London Fixed-gear and Single-speed SJS Cycles

I might do, bit of a treck from Highgate though.

Am playing (well training) rugby tomorrow, for only the second time in ten years. We are trying to put together a rugby team in Sunnmøre, on the west coast of Norway. Its all a bit mad really, as despite having only 9 or 10 players so far, we have already made the local paper, and there is a photogragher coming tomorrow.

The comments section, of the online article, is full of negative comments regarding how dangerous it is. I am currently biting my lip trying not to post HTFU in big red letters.

tube to brixton, P4 from brixton to right outside the club

I think there are blatantly obvious reminders today that show that we can't be 100% invincible whatever we do. If you want to do something you love, do it, so long as it's not hurting anyone else (oxymoron with rugby probably).

I've broken all my fingers and both my thumbs, at least once each.
Broken my nose twice.
Broken my big toe.
Dislocated my knee cap.
Had too many flesh wounds and strains to count and been knocked out cold a couple of times.

None of this has left me with recurring problems and wouldn't stop me playing.

Played properly by people who respect the game, rugby is one of the safest sports you can play.

Teaching kids the discipline of the game from a young age is key, I'm very lucky that I get to coach the U13's at the club from time to time, and watching their attitudes change when they've been taught by someone who plays the game at a respectable level, is very rewarding.

Anyone know if the Sevens are going to get any coverage? My buddy's out there for England at the moment, would love to watch him smash some granny as well as the 6 Nations.

Its on Sky

fuck yeah

@Stevo_com. There seems to be some talk of an inccident at a school of a kid nearly suffocating or something (no one posted any details), and that there has been no rugby played since. Sounds like bad refereeing around a colapsed scrum or maul to me (TBH I have no idea what happened). The term knee-jerk comes to mind.

Personally I cant wait to start playing again. Rugby is a fantastic sport, especially if I'm allowed to play flanker ;)

Ha, they let me do it once, back in the front row now :S

H&S brigade have a field day with things like that. We had a young fella knocked unconscious and he stopped breathing, air ambulance and everything. But instead of closing the club down, we got commended by the RFU for our actions, and were then one of the first to be given a defibrulator (SP?). I got my RFU First Aid cert. last week.

Yay!

@ stevo_com
lucky.
I'm not allowed contact sports anymore after surgery on ripped shoulder muscle. have to have 2nd one thanks to not listening to that advice and playing rugby.
No matter what though they wont stop me playing my favorite hurling.
Also had nose and fingers broken, and ruined a knee.

I fuckin hate Brain Moore, can't listen to him commentating

I agree. He makes me so angry. Nobody likes him. I always wonder why they don't just drown him or something.

I was born under a wandering star...

I'll make Jaygee write 100 lines "I always wonder..."

Agreed.. He's either ridiculously negative or blindly patriotic, there's no middle ground..

I met him once and he was actually a really nice bloke.

However, that was back in 1995, so he may be a bit bitter and twisted these days. And I do agree that his commentating is ridiculous.

+1 Best position bar none.

Flanker can be very fun.. I prefer 9/10 though

brian moore commentates in the same way he used to attempt to play rugby, boring and tedious. He speaks out against foul play, and infringements at the scrum/ruck or maul when he was on of the biggest purpetrators in the days when he played.
Less exciting is Guscott, and for that matter Hastings and Davies.....

got to say I really enjoyed the ireland france, game even though I was in a bar filled with women who were celebrating the engagement of their female friend to a friend of a friend of mine, what it lacked for in engagement and support was made up for by the fact that was watching a really exciting game, played by two teams who wanted to attack, rather than play tight through the forwards and kick over the odd penalty.

Can't see england doing much this season, and all I can see is a room full of old men getting rid of an attacking progressive coach (ashton) for the old local hero, with no experience coaching, but the cachet of having captained the country to their biggest win (johnson). Duly expect them to get turned over when they play france, wales and ireland.

if this weekend is anything to go by, well put 70 points on fatty goode & co.

@Welshman - I dunno about 70 points but you're certainly on for a win

If England would just give Tait and Geraghty a game I fear they might start opening things up a bit

Smug Welsh Prick.

