Posts tagged with "rugby"
Friday, 16. November 2007, 11:08:00
Llanelli, Ray Gravell, Wales, rugby
Gravs was a rugby player for Llanelli and Wales. He died on October 31st.
He was a good, if not great, player. He played during Wales’s last Golden Era, was in the Llanelli team that beat the New Zealand All Blacks in 1972 (the only club side ever to do so), and later he became President of Llanelli RFC.
His funeral took place yesterday. There was not a church in Wales big enough to hold the congregation. So they held it at Llanelli’s home ground, Stradey Park.
Ten thousand people came to pay their respects. Three television channels covered the funeral live. BBC Radio 4’s Today programme dedicated ‘Thought for the Day’ to him this morning.
All this for a retired sportsman? Gravs was much more; he was a proud, passionate Welshman, commentating for S4C after he retired from the game, using his natural friendliness and ebullience to win hearts and minds all over the country.
He became a national icon. You can’t manufacture that. He was a genuinely nice man who finished first. So it can be done.
Close readers of ‘The Encyclopaedia of Fonts’ will have noticed that the author’s bio finishes with “He has spent six months of his life at the Frankfurt Book Fair, and to his eternal regret has never scored a try for Llanelli or Wales.”
Gravs did.
Ffarwel, Ray.
Monday, 19. March 2007, 12:12:57
6 Nations Championship, rugby
Wales beat England, who beat France, who beat Ireland, who beat Italy, who beat Scotland, who beat Wales, who beat England, who beat France, who beat Ireland, who beat Italy, who beat Scotland, who beat Wales, who beat England, who beat France, who beat Ireland, who beat Italy, who beat Scotland, who beat Wales, who beat England, who beat France, who beat Ireland, who beat Italy, who beat Scotland, who beat Wales, who beat England, who beat France, who beat Ireland, who beat Italy, who beat Scotland, who beat Wales, who beat England, who beat France, who beat Ireland, who beat Italy, who beat Scotland, who beat Wales, who beat England, who beat France, who beat Ireland, who beat Italy, who beat Scotland, who beat Wales, who beat England, who beat France, who beat Ireland, who beat Italy, who beat Scotland, who beat Wales, who beat England, who beat France, who beat Ireland, who beat Italy, who beat Scotland, who beat Wales, who beat England, who beat France, who beat Ireland, who beat Italy, who beat Scotland, who beat Wales, who beat England, who beat France, who beat Ireland, who beat Italy, who beat Scotland, who beat Wales, who beat England … you get the picture?
Sunday, 2. July 2006, 12:39:38
selling photos, stock agency, stock agencies, picture library
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It's not been a great summer for British sport. I'm not a soccer fan -- I'm not even English -- but I felt really miserable when Portugal beat England in the World Cup last night in a penalty shoot-out.
I even felt depressed when I woke this morning, not really knowing why, till I remembered that England had been knocked out of the World Cup. I was hoping they'd win, and I really thought they had a good chance this year. Not to be. I'm sorry for them.
As I said, I'm not much of a soccer fan, I prefer rugby and cricket. So how have we done in the last month?
Here's how we did in June:
RUGBY
Wales lost to Argentina
Wales lost to Argentina
England lost to Australia
England lost to Australia
Ireland lost to Australia
Ireland lost to New Zealand
Ireland lost to New Zealand
Scotland lost to South Africa
Scotland lost to South Africa
CRICKET
England lost to Sri Lanka
England lost to Sri Lanka
England lost to Sri Lanka
England lost to Sri Lanka
England lost to Sri Lanka
FORMULA ONE
Jenson Button didn't win a Grand Prix
Hmm. Are our heads held high? Of course they are! At least the winning F1 Renaults are built in Oxfordshire, and Andy Murray, that obnoxious little Scotsman, hammered Andy Roddick at Wimbledon yesterday and all Britain cheered.
Today being Sunday, there's no Wimbledon. So I'm showing off a couple of cracking tennis pictures to fill the gap, from fotoLibra member Mark Gillett.
Look at this amazing shot of the ball captured just as it balloons against the racquet strings -- great stuff!
And as tennis actually interests me about as much as soccer, here's a shot of Maria Sharapova's legs. It makes watching the game just bearable.
Gillett has some wonderful tennis shots on the fotoLibra site; you can see them
here.
