Rugby: It’s not just a game

Before I begin this next piece I want to sincerely thank everyone for the kind words for the blog's I have written so far and for taking the time to read them. The response really has meant the world to me. And another thing please share this with any and all rugby boys and girls, I am deliberately leaving this one pictureless to encourage you guys to post up any photo's, any hidden gems of our time together.

This a couple of week removed from the historic Victory of the British and Irish Lions against Australia.

As the team and vindicated head coach Warren Gatland correctly bask in the knowledge that they made the right decisions over the length of the tour. I could not help but ponder what Rugby meant to me and those directly affected by my participation in this wonderful sport. Reading my Facebook feed has been interesting over the past few weeks. It has been full of people so full of vitriol and passion about all aspects of the Lions tour of course the main point of debate was the exclusion of Brian O’Driscoll from the final Lions Game. The part I found most interesting was that no one had any idea what physical condition the players were in, no one had watched them train to objectively say who was in better form or who worked better as a unit yet there was no shortage of people who mistook their opinions as fact. What I write here are my opinions and experiences. I do not mean to offend anyone by what I write or who I omit to thank there simply are not enough hours in the day for me to write everything I experienced but with that being said here's a glimpse of my life with rugby.

I began playing rugby quite late on aged 14 at my school in Belfast, Wellington College. My first real exposure was a tournament for schools that did not have a recent history in Rugby. Led by Dorian Roberts ‘DO RO’ our P.E teacher. DO RO was an inspiration to me and encouraged me to take up both rugby and athletics. When he taught anything ranging from badminton, hockey, nutrition and rugby he did so with so much passion and enthusiasm that it was clear he cared about what he did and because of his example I nearly followed him into the same profession. If anyone knows how is that man?

Back to rugby we competed in a single day tournament at Cook rugby club where we eventually finished second. I had no idea about the rules of the game, I remember giving away 2 penalties for holding on to the ball after I had been tackled, I didn't know the points system, offside was a mystery, passing backwards?? this was a strange sport! However you got to run as fast as you wanted all you had to do was avoid people bringing you down! My friends that sounded like a blast!
Looking back it was a scary free for all. I barely knew how to tackle, the sum of my rugby knowledge was what my friend Andrew McMurray had told me..... he had mentioned something called a side step which to this day I think of as a thing of beauty, the art misdirection from a distance. He also talked about a team called the 'All blacks' who were amazing?! I heard the 'All blacks' were from New Zealand and was shocked to find white players on the team....... I had a lot to learn about rugby.

Rugby exploded further into my consciousness largely due to the 1995 Rugby world cup. So many themes and stories played out it what was an incredible tournament. The player of the tournament for most observers and certainly myself was Jonah Lomu. For me at that age this man was everything a rugby player should be, big, strong, fast with good awareness and good ball skills. His four tries against England which included his running over of Mike Catt will forever be etched in my brain.

The other big theme was the history of rugby and apartheid in South Africa. It is weird for me to think that only a year earlier in 1994 I would not have been able to share a seat on a bus with most people reading this blog. When South Africa prevailed against the mighty 'All blacks' with the 'unstoppable' Lomu on the Left wing, I watched the joy on Nelson Mandela's face in that green jumper with the flying springbok over his heart. I remember thinking of Chester Williams the only black player in the South African team for the 1995 world cup and all the black people of South Africa and hoping this victory would be a catalyst for healing the many wounds that were still fresh.

If you are interested in the history of apartheid, slavery and other forms of racial segregation unfortunately so much material exists. One of the finest books on this topic is the autobiography of Nelson Mandela called 'Long walk to freedom' published by Little Brown and Co. The book describes Nelson's early years, his education, his 27 years in prison and the effect of the sanctions imposed by a changing world including a ban of the South African rugby team which contributed to changing South Africa forever. If you want more of a rugby focus the aforementioned Chester Williams and Francois Pienaar both have biographies that  will talk you through rugby life and much more.

I was so hungry for information about rugby in those first few years. Remember this was pre internet days and at home we just had the 4 and eventually 5 channels. When I scraped together enough cash from my paper round I would buy the occasional magazine and read it from page to page over and over again. When I recorded a match on VHS again I would watch it incessantly until it was usually warped from pausing and rewinding such was my immersive approach to this new and exciting sport to me.

At under 16 level myself and about 6 guys from the same school joined Cook rugby club. If memory serves me right we were competitive but didn't set the world on fire. I continued to play for the school rugby team and made the 1st 15 my following year. Wellington College's rugby team was made up of some very talented rugby players that included Neil Best who went on to play for Ulster and Ireland at flanker, Nail McCordick who represented Ulster and Ireland at under 18 level, Jamie Glover who was represented Ulster at rugby and was an international over 400m in athletics. Many more excellent club players were in our numbers but as a team we were average at best. We put it some spirited performances but really were a mishmash of guys with too many of us still grappling with the most basic fundamentals of the sport in my opinion.