Played (well trained) for the first time in ten years on Saturday. Great fun but playing in Norway is a bit of a PITA.

A) hardly any teams with more then a dozen players, means 10 or 7-a-side, means no flankers :(
B) Everybody is freakishly tall, which means I'm going to end up as hooker :S
C) It was -7C and we trained on astro turf, ouch :(

Still put a big grin on my face though.

its a rare thing to be able to be smug as a welshman. im milking it for all its worth.

although shane is touch and go for sat, which is bad news. he'll definately play either way though

I wil be gutted if shane isnt playing - boy is on fire at the moment

English boys did well in the 7's though - final was a great match

Tait needs some action, I agree.

I'm heading to Balham for the match on Saturday if anyones about? Failing that it might be the Alexandra at Clapham Common.

+1 that was epic.

Bloody hell though - what is all that plate / shield / bowl final stuff? Had me thoroughly confused.

Just means everyone gets a go at something and everyone plays more than 2-3 games per tournament..

Amazing.. Tindall back in, Worsley in for Steffon Armitage who (along with Foden and Geraghty) drops out of the match-day squad completely

When will England learn?

Nice to see I've got the last two posts here (I have become death, destroyer of threads)

Anyway, I am a happy bunny after last night's game.. High standard of rugby most of the way through and the deserving team won! Not to mention that this leaves Ireland on for a grand slam.. If we win today, it's ours to lose

today's gonna be a close one I feel.
Man I wish my exam was this week, instead of two weeks ago.
That'd've worked out amazingly (it was in Dublin).

Croke Park is quite something, especially as I'm a hurler/ football* player.

* if you know what I mean.

Man I miss contact sports. Fucking shoulder.

Last night was the best game of rugby I have seen for a long time. Epic. Lets see England put in a performance today. It will throw the tolement wide open if we win.

never actually played hurling myself but looks dangerous like fun..

Have had knock arounds with my brother but nothing that would actually compare..

Might pop down to the Irish fair thing that happens on peckham rye this summer and give gaelic football a go.. Seems like Aussies rules (which I have played) but with a more predictable bounce

damn those french.
Wales will be kicking themselves that they let that one slip. Two chances to get that try in the last five mins, even after they'd come out flat in the 2nd half and france had got them on the backfoot for what seemed like forever.
French played marvelously well, great great match, exciting from start to finish.
lets hope ireland england has half as much enterprise, but having seen england under martin johnson, looks like another match of keep it tight and kick the penalties.
If Ireland let this chance to put space between themselves and the rest of the six nations slip, and make giant strides to win the grand slam I'm not sure they'll ever forgive themselves...
if ireland do win, wales vs ireland will be a cracker

oh and wibble, your not killing the thread, your keeping it alive...

Its a lot less violent than Aussie rules, but with more subtleties.
Proper good fun.
Aussie rulers are nutters.

Hurling is just hours of madness, fastest ball sport in the world apparently.
So much fun, but when we had a team from the TCD we were destroyed, so don't know if i'd continue it if I get into Trinity.

I'll never forget the first injury I caused on someone else though- miss timed challenge, and split the back of the guys head open.
Violent, and legal, and accidental.
Its terrifying the first time a hurley breaks on your arm.


Edit:
Shit game so far.
I'm so bored I've got the laptop out.

god that england ireland game was turgid, not sure what was more dispiriting ireland not having the ambition to give england a true kicking, ronan o'gara having a complete mare, and ireland not having anyone else to bring on at fly half, or both teams inability to do more than punt the ball to each other for most of the match.
such a let down after the france wales game.
and with france being on such a high I worry for england when they play them, if france can get any sort of half back play they should cut through england.

on an england note, why do they still continue to play harry ellis at scrum half, he never seems to deliver quick ball, always slowing it down, looking over the top, pausing, pausing, and then producing a box kick, despite the petulant danny care getting sin binned he seemed to get the ball moving out of the ruck much quicker, though not sure he'll be in the squad, let along the starting 15 for england come the next match...

oh and where did france find Mathieu Bastareaud, he's a big old piece of centre, 17 1/2 stone, quick, good hands, and able to run over forwards... england watch out...