Sunday, 9. April 2006, 22:07:15
rugby, Llanelli, Wasps
That’s the last Powergen rugby Cup Final. And my team, the passionate Scarlets, lost to the so-called ‘London’ Wasps (they’re based in High Wycombe, about 30 miles outside London). Anyway, population of London, 7,200,000. Population of Llanelli, 72,000. Fair play.
Two nasty injuries marred the first half, and despite Wasps having a player sin-binned they scored a try to level the scores. It’s not supposed to work that way, guys.
It poured with rain in the second half and Wasps accelerated past my boys to wreak a deserved win.
What if we’d had Dwayne Peel, the world’s best scrum-half, and Stephen Jones, one of the finest fly-halves, on the field? Well, Peel is injured and Jones doesn’t join the club till the autumn. So what if, what if, what if. We lost. The Australo-American Mike Hercus did his best but he missed two kickable penalties and threw away a clear try opportunity, surprised at having created a wonderful break himself.
Incidentally the retiring competition sponsors Powergen opened a subsidiary in Italy, but couldn’t understand the massive traffic on their servers, whose domain name was Powergenitalia.com. Sadly we are no longer allowed to see the site.
Sunday, 19. March 2006, 19:49:48
rugby, six nations
That’s it for this year then. Wales, Grand Slam Champions last year, lost to France at home and ended up fifth.
France 8 points and the Championship
Ireland 8 points and the Triple Crown (well played lads)
Scotland 6 points (brilliant wins over France and England)
England 4 points (worse than expected)
Wales 3 points (terrible)
Italy 1 point (scared everyone and becoming a force to be reckoned with)
I feel a bit rough.
Sunday, 12. March 2006, 18:55:41
rugby, six nations
Another weekend of gloom is over. Wales with a pathetic display against Italy, so I’m miserable, and England stuffed by the French, so Von is miserable.
It causes so much pain, I do not know why on earth we still watch it. Next weekend will be even worse; three matches in the trot on Saturday afternoon.
Now that’s just stupid. Instead of cramming them all in at once, why can’t they be spread out over the rugby season?
Here’s my proposed calendar for next year. It’s pure fantasy of course, because the fixtures have been scheduled years ago by the accountants, lawyers and brand managers. But what a dream this would be. The two bottom nations from the previous season would play each other on the first Saturday, and the top two countries on the final Saturday. So assuming this year’s table ends as follows:
Then the calendar could look like this:
- Jan 28: England / Scotland
- Feb 25: Scotland / Ireland
- Mar 25: Ireland / England
What a feast, and what a treat to look forward to every weekend! Clubs only have to release their players every other weekend, loads of publicity, passionate support, tension, massive anticipation …
Will it happen?
Nah.
Saturday, 11. March 2006, 18:15:08
six nations, Wales, rugby, picture libraries
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Wales 18, Italy 18.
The first away points ever taken by Italy in the Six Nations. Congratulations and well played to Italy.
Wales, what were you doing? We should have annihilated them!
No direction, no fire, no passion, no brio – sorry, brio is an Italian word. Hwyl is what we lacked.
I shall go to the return match in Rome next season with a bunch of English pals.
They will be happy whatever.
Whatever.
Saturday, 11. March 2006, 12:57:58
picture libraries, picture library, rugby, Wales
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It may not stir the rest of the world to heights of passion, but in 35 minutes I’ll be a sprouting couch potato. The beers are already set up – Warsteiner and Young’s London Ale – as is the cottage cheese with spring onions and red chillies with smoked paprika, purveyed to the gob with hula hoops, plus the Tomme de Savoie from La Fromagerie (posh or what?) – is this a rugby match, a carbfest or just another ritual?
I only do this during rugby internationals. And this will be one of the least important games of the season, two teams contending for the Wooden Spoon. And last year my beloved Wales were Grand Slam Champions.
This year we have been pulverized by England and Ireland, scraped a win against a 14 man Scotland after Scott Murray was wrongly sent off, and we sacked our Grand Slam winning coach.
The Scots player Murray could possibly have deserved ten minutes in the sin bin for flailing out (and not connecting). Being sent off was far too harsh a punishment. And as you might have guessed, I’m a Welshman.
We have to win against Italy, so far the weakest side in the Six Nations. But I am not at all sure that we will. They have nothing to lose, and their tails are up. We are riven by dissension and despair. I am already on the edge of my seat. It’s not about rugby, it’s about national pride.
And beer.
The actor Richard Burton once said “Show a Welshman a hundred doors and he will pick the one marked ‘Self-Destruct’.”
WIDGETIZE