Soccer was my first love, My mum has stories of my acrobatics in her womb and the joy I derived by exhausting the adults with football at every opportunity. This was right from the moment I could walk10 months or so into my life. Following my exposure to rugby my interest in Soccer gradually dwindled until it fizzled out completely. I do have some thoughts on football but perhaps that's another tale.

A bunch of my friends decided to move to Ballynahinch rugby at u16 level and I went along for the ride an incredible ride it was too, championships and trophy's, helter skelter journeys in dodgy vehicles, playing & drinking trips to watch Ireland at what used to be the 5 nation's. Memory's like a try against Malone rfc where Jamie Glover ran the breadth of the pitch to create an overlap, his support was vital and I got the glory but I learnt how to be a better player from his example. Before i get too soft i also remember in the same game being close lined WWF wrestling style.

I had a major ankle injury aged 17 that derailed my dreams, I had been cross training in athletics specialising in sprinting and the triple jump. I had just competed in a Celtic games where I had run a new PB in the 100m 10.84secs. Breaking the magical 11 second barrier was massive for me like every young athlete you have dreams and aspirations. My dreams where how I was gonna have to negotiate with whichever rugby team signed me to allow me to still sprint this was surely the way I would make my living!

I had a few wilderness years recovering from my ankle injury, i spent a lot of time on crutches which where a really good upper body workout and also did weight training semi-seriously for the first time so a few years later when i made my first tentative steps back I was a very different player and human being. For one thing I could never take my health for granted anymore.

University rugby with Queen Margaret university was alcohol fuelled and a mixed bag....... we got thumped every time we played 15's however we had one of the biggest highs winning a 7's tournament in Salou.

Rugby league came later, I joined  Edinburgh eagles, got into the Scottish Amateurs & Students system and finally was with Gateshead thunder. I experienced amazing things playing rugby league. Never have 2 sports that are so similar be so different. I feel I can say that because I have watched and played a lot of both games. I can also say I see beauty in both games and those who champion one over the other are really missing the point, they are both to be enjoyed .
Notable experiences where the all conquering Edinburgh Eagles championships, the Germany and Italy tour with Scottish Students which as a by ended in victory and finally the honour to be payed to play with Gateshead Thunder. I can't omit that the time I spent at Thunder was not our finest, we has so many agonising close defeats we also had routs against us! Victory's were celebrated wildly because they were rare. The incredible spirit of the supporters despite our performances and the community they built is amazing.

The rugby community and culture is awesome. You automatically make friends when you are involved in a rugby team, you develop a sense of humour very quickly when you play rugby, the banter and ribbing is very well known and documented however the networking side isn’t. By the time you get to senior rugby you are faced with a group of people with a diverse knowledge and experience base who you can call upon for advice or help. It really is an amazing aspect of rugby, to this day my world view is much richer for my exposure to the people I have met through rugby.

The drinking culture within rugby is terrifying. We know that in the UK alone 3 people will kill themselves every week with alcohol poisoning. If you include the long term effects of alcohol the situation is even more frightening. 8,790 people died in the UK in 2010 from alcohol related causes, this is by no means a benevolent drug.

I am no saint here by the way, I bevvied like everyone else back in the day. The social side of rugby can be amazing, putting the world at rights over a few cold pints of Guinness chased down by a whisky or five is awesome. So are cheeky vimto’s and Smirnoff Ice bottles downed with a straw for added air displacement in a few second’s. To me that also constitutes a fascinating way to spend your time!

The post match challenges and drinking games, the super Sunday sessions, the bonding, the hilarious alcohol fuelled antics, the tours, the tournaments, the characters, the culture, the history, the friendship, the love......Rugby enabled me to travel all around europe with various teams, others have used rugby to travel the world.

I had the honour of tutelage from excellent rugby coaches. This is by no means an exhaustive list but names like Latimer Adair, Ian Paxton, Sean Lineen, Paul Fletcher. All had different ways of teaching and perhaps it is linked to the different stages as you transition from junior to senior rugby but my favourite time learning about rugby was under Latimer Adair. This man was a PE teacher at Ballynahinch High and he taught the basics so well. How to tackle emphasising head position, demonstrating switch moves and why they work, playing with depth, how to throw a spin pass..... the list goes on. Although you are exposed to the whole game the skills you have to learn are positionally selected. Latimer did this but integrated the whole team together in a unique way full of fun and enthusiasm. I definitely value good technical coaching over good old fashion physical 'beastings', common in rugby clubs, of course there is a time and place for tough physicality I like to think that players should take responsibility for their own physical condition and the precious time together used to sharpen up skills and strategies.

