team together, so I ended up dropping down to the 3rds and having a game for them. A very different environment as none of those boys do any training and just turn up on the day and throw something together, but that didn't seem to be much of an issue for them as we won 75-10.

did you start/sub : Start
how did you play: Like an unfit scrum had who only had to make sure the ball got beyond our 12 and we'd be able to run around their back line and score. Every time.
result: win
did you score: Nope, I was too knackered to even consider making any darts around the fringes
did you smash anyone: Didn't get a chance!
did you get on the sauce afterwards: Just a few quiet ones nothing major
did you score (ahem): ask the girlfriend   

Just on my way out the door for an away league game. Interesting point of the day we're doing a France and playing two 9s, myself at 9 and our other 9 has been picked at 10. Sacré bleu!

Llama, good post mate. Your thirds sound just like our twos, except obviously your lot win.
Don't fret about the intermittent postings here: it used to annoy me but it's that sort of post, usually when they arrive they're worth waiting for.
I haven't played for two weeks thanks to a chest lurgi which has lingered. However, this morning's training for ten year old son was the Fun Chrimbo session. We had assault course races and a fathers v sons touch match. A very good time was had by all and we arrived home muddied from head to toe. Possibly the highlight of the season so far. Actually the Vet's match where Bigson played alongside was (posted here earlier) but this was more giggly fun. Keep posting as they are usually interesting and sometimes chicken soup for the soul, as it were, to coin a cliché, so to speak.

Well I don’t know if anyone had the misfortune of playing in Scotland on Saturday but it was the worst weather conditions for a rugby game I can remember in a long time. It was blowing a gale with heavy rain throughout, that only intensified throughout the 80 minutes. I’m not joking when I say some of our players probably had hypothermia by the end – some of the guys were unable to stop shaking!

I had the misfortune of being on the bench for the first half, so was standing about getting soaked through and freezing cold, and then was put on a fullback at half time – the worst position in that kind of weather. What made it worse was that I was told I was going on at half time in advance so I knew I was going to have to take my hat, coat and bottoms off at some point!

Needless to say I saw very little of the ball when I was on – the only thing I really did was tackle their winger at full pelt down the touchline. That was one of the sorest tackles I’ve ever done considering my hands were blocks of ice and I was soaked through.

Come around the 70 minute mark I was standing on my own covering deep, in my short rugby shorts and tight fitting short sleeved rugby top, with gale force winds and freezing rain, thinking I need to reassess my priorities in life!

But still, we got a 24-8 BP win against the local rivals, so it was all worth it in the end!

That's the spirit RDW, bet the clubhouse felt great afterwards.

It certainly did - vaguely mild showers have never felt so good!

RDW_Scotland wrote:It certainly did - vaguely mild showers have never felt so good!

Ah you can take the boy out of Edinburgh but you can't take the MFL out of the boy. Vaguely mild, was your manservant running the loofah over your lumberregion perchance?

No chance - even bringing separate shampoo is classed as a sign of femininity in the rugby showers!

Whenever Bigson plays buying shampoo is looked upon as wastefully profligate: he always nicks mine, then "borrows" his subs money.
When he pays me back I'm buying an island in the inner Hebrides and drinking myself into an early grave.

We've got a father son combo in our team too, exactly the same thing happens!

'Dad said he'd spot my fiver this week!'

My dad's the team manager, doesn't quite work so well!

And he made you stand on the touchline in a howling gale, remember the "Edinburgh summer is one of the mildest winters I know" as Chick Murray once said, then put you on at full back!!! Were you a very naughty child? Or is it a belated attempt to toughen you up? Lassies from Niddrie will do that so much quicker.

Nah, it’s probably more down to the fact that I haven’t been at training for 2 weeks, so was dropped!

Saying that, my orders were to hang back deep and not join the line when we were attacking – the weather was so bad there were lots of turnover, and as we were playing into a gale they could easily punt it downfield and the wind would make it go for miles. Hence why I barely touched the ball!

Boys, boys... I accidently opened this thread on page one and have read through till this point; it's a really positive, healthy set of posts. Well done guys it says a lot about us.
Also, no fixtures for most of us till the New Year I imagine so let me say
A very merry Chrimbo to one and all
and a happy and safe New Year.    

