A day of sunshine and a tear

Watching a rugby match when the temperatures are in the late 20's doesn't seem right. I'm not complaining though...far from it...

It was glorious this afternoon in the sunshine having an ice cold drink with Frankie and Sally as we watched the guys run themselves ragged  round the pitch.

But there's something about heat and rugby which seems out of kilter here in the Northern Hemisphere. For decades, I've been used to wearing layer upon layer of clothes, looking like a michelin man as I've supported both my sons as they played.

I've shouted myself hoarse in the biting winds, the freezing cold, the lashing rain....stamped my feet to keep warm and and watched my fingers go blue in grounds all over the UK and Europe watching my sons play....so today, it seemed odd.

And strange too to be fighting back a tear or two on such a beautiful day....but I was. My eldest son wasn't playing today....he's now the backs coach for all the teams in his local club.

He's not playing because within the last four months he's had two operations on his knee. He's had bone grafted from his tibia, muscle from his hamstring to fashion a new cruciate ligament. It's the second time he's had this operation.

It's three weeks since the last operation and so he's still limping, but this week he's managing without crutches.

He's walking, but he won't be able to play rugby again...if he does, he could be in a wheelchair in ten years time. It's hit my son hard. He's loved the game since he was eight years old...it's taken him around the world playing to quite a high level. But not now.

I was there when the incident happened in November - there's more here
http://thinkingofthedays.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/days-when-what-goes-around-comes-around.html

 I also wondered how that player is enjoying his new rugby season ,and if he's changed his method of play from last year.

So that's why there was a tear or two today....not for me, for my son,  while I watched him with pride as he urged his team on - from the sidelines.

He's had quite a few knocks over the last few years, not just on the rugby pitch either - and this is the song he sings ,as he faces the next challenge...

It's "That's Life "by Frank Sinatra.....

rugby days

I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted.
I've spent a weekend watching rugby -one game having a slightly more higher profile than the other though.....

Yesterday's game was in Leicestershire where my elder son won man of the match scoring 17 points. Standing on the sidelines, squinting in the sunshine and feeling elated as he ran and scored a try, feeling frightened as I saw him at the bottom of heap of tangled bodies on the ground....and relieved at the end when he came off the pitch without being injured.

Being a rugby mum isn't easy - that queasy feeling of anticipation, pride and worry never goes away no matter how many matches I watch my son play.

Watching the Rugby world cup over the last few months has been a completely different ball game altogether.Sitting in front of the telly cheering on England , shouting at the referee ,jumping up for joy when we scored. screaming in frustration when we lost...it's been addictive but relatively pain free.

And this morning , it's been a joy to watch New Zealand play France .There's been blood,guts and a primeval pleasure watching thirty athletes at their physical peak ,who are primed and pumped for 80 minutes of gladatorial action.
Running , tackling , rucking, mauling ,these are what I call real men....not the poncy metrosexuals who waft around a pitch for 90 minutes chasing a round ball, who cry and throw themselves on the ground when another player comes near.

Quite a few of my friends are now converts to the more beautiful game - and it's the men who've converted them. Their pecs and abs defined in the tight fitting rugby shirts , their height,strength ,power and sheer physicality
are attracting my friends' attention - no matter what team they play for.
The French team may have lost this morning,but in a quick straw poll amongst the girls, the French were fitter in more ways than one.(Rougerie,Dusatoir and Szarzewski warranting special attention).

The world cup is over for another four years, but in the meantime I think I can persuade my friends to start coming down to watch the Leicester Tigers with me at Welford Road. A superb rugby team, who'll supply enough drama, testosterone and players in their prime of physical perfection to keep them entertained until 2015.

Today's soundtrack has to be Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple -an old song but it gets me going as the Tigers come out onto the pitch at every home game.