Ellis is better than Dany Cair who takes a few steps before the pass alowing the oposition to close down the England back likemand taking all pace out of the England attack.

we'll discuss this before the cup final gotti, but does taking as few steps before the pass, slow it down as much as getting to the ruck, and waiting, waiting, looking over the top, looking over the top then kicking it anyway...

it may be ellis was told to play that way to try and control the game, but just felt like he was so much slower and deliberate than he needed to be, care seemed to inject some pace into the attack when he came on, though that may have been because the game had broken down at that point in time and england were scrambling to try and score points..

As you say, it was a tight and turgid game yesterday evening but I wasn't particularly surprised with that.. England have a point to prove and Ireland never sit well with expectation. England were in there trying to spoil every breakdown and Ireland were desperately trying not to lose!

I too worry for England but I can't help but see that game as an improvement (although not necessarily in discipline). As for Harry Ellis, he may not get the ball out as quickly as others but he presents a threat around the flanks of the breakdown that a lot of other scrum-halves don't (Care actually does too and that's why I'd pick him 1st choice).. I just hope Martin Johnson saw the way Mat Tait played when he came on, he's got to be challenging for a starting place now

A few years ago I saw Bastareaud playing in the U20s world cup (and he's 20 now, a full year younger than me!) and he absolutely destroyed everyone that came before him.. He really was a different class back then, unfortunately for him the rest of the French team weren't quite living up to his standards.. He was actually playing in the competition at the same time as people like Danny Care, James Hook, Cipriani and a few other recognisable names in the premiership..

I think waiting before the pass is better, the ball seems slower (and is slow ball wich is not good) but while the ball is in the ruck the oposition have to stay on side and cant close on the england back line. As soon as Care get the ball out and runs sideways the oposition can start closing down stopping the attack and pushing us back.

Tait needs to start, I agree.

England are so ill-disciplined it's ridiculous. They're playing top level rugby and some still insist on handling on the floor, getting involved in handbags on the fringe and generally doing stuff you do at schoolboy level. There are guys on the bench gagging for a shot and instead you've got the likes of Vickery f-king about and then questioning and complaining when the ref blows up.

Another point, body positions at the point of contact, pretty much vertical "rugby league" style. I know everyone is trying to bring in the south pacific crossfield kicks and quick hands/offload in the tackle style; and going in like that does lend itself to the theory, but the fact of the matter is if you haven't perfected it and you come up against a big tackler, you're going to get ruined. Thank god Brian Lima isn't Irish, half of England would be dead. You either make a run or get your head down, pass the gain line and recycle, job done.

It's seriously school boy stuff. The first quarter alone of Wales/France was more exciting than the entire England/Ireland.

Wow, Rugby in Sunnmøre I can't get the idea straight in the head. i worked in Aalesund / Langevag 30+ years ago and trying to get anyone to play sport in the winter and outside was a waste. ran out with my 16 year old teams to train for football in snow and the buggers had on 4 layers of clothing under their footie gear. Being northern male ( UK0 I was in ref's jersey, shorts and socks with boots running on ally studs. They lasted 3 minutes and ran inside for a sauna! 1-O to the UK. Good luck playing rugby but I can't imagine Sunnmøresposten running a separate sports column on it.

I know it's another week away but just remember alternative rugby commentary and thought I share a kiwi's views on France

wibble that is classic, "someone loses a testicle"
superb..

Anybody on here played 10s rugby?
Apparantly its quite common in countries which play little rugby (ie. Norway, were I am).
I've played both 7s and 15s, but havent even seen a 10s match let alone played in one. I'm off to a tournament at the end of the month, which will probably be a 10s affair (lack of players).
Any tips?

I have played 10s before.. You will have 5 forwards and 5 backs (so full front row and second row with a scrum-half, fly-half and three more outside backs)

It's more like a 15-a-side than 7s in my experience but it will still be relatively quick and exciting.. As with 7s though it's possession that will win it for you so try to keep the ball, don't run off on your own.. Enjoy!

Sounds good. Cheers