No game this weekend down at Seaton Carew with it being the social drink of the year last Friday but our next fixture is our Xmas classic against Horden on the 28th.

Have a good Xmas guys!

Well, here is a New Year's update, almost 3 months post-op.   Neck is feeling pretty good, though the throat is still slightly constricted.  Pain levels are zero.  Strange thing is I get muscle tension-type headaches if my head is not is a good position for long.  My brand new expensive ortho-pillow is part of the problem.  Back to the Tesco cheapies.     Arm strength has recovered somewhat on its own, but I haven't tried any weights yet.  Occasional numbness, but no tingling.  For the kind of procedure I went through, ACDF (you can look it up if you want the gory details), plus plus explanted plate/screws, having on-going lower-level symptoms is unsurprising.  

Big news is I played touch Rugby this morn.  Survived.  Had a lot of fun.  No injuries and just slightly sore from laying off any strenuous exercise for three months.  I am in poor shape, and now I have to start working hard.  Looking to catch the end of the regular season.  Hopefully things start looking up.

As we say in Glasgow, go on yerself! You are an example to all of us. An example of what I'm not exactly sure as yet, but still.

Got our first training session on Saturday since mid-December - as it is likely to be a fitness beasting session I went for a run yesterday to try to prepare me for it. Based on how much I was breathing out my arse on the run I think it's fair to say I'm going to die!

It's been nice knowing you all.   

Lucky you, we've got a match   
And given the way I've been piggin out and avoiding the gym with Bigson I too may expire.
If that doesn't kill me then the trip to Execeterr the following week most probably will.    

Played yesterday in our Xmas time fixture against an opposition who are always a big old bruising pack and yesterday was no different.

We took a rag tag side of 17 players through and i started at 7 and had everything come at me in the opening few encounters. I started quite well chasing the kick offs and hitting my man to put him down. My first experience of carrying was calling one of our locks to follow me into forming a pod so we could get behind our backs ready to clear the ruck out but being the loudest voice our scrum half passed to me and i raced forward and attempted to take the contact on my terms and got smashed on the gainline. Ouch.

Made a tackle later on against there winger coming back inside his 10 and his knee smacked my collerbone so that hurt but i carrieds on. Anyway later on there was a ruck and they're second row picked up at the base to try and play 9 but got caught out so i quickly took the chance to get round and steal the ball but soon as i'd ripped the ball i got speared and driven into the ground. I tried to carry on for a few minutes but had to leave the field.

I went to one life to get it checked out and they transfarred me to North Tees Hospital A&E where after a series of X-Rays and prods and pokes. I'd damaged the muscle round my collor bone , Strained my neck and X-Rays getting checked for a potential fracture in my back.

Long day.

How are you? Did anything come up on the x-rays?

In a lot of pain, just have to chill at home. The X-rays are getting viewed by specialists so will find out soon.

Driver, when I said Doc Grey was an example to all of us...this is not what I had in mind.  

Lol,

I slipped a disc in the C6 section of my neck in November '11 so it's not my first spinal injure.

I'v been retired by every relative to me and my brain , back and neck are telling me too but i'v got a horrible little devil in my ear telling to go on , keep playing , cover every blade , tackle everyone and eventually win. Pain is just a waste of time.

Amigos, another poster bites the dust of the injury list. I'm trying to type with what looks and feels like a broken thumb. Was playing 6 and their scrum half darted up the side of the scrum, I went to tackle him and he stepped inside and ran full pelt onto my thumb. Ho hum.
We won 17-10 so can't complain.

jimbopip wrote:Amigos, another poster bites the dust of the injury list. I'm trying to type with what looks and feels like a broken thumb. Was playing 6 and their scrum half darted up the side of the scrum, I went to tackle him and he stepped inside and ran full pelt onto my thumb. Ho hum.
We won 17-10 so can't complain.

Sorry to hear, mate.
See a doc yet? Is the thumb disoriented in any way?
Pardon the dumb question, but you iced properly and elevated the hand? Hoping for the best for you!