Every position in rugby tends to attract certain characters. I liken props to wizened old london cabbies who famously learn 'the knowledge' which is an encyclopedic knowledge of London's streets... Don't believe me go a local rugby club and ask to take part in scrummaging training naturally with you in the front row!
Want to meet a hard worker meet a good flanker. My friend Darryl Seawright had this incredible ability to hit what seemed like every ruck and maul, in rugby league 'demon' would make 90% of the team tackles himself but it was never just fitness it was also excellent technique that allowed them to remain safe and the ability to read the game meant they were inevitably in the right place at the right time.

Excellent friends and training partner's like Euan Clipston helped me throughout my rugby career. Interesting story about Euan and I is that we bought a house together and on the title deeds there was some toing and froing between Solicitors about this fictitious gay couple with surnames with Oshag and Clitson. Oshag was correct Clitson wasn't. Funny what a little typo will do!  
Jamie 'the ginger lover' Glover, Darryl Seawright, Ramin Mathieson All of whom are better than me at rugby in one form or another and Pretty Kenny, oh Ken!, aka High beef or Ken Lowham..... now if ever there was a man who should have been in a boyband it is Ken this man should never have played rugby he was always too pretty someone throw a photo up for the world to see!

Sometimes a team mate has a skill they understand so well that everyone falls for it, the David Cantley side step for example, distribution of a rugby ball is a real skill, picking out the right player in the right space with that perfectly timed perfectly weighted pass Shane Sloan as a junior must have been one of the best in the world amazing kicker too. Steve Bissett in rugby league also had that gift, Steve was incidentally also a cross code rugby player but i never saw him play union.

The final team I played rugby for was Boroughmuir RFC. I played with some world class players many of whom went on to and some continue to have pro contracts, International careers and even a Lion in our midst. In my time at the club Boroughmuir was extremely successful. In one year the team won an unprecedented 1st 2nd and 3rd 15 championship's. I suffered many injuries later on in my career, I remember playing with niggles all the time. Along injury induced breaks from rugby I rekindled mountain biking as a way of keeping fit without weight bearing. Spending long periods on a bike can be exhilarating exhausting or introspective giving you time to think about your physical future.

I had many reasons to keep playing rugby but ultimately I decided to give it up. I thought I would play in the odd 7's tournament or touch rugby but quickly knew that would not enough for me. The injuries played a big part in my decision to illustrate i have listed a few bellow.

Injuries: Which included scaphoid fractures in both my wrists, a dislocated shoulder, fracture dislocation of my ankle, rib fractures, torn ligaments in both ankles, torn quadriceps and hamstring muscles. Of course you have the usual cuts bruises, raking (when caught on the wrong side of a breakdown the opposition players take great delight in informing you of your error by using their studs to remove you from the 'play of the ball'). The final indignity of being raked is that despite bleeding stud marks across your back or legs you usually also end up giving away a penalty!

Other factors that came into play for me where my career as a Radiographer working funny shifts.
Another was the semi pro culture with a complete lack of transparency in what was supposed to be an amateur level at my last club. People who are helped financially good for them but lets be open about it. I played with Gateshead thunder rugby league and the honestly and openness regarding pay was refreshingly apparent. Yes people were paid different amounts but everyone who played was paid. No one who steps onto a rugby pitch has less physically to lose than anyone else. Yes people’s ability differ greatly but if you pay one person on the team in my opinion it is incumbent upon you to pay the whole team. At the very least you have to be transparent about the pay structure within the club, give people incentives, give them the opportunity to also get paid. It should never be a closed book every player should be valued.

I was unable to play rugby just for fun....... I associated rugby with a pursuit of excellence and could not abide to know I risked serious injury just for fun. When I was training hard and actively looking at all aspects of the game to get better at I found rugby very fulfilling. When I stopped actively trying to get better at rugby, I found playing the game lost its spark. I felt like I had bashed my body about pretty hard for quite a long time and also began to think about my future and what sort of physical condition I wanted to be in. Time for me to cash in my chips. The sign off.... Incidentally for those still fighting the good fight good on you hope your body is holding up...... its not? still love playing the game? Try yoga to help.

Quitting rugby was losing much more than a game, I lost some of my identity, lost some of the friendships, the community and the competition. The cliche regarding sport is that Iron sharpens Iron I now know that to be true in my life. If there is one lesson I learnt from rugby it is to surround yourself with people that inspire you and always make sure you contribute to the group cause.

It's been an amazing few weeks for British sport. Andy Murray with his nail biting triumph, Chris Froome winning the 100th edition of the Tour de France supported by a decimated team and Mickleson's triumph at the OPEN. We can identify in some however small a way because most people have taken a swing at a golf ball at some point or ridden a bicycle. As a spectacle its fantastic but beyond that the power for that sport to inspire people to have healthier lives is pretty amazing. I could babble on but I won't.

Ultimately I have no regrets. I have too many people to thank for the many experiences I have had within rugby. If I could go back to the 14 year old Peter I would advise him to drink less, stretch more and be a good example to others. I give myself the same advice today.

Much love as always
Pete