Rugby - It's only a game

This is an offshoot of my Travels with Dinno strand. Last weekend Dinno took on Old Brodleians. This is a team I know well having come up against them a number of times over the years. For the record the result was a loss for Dinno 19 - 31. The first team were up 14 - 5 at half time I think. In the second half the development team with the boy at stand off came on and were blitzed by the aggressive pack play of Brods. This was something I had mentioned to the coaches before the game.

The development team were simply not able to get the ball moving and on the occasions when passes were made they were not taken.  The reason that I am not adding this post to the Travels With Dinno slot is that it has taken me a week to calm down enough to write this post. If I had written it last weekend I would have been less than complimentary to a lot of people. In particular I don't like criticising coaches because I have done it myself.

These are two u13s sides. It is not the deciding match of the Rugby World Cup. In the scheme of things it does not matter. So I would be grateful if there are any readers out there who can explain why it is acceptable for a kid to be left in tears because  his coach and team mates blame him personally for the defeat.

My lad is an intelligent and sensitive lad who loves his rugby. He plays that way as well and always has. It is equally frustrating and brilliant. He and most of the development team were pulled off as Brods took control. The boy had tried passing to people but every time he did they dropped the ball so he took the decision to try and drive things himself by running the ball. Unfortunately what had worked against Scunthorpe didn't work against Brods.

The boy has played stand off half a dozen times and is still learning the role. He needs support and encouragement not to be taken to one side by a coach and being told it was his fault for not passing the ball. Perhaps if the coaches trained the development players better at catching the ball for a while. The development team that went out that day was not the one that has done so well this season.

It also does not speak well of the welcoming nature of the club that your team mates then pile and in blame you as well. I have been made to feel very welcome since coming back down south. My lad has not settled and his fellow players have not really made him feel very welcome some of the time. At times he feels like an outcast.

If you are a coach of junior or mini rugby I urge you to try and encourage your players. Be aware that not everybody is happy and doesn't feel part of things. Also don't make statements that are not then backed up because you end up with a situation that players don't believe you.

So to those people who may have wondered where I had gone this is my explanation. To those who helped the boy and got in touch with me a huge thank you. You know who you are.

Rant over and hopefully normal service will be resumed soon with the boy back and enjoying his rugby.

The festive season and Travels with Dinno 2013: Scunthorpe

Well greetings from the Costa del Worksop. The weather in these last few weeks since my last post has been a balmy barely getting into single figures and the heatwave is set to continue into the weekend.

My daily sojourns to work in Sutton In Ashfield, cultural hub of Nottinghamshire, have been interrupted by rain, floods, vanilla drivers[1], the festive season, a lethal dose of flu and work.  I survived the festive season by entering that state of my being known as ‘grumpy old bastard’.

Despite my illness I cooked and entertained over two weekends and also survived the annual visit to the in laws and the reactions to various seasonal offerings.

Due to the weather rugby finished early and due to the illness the planned visit to the club on Boxing Day was shelved.

Last weekend I revisited a place I have not been for probably 13 years. The club’s first fixture of 2013 was in ‘sunny Scunny’. Well if we are being strictly accurate ‘misty, cold Scunthorpe’.  I used to visit the place a couple of times each year when my sister was in Irish dancing tournaments every weekend. I have always visited it either in the dark or on a train and so this visit was a new experience, actually visiting for something I enjoyed. My previous visit was for business purposes. I attended a business conference where the person delivering it said that ‘If your friends don’t support your business get rid of them and get some new ones.’ Shortly after this revelatory conference I decided where they could stick the business.

In this life you will encounter many people a few of whom will become friends. Of these, a handful will become true friends who may not always agree with you but will be there for you. I decided that these people were more important to me than wealth, which was by no means guaranteed.

Anyway back to the rugby. The journey up the motorways was relatively uneventful, apart from the police car at the entry to the M180 and the unmarked police car a few miles further on which had pulled over a motorist. The weather drifted from beautiful sunshine right through to full blown mirk.

Scunthorpe have a nice little set up. The clubhouse is well maintained and the pitches had held up well in the weather. I was missing the staff and bell around my neck. The gentle banter of the Dinno parents was a joy as I announced that I was recovering from flu.

The match started with the development team. The boy was at fly half again. The game started at a fast pace and quickly Dinno started to dominate with strong passing and driving runs. We soon went 7-0 up with a try from Olly and a conversion from Will (I think). The referee was praised because he clearly explained his decisions to the players even if those decisions left the spectating parents somewhat baffled at times. The development team maintained their style of play but were unable to make another breakthrough and Scunthorpe despite their pack appearing to tire early on managed to get the ball out to their backs who had plenty in the tank.

The development team lack the devastating pace of some of the first XV and so could not catch their opposition. That being said they played rugby in the right way. At half time the score was 15-7 to Scunthorpe. In the second half the first XV turned things around and the score finished 38-20 to Dinno. 

Normally I would go into detail about scorers etc but I didn’t keep a track of what was happening. I would also normally comment on the refreshments available at the club but due to the delicate state of my constitution I didn’t sample the delights on offer, maybe next time.

The weekly awards went to Kieran, Jake, Ben and, much to my surprise, the boy. He seems to have taken to the position of fly half and he at least went home happy. I remarked to the coach before I knew this that he had come off and for the first time had had no complaints[2].

The boy is starting to settle within the team and is starting to enjoy his rugby more. He now has a rowing machine to train on and is at least thinking about his fitness.

Weather permitting this weekend we are against Old Brods a blast from the Huddersfield days. They like to grind out the results through the pack and if you don’t try and blast down the middle and use width you should beat them.

See you beside a rugby pitch soon.

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[1] Drivers who are physically incapable of driving at any speed other than 40mph

[2] The boy has a tendency to overanalyse his performance and that of his teams and be a bit hypercritical. We are trying to get him to lighten up a bit but he is a teenager and so there is little danger of that.