Morning Doc. Not sure about disorientated- seems to be pointing the usual way. Swollen and bruised, can't bend it or put any pressure on it. As for ice and elevation; that wasn't the sort of self-medication I indulged in. MrsPip actually asked how I was and seemed concerned, which as you know is quite unusual. I have an appointment with my GP tomorrow am , on an unrelated matter, if it's still a problem I'll ask him for advice.
How's the back/neck?

Seems a bit like good news, no?

Neck is improving, thanks for asking. A lot of pain if I sleep in a wrong position, but outside of that moving forward. Started training again. Not physical stuff, but a lot of running and smaller weights. Clearly need to build muscle around the neck. Those exercises are not fun and look weird. Played 90 minutes of some good non-stop touch Rugby on New Years Day and got through it pretty well. Just knees a bit sore, but I suppose that is to be expected. So things moving in the right direction. Hopefully return to playing in a few months.

All right lads it's the new year and time to get serious. I enjoyed my foray into rugby last year - about 6 training sessions and one howler of a match - and its time to become a regular squad member (of the 3rds!)

Problem though - no idea what I should be wearing and where to get the stuff. It's getting cold so do people tend to wear tracksuits now for training? What kind of material and where's best to get something (I'm in London). I guess y'all tend to have two changes of gear to get through 3 outings in the mud every week?

Just that last time I started at the rugby section in Decathlon I was honestly a little bit confused ...

Ineffable wrote:All right lads it's the new year and time to get serious. I enjoyed my foray into rugby last year - about 6 training sessions and one howler of a match - and its time to become a regular squad member (of the 3rds!)

Problem though - no idea what I should be wearing and where to get the stuff. It's getting cold so do people tend to wear tracksuits now for training? What kind of material and where's best to get something (I'm in London). I guess y'all tend to have two changes of gear to get through 3 outings in the mud every week?

Just that last time I started at the rugby section in Decathlon I was honestly a little bit confused ...

Step 1 - man up and just wear shorts.

Step 2 - go to rugby training.

  

Joking aside, I tend to load up my top half with layers and keep in shorts at training - nothing worse than having soggy tracksuit bottoms when you're rolling about on the mud.

Fair enough ..! I was wondering if it was a bit of a silly question.

Effie, I must say that the biggest improvement for me is underarmour/skins whathave you. Get shoulder pads with the full vest and sleeves and they'll keep you warm. Then get compression shorts for under your shorts.
websites just type in rugby equipment and spend some time looking you'll get bargains.,

Hi guys, haven't posted in a while mostly because every time I've gone to I've been at work and realised I can't remember my password for the site!

Anyway a combination of laziness, lack of enthusiasm, Christmas and injury mean I've not played or even trained in about 3 weeks now. Still, I've been selected for the 2s today (somehow) and the sun is shining so I'm going to head out and see if I can still remember how to hold a rugby ball and try not to embarrass myself too much with my lack of fitness!

Good luck today everyone - I'm playing 13 today having been to one training session in 4 weeks, so no doubt I'll be blowing out my arse!

Interesting day yesterday, I was down to play 9 with our other 9 selected at 10. You could say he wasn't happy about this, which lead to a last minute (during the warm up) team switch and I was moved to 15. Slightly concerning when by the time it comes to kick off you already feel knackered and your legs have turned to jelly, some serious fitness work required!

Still, I managed to get away with the terrible fitness as I had absolutely nothing to do for most of the match. My only real contribution came right at the end when I caught a kick out of their 22, passed it to our 12 who decided it would be fun to run through half their back line and score. So technically I gave a try scoring pass   

Anyway it was only a friendly but we beat a team in the league above us 12-6 with a pretty cobbled together side, so happy with the result.

RDW how did you get on at 13?

Absolutely broken this morning, but we got a 26-8 bp win to move 2nd so can't complain!

Frantic, RDW great to see you both played and won at the weekend. My match was standing on the terrace at Sandy Park and consuming rather a lot of local ale in Exeter. Asbo played a blinder from start to finish and Schiz was bonhomie personified. TattieScones put in a brief cameo appearance as well. I suppose I had better put in some gym time this week as we are away at Millwall on Saturday and that wont be easy.

