Who is still playing?

[Gloskarlos]

Pain is definitely the key. Those lads can drink too. double whammy the following morning.

[Mellsblue]

Aaahhh. The Sunday mornings spent vomiting with cracked ribs, how I miss them....

[Gloskarlos]

I'm wincing at the memory.

[Puja]

I had a moment last season where I caught and dumped one of the Fijians who was playing blindside. Next scrum, I attempted to pick and go down the blind from 8, but fumbled the ball slightly, resulting in my first three paces focussing on juggling the ball with arms outstretched and ribs open.

Safe to say, he got his revenge.

Puja

[Gloskarlos]

Ouch.

My 12 does like to pass the ball high - it's difficult to tense well enough for the impending doom when you are on tip toes....

Similarly - last season I was caught at the bottom of a ruck, somebodies leg underneath my chest when one of these lumps landed on top of us, cracking said ribs. To add insult to injury the boiler had broken in the changing rooms and the ice cold post game shower made me shiver so hard it was nearly as bad as sneezing.

[Puja]

Played my first game since Boxing Day today and the second one under the adapted laws (both intra-club matches). They take a bit of getting used to - no scrums (which is hard for someone a touch portly like me) and no mauls of any kind. If you go into contact, then you cannot drive through - once a second defender joins, you have to drop a knee to the ground or you'll get a penalty given against you for wilfully starting a maul. If the defence try and hold you up, then it's a penalty against them. Incredibly hard to get used to when you've spent years being taught to pump your legs in contact and try and get forward momentum.

I hurt in several places, but it was absolutely worth it - there's absolutely nothing like playing a good game of rugby. All the training in the world isn't the same as spotting an underresourced ruck and f*cking the opposition's sh*t up to turn the ball over. Plus, our club is currently home to a former international Pacific Islands back rower having a run out (who I won't name as he probably wants his privacy, but has youtube compilations with titles like "Beast Mode"). Carried into his tackle today and bounced him. Admittedly, it was probably a 50:50 bounce - he went to tackle me and I dropped my shoulder and we ended up bouncing off each other and neither going forward - but I'm still taking that as an absolute win.

Although my shoulder now really really hurts.

Puja

[Gloskarlos]

Awesome stuff.

I've not yet played under the new rules (versions of 'touch' only for the past year) but am coaching U13's who are playing the same. They've adapted well, but have been running uncontested scrums until now anyway, so no great departure. We also coach them to ruck rather than maul as mostly mauls result in a turnover, so again the adaptation wasn't too arduous. What I absolutely hated was the interim Ready4Rugby version the RFU put out. Stupid game that was. OK for fitness, but so little structure I think it actually undid some of the good coaching we had previously passed on.

[Puja]

Awesome stuff.

I've not yet played under the new rules (versions of 'touch' only for the past year) but am coaching U13's who are playing the same. They've adapted well, but have been running uncontested scrums until now anyway, so no great departure. We also coach them to ruck rather than maul as mostly mauls result in a turnover, so again the adaptation wasn't too arduous. What I absolutely hated was the interim Ready4Rugby version the RFU put out. Stupid game that was. OK for fitness, but so little structure I think it actually undid some of the good coaching we had previously passed on.

Oh gods yes. Throw the ball above your head, catch it, then offload? What the sh*t was that all about?

Puja

[Gloskarlos]

And after you had been touched twice.... so you needed one guy to break through - race to the try line having been touched once and then pass to anyone fit enough to keep up with them to score. Reset, and repeat. Beyond tedious.

[Mellsblue]

Yep. If it taught you anything it was scramble defence and to support the man after a line break, but there’s only so many times you want to practise that in one match.

[Mr Mwenda]

So, I've signed up for an old boys game and was thinking of going to training to Tuesday to check the body before backing out becomes too embarrassing. I've a bad feeling about this...

[Puja]

So, I've signed up for an old boys game and was thinking of going to training to Tuesday to check the body before backing out becomes too embarrassing. I've a bad feeling about this...

YES! Excellent decision Mwenda - everyone needs to be playing more!

Puja

[Which Tyler]

Here's one. I stopped playing a few years ago. The birth of young master Mwenda meant I didn't feel I could commit to rugby (1 hour drive to training and home matches, 3+ hours to away games here in Sweden). However, a secondary factor was increasing concern with head injuries. Every game I'd get clonked on the head at least once and experience light-headedness. This had been occuring for the last few years of play. Often this would stay for a while and I'd often be angry or crabby with my family. So I thought it was best to stop.

Fast forward to now and I now live in the town with the rugby club. I'm still in touch with my teammates and missing playing something rotten. So I start doing the preseason fitness and it's fun and I think I'll play a few games this year and train. I then play some ice hockey with my son and since I'm English I go flying a few times. I don't hit my head but the whiplash falling onto my back causes the light-headedness and irritability. This really depresses me as it wasn't a big fall or anything, just going arse over tit. I just don't want to be a cunt to my family.

So I've decided not to play this year. I've told myself that I haven't retired because I want to play one more time for my hometown club in England to complete the circle. However, is there any way of finding out if there is anything behind the symptoms nor if I'm just overly cautious/oversensitive/soft? I know there are some people with medical knowledge here. Posting here. Engaging with the Swedish medical system is battle of persistence at the best of times so I don't fancy trying during the pandemic.

Erm... How are your symptoms?

