Saturday, October 13, 2007

Oval balls

There is going to be a lot of focus on rugby over the next few weeks as patriots and xenophobes and decent English people revel in vicarious victory. So an alternative point here.

As mentioned earlier I went to a whole load of schools, but I recall only one of those where the winter sport was rugby. The cliché about games teachers being sadistic bastards has only a small amount of truth. It was only the cross country runs we hated - football was better but I genuinely enjoyed rugby too. Except for one thing...

As a kid I always played outside, and even now, unless injured, I choose to play football outdoors at least twice per week throughout the year regardless of wind, rain, or snow. But I wrap up. And thanks to the hated foreign invasion that has made the Premiership the "best league in the world", even professional footballers can now wear gloves or undershirts. Yet as a schoolkid playing rugby in midwinter, I just remember being cold.

I genuinely don't know the clothing guidelines for school games today. But I hope they have learned.

2 comments:

Ann Cardus said...

Cross country runs in Devon, in drizzle, in hockey gear including hockey boots made from rubber and canvas. Yuk!

I never tried rugby but I don't really understand why boys enjoy a sport that result in so many injuries.

My husband loved playing rugby, even after having his broken nose reset using the handle of a teaspoon. Yuk!

Rana said...

The reasons that boys like sport are many and deep.

If you can wear gloves when playing for your club, why can't you when playing for your school - though maybe now it is allowed?