Damn it, I went and dislocated my left elbow! Probably a complex dislocation followed by reduction 30 seconds later due to neuromuscular spasm. Last weekend, my club went to Ireland to watch the Munster match, play a little old boys Rugby, and stay with the family of one of our lads. I was in the middle of a work trip and decided to join. I was demonstrating the proper method of falling on a loose ball when the opposition comes barreling through and hits my elbow at the exact moment and split-second my hand touched the ground. Game-set-match-elbow-bloodyhell. Just when my neck was feeling good. Couldn't get it checked for reasons which are not worth getting into, but got back to Jersey last night and are getting the X-ray today.

BTW, the attending doctor at the match was me. Wrap it, sling it, gimmee an injection. Only problem was no one there could hold a syringe straight. Had to do mostly for myself. Might as well as been back in Iraq 10 years ago. Bloodyhell.

Seaton Carew 1st team and 2nds are making the 60 mile trip to Whitby RFC this weekend. Usually a competitive pair of fixtures between the two sides with the 1st teams last encounter been split by 2 points with the Seasiders (Seaton) pinching victory. The 2nds are on a high after a darby win against the team which give New Zealand they're famous All Blacks name Hartlepool Rovers.

All in all it's looking to be a important weekend in our season.

Best of luck this weekend to all you lads.

Driver, good luck to you. Will there be ceremonial monkey-hanging after the game?
Doc, how's the elbow? You do realise, and I say this after 25 years teaching, that nothing is guaranteed to jinx you as much as the words, "Watch, I'll show you how it should be done."
Just heard our match tomorrow is cancelled due to flooded pitches. Gives the thumb another week to recover. Saves me having to decide to play with it heavily strapped or let the side down. In my head I can hear a changing room full of fat boys shouting ,"You only let us down when you play."

My game was cancelled last week - Edinburgh City council look out their window and if it is slightly damp they call off every game in Edinburgh that is on one of their pitches. Needless to say there was nothing wrong with our pitch!

It is meant to be pishin doon again this weekend but we're not on a council pitch so need to see if it is still on.

RDW, you have confirmed my worst suspicions:
MFL council cancel matches amid fears of crinoline jerseys being ruined by muddy water! Shock horror.

Seaton Carew don't hang monkeys! 

Our Canoeists just go missing....

Driver, am I mistaken or does the old country pursuit of primate hanging not originate in Hartlepool?
Anyway, what kind of canoe could take two props and their packed lunches?

You are correct Jimbo , Monkey hanging is the thing Hartlepool is most associated with.

Hartlepool Rover's badge is a monkey being hung and the team hand a stuffed one off the try posts on away days.

Seaton Carew which is a village/housing estate in Hartlepool is famed for the John Darwin Canoe story in which he went canoeing in Seaton and ended up in Panama.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Darwin_disappearance_case

Driver, may I suggest a badge for your second team; crossed canoes circled by the palindromic motto A man a plan a canal Panama.

It's a better should than other names in the pan.


Seaton Carew Sex Kittens was my favourite out of a poor bunch

Was at a rugby club fund raiser for young Pipetto's under-11's last night when the first team coach approached me to say they are really short for today. Would I play away at King's Cross Steelers? At my age? Said yes of course. So can look forward to an afternoon of rolling round in the mud with the only openly gay side in England. Their sexuality doesn't bother me half as much as stepping up to the Firsts and being embarrassed. Why can't I say no?

Good luck pip - I'm away to lasswade to roll around in the mud. Not the kind of weather for a 13 built for running round people not through them!

jimbopip wrote:Was at a rugby club fund raiser for young Pipetto's under-11's last night when the first team coach approached me to say they are really short for today. Would I play away at King's Cross Steelers? At my age? Said yes of course. So can look forward to an afternoon of rolling round in the mud with the only openly gay side in England. Their sexuality doesn't bother me half as much as stepping up to the Firsts and being embarrassed. Why can't I say no?

You can't say no because you are a stupid Rugby player.  Just like the rest of us.  Certainly just like me.  Why do we do this?  Not because we are Einsteins, no?  We just love the damn sport.
Truly wish you all the best!

Well I'm en route to an away match for the seconds, running very late so there won't be much warm up time. Selected at full back again, seems to be becoming a regular thing despite the fact my fitness levels are hideous and I missed a couple of tackles last week. Still, can't complain when you still get selected despite not going to training!

Good luck today lads, let's try not to pick up even more injuries!