Does walking rugby count as "Still Playing" - if so, I've recently returned to playing; despite being incapable of running, or jumping off my right; and not being able to risk further injuries due to work.
I've been doing it also. Not quite as sedate as on the video. Really enjoying it.

How's it going?

[Mr Mwenda]

Much the same, to be honest. This is a very important point. I've largely avoided any head knocks since the ice hockey season, although I bumped my head during the summer and didn't note any effects. My thinking was to try to ease my way in. There is also decent chance that the game won't be full contact.

[Mr Mwenda]

Stupid I known. I've been training the minis and being down the club is tough, watching the lads training. 50th anniversary day as well... Now I have my doubts.

[Puja]

Much the same, to be honest. This is a very important point. I've largely avoided any head knocks since the ice hockey season, although I bumped my head during the summer and didn't note any effects. My thinking was to try to ease my way in. There is also decent chance that the game won't be full contact.

I had forgotten about the head knocks - I retract my previous unqualified enthusiasm and insert a "Do be careful with yourself" (quoth the hypocrite).

Plus, our club is currently home to a former international Pacific Islands back rower having a run out (who I won't name as he probably wants his privacy, but has youtube compilations with titles like "Beast Mode"). Carried into his tackle today and bounced him. Admittedly, it was probably a 50:50 bounce - he went to tackle me and I dropped my shoulder and we ended up bouncing off each other and neither going forward - but I'm still taking that as an absolute win.

Although my shoulder now really really hurts.

As an update on this, I found that the game had been videoed and pored over the footage trying to find this moment so I could save it for posterity. Unfortunately, even with a shitty camcorder and from across the field, you can quite clearly see him: see me coming, debate whether to end me, patently think, "Nah, that'd be a bit mean," and decide to put in just enough to knock me down instead.

So, I did technically bounce an ex-regular PI international, but only when he accidentally took too much pity on me and didn't put quite enough force into it to put me down. I surprised him, let's go with that!

Puja

[Mr Mwenda]

Survived training, no head knocks and a few tackles made. Still not the most unfit in the club, still the lightest men's player....

[Puja]

Survived training, no head knocks and a few tackles made. Still not the most unfit in the club, still the lightest men's player....

Good work! Still planning on the vets game?


I have somehow been roped into turning out for the 2nd XV in a preseason game this evening, playing hooker for the first time for 2 years as well. Might be painful.

Evening matches on a weekday are unnatural. I'm so used to the routine of Saturday matches - get up, eat many-egged breakfast, take banana and raisins to clubhouse, etc - and I have to deliberately arrange my whole day around a 7.15pm kickoff so that I'm not left at 5.30pm realising I haven't eaten and it's now too late to do so unless I want to see it again later.

Puja

[Which Tyler]

I have somehow been roped into turning out for the 2nd XV in a preseason game this evening, playing hooker for the first time for 2 years as well. Might be painful.

Evening matches on a weekday are unnatural. I'm so used to the routine of Saturday matches - get up, eat many-egged breakfast, take banana and raisins to clubhouse, etc - and I have to deliberately arrange my whole day around a 7.15pm kickoff so that I'm not left at 5.30pm realising I haven't eaten and it's now too late to do so unless I want to see it again later.

Puja

Good luck.
You're going to be fun to be around tomorrow!

[Mr Mwenda]

Survived training, no head knocks and a few tackles made. Still not the most unfit in the club, still the lightest men's player....

Good work! Still planning on the vets game?

That's the plan! Bloody hell it's addictive and I fear there is a risk I may end up drafted into the bench for the men's team if they end up short...

[Puja]

Survived training, no head knocks and a few tackles made. Still not the most unfit in the club, still the lightest men's player....

Good work! Still planning on the vets game?

That's the plan! Bloody hell it's addictive and I fear there is a risk I may will definitely end up drafted into the bench for the men's team if when they end up short...

FTFY.

Puja

[Mr Mwenda]

Good work! Still planning on the vets game?

That's the plan! Bloody hell it's addictive and I fear there is a risk I may will definitely end up drafted into the bench for the men's team if when they end up short...

FTFY.

Puja

My hope is by then I will too much ale in me to stand up, thus defeating them. The risk is it will simply encourage my worst instincts.

[Which Tyler]

That's the plan! Bloody hell it's addictive and I fear there is a risk I may will definitely end up drafted into the bench for the men's team if when they end up short...

Be fair; there's a reasonable chance he's drafted straight into the starting XV

[Puja]

Well, we lost and I was shite. Kept finding myself just in the wrong position to actually be close enough to make an impact - I literally didn't make a carry nor make a tackle. Lineout went to hell early - we came to a huddle for the first one and it was called to the front, so I went off to get ready to throw in and they then changed their mind after I'd gone! Fucked up that one and it all went to pieces from there.

Got subbed 45 minutes in and came off the field not even feeling tired - not cause of any fitness, but because I'd just failed so thoroughly to make any kind of an impact.

All things told, not a good use of an evening.

Puja

[Mr Mwenda]

Survived. Ended up playing 40 minutes for Gothenburg, since inviting all the club's in the west produced ten opponents and only 5 other old boys showed up. It reminded me why Swedish rugby ain't worth it. It was fun, though. Close with one try in it. I had a few dabs so was happy. Got absolutely monkied in the evening but showed my maturity by walking rather than cycling home. No need for more rugby for a bit.