Blast aka Bill Gray

With so much Rugby going on, there has been a little talk about there being too much Rugby.

While I don't watch every game there is, I could never say that I am rugbyed out! Its a game. Two teams playing each other under the assumed assumption that they are playing under the same rules (I say that tongue in cheek after the Australian Wallabies have cried foul after loosing to the mighty All Blacks.) Hey, what goes round comes around.

Living in Aussie means I don't have the choice about watching my favorite teams play week in week out. We don't get the New Zealand National Provincial Championship, the premier provincial competition in New Zealand. Maybe thats why I don't get rugbyed out, but nevertheless, Sport is something that transcends general life in that, at the end of the match, there is still a chance that the teams will talk to each other over a beer (or an orangejuice) Life is a little different as there is a tendancy for people to forget about the general idea that you can leave the grudge on the field or place of work and get on with having that beer. For some reason life appears more important.

Everything may be important but when you forgo friendships to hold onto the grudge there is something seriously wrong. So I will never be rugbyed out. It is a bastion of what is good in life. You play hard and whether you win or lose, you then spend time socializing with the opposition.

I remember a game I played and the opposition prop was none other than Richard Loe Richard was an All Black and he was playing for his club in Christchurch like they did in those days. Now Richard was considered one of the all time hard men of Rugby. Somewhere near the middle of the game, the scrum broke up and Richard proceeded to start telling the front rows what he needed and wanted when the scrum was set. The referee blew his whistle and told the forwards to reset the scrum. Richard snarled at him to put the whistle where it wouldn't see the light of day and continued with his speech, saying at the end that if everyone did their part, no one would get hurt and we will all have a good game. The rest of the match, the scrums were perfect.

After the game, Richard came up to the Clubrooms and continued imparting his experience and knowledge to the young props he played against. (over a beer, of course) I have heard all sorts of criticism about Loey but the people who know him, never have a bad word to say about him. So lets keep rugby and sport going. If this example is mirrored around the world, think of the advantages to all kinds of people.

Too much rugby, never!!!