Stewarding at England Training at Twickers
I became very excited when I was asked to steward the special training session and immediately said YES. It is one of the first events to celebrate the Centenary year of Twickenham Stadium.
Before the public were allowed to come in some of the players had arrived and were doing PR shots at various points around the pitch. This was my first glimpse of day of Jonny…bless him. Various players arrived for the training in a very relaxed mood and stopped to chat with us. They all couldn’t wait for the season to start, particularly Riki Flutey and Lee Mears.
Once the public came in we were on duty and on hand to help with questions. Many of the kids were excited. Eventually the training started which lasted about an hour. The players went through various ball handling drills and wrestling drills for the ball. The players involved were a combination of Saxons and the Senior squad, minus the few that were injured. Eventually they went into a little game which got more response from the crowd of just under 10,000 all in the west stand.
Then the fun really began - the capped autographing session started. Each player was given a pen and off they went – some started at one end of the west stand and some at the other. Many of the players were overwhelmed by the sheer numbers. After several blocks worth of signing, players’ pens began to run out, which is where I came in. I was able to run up and down the side of the pitch to obtain new pens. Eventually Stefan Armitage wanted water, so again back up the pitch to ask for bottles of water to be brought out to the team. The autographing last an hour and a half – some of the players had writers’ cramp – bless ‘em. I was amazed at how many England Players there were – lovely flow of blue coloured jersey’s going up and down the west stand. Some of the more dedicated players stayed after the allocated time too – the likes of Joe Worsley, Simon Shaw and Mike Tindall.
Jonny started signing much later than the rest of the players and there were still so many fans waiting for him at the end of capped session. Jonny decided to stay an extra hour to get round all his fans. He only got half way when his team manager said that he had go to catch his flight…Jonny was totally adamant that he was staying ‘til he got to the end of the line (much to the team manager’s annoyance – but Jonny being Jonny did not want to let his fans down – delayed his flight – what a sweetie!)….fans waited patiently for him…and they got their wish. Us stewards (or rather the female ones also got their wish….). South of France must be agreeing with him – he is very (sickeningly) tanned.
A brill day was had by all - fans, players and stewards.
Debs (A very happy Steward..)
June 08
So much rugby has been played since I last blogged - where to start. England had a mixed 6 nations, amazingly coming second - a storming match against France and also beating Ireland (which I enjoyed stewarding) and Italy but some terrible matches against Wales and Scotland - won't delve too much into them.
Premiership saw much better matches, particularly towards the end of the season, as the play-off positions were decided - London Irish, Saracens, Leicester and Harlequins all battling it out for 4th place. Stewarded the last home game for Quins - against Sale - it was a sell out and there was a really good party atmosphere. Despite the score the crowd gave very warm well wishes to Jarvis (who was going to Bristol next season). The Tigers eventually, coming up trumps with last minute scores against both Harlequins and Gloucester to make the final. It was a fitting end to Dallaglio's career to win the final and it is always a pleasure to steward at Twickers at these momentous occasions, even if my favourite doesn't win.
Last few months have also seen me, starting back at rugby training and playing in one or two games after several years of not playing. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed it the first time round and keeping fit in the process. Re-learning some of tactics and skills have made watching and stewarding even more rewarding - being part of a team is great for your social life too. The team is Oakmeadians in Bournemouth - a great bunch of girls.
I stewarded the Guinness Premiership and could have also done the Eng v Baa Baas too, but wanted to support the biggest rugby event to hit Bournemouth - the Bournemouth Sevens - where I met up with Nat and Lou. A rather brill day spent there, meeting Lewis Moody and chatting to the former player Freddie Tuilagi. The teams from my club did well there too - ladies being Plate winners and guys being runner's up. It was also great to see many locals and some of which are non-rugby fans. There was something for everyone. The organisation of this event had taken about 18 months by several superb people - they are very eager to make next year even bigger and better - so keep the diary open to come to this event.
To finish off, our boys on International Duty right now have been busy so far across the globe. England Saxons are doing well in Canada in the Churchill Cup, my well wishes go to them. I am very pleased to see that Topsy Ojo (London Irish) and Danny Care (Harlequins) have both been given the chance to shine in New Zealand in the Senior Team - well done to them. There is still plenty more rugby to come this summer before our domestic seasons get started.....so see you then - keep up the support to our rugby boys.....
26 Jan 08
Very belated Happy New Year to you all…
Well, where can I start? A lot of great rugby has been played since the World Cup (which seems rather a long time ago now).
Stewarded the excellent and very exciting BaaBaas game – last ever game for Jason Robinson – an absolute legend (my Dad called him rather aptly Twinkle Toes). Giteau, Rokocoko and Collins all had a good game. It was good to see our Ben play for a bit, before he disappeared across the channel. Robbo finished on a high too beating the World Champs. He seems to be enjoying his retirement but he will be missed by many.
I have started stewarding at the Harlequin’s ground. They are a friendly bunch and it is a more relaxed affair too than at “Twickers”. It is a great opportunity to see more non international games and to check out some of the premiership players at close quarters, especially Mike Brown and the lovely David Strettle – he is a real work horse and deserves his place in the England squad. I have only done three matches so far - Saracens, Leicester, and Stade Francais. Looking forward to working the rest of the home matches, along with the Rugby League games in the summer. I have even spotted my bright yellow jacket on TV.
Heineken Cup pool matches are over and some interesting teams through (former champs still in Munster and Toulouse), but sad that my favourite is out (Tigers) – boo hoo. There have been some brilliant games (the one that stood out for me – Tigers v Leinster at Welford Road last weekend).
Six Nations is almost upon us – glad to see Ashton kept his job and has selected a good squad, in particular with one of my favourites – Athletic Flanker Tom Croft (Tigers) who has been playing superbly this season and so deserves his place. Several have now retired from international play – Dallaglio, (good news for Haskell) Catt, Robinson and sadly Martin Corry – it should give the younger talent to gain some valuable experience before 2011. I think England should do better than the last couple of years – what do you all think?
27th Oct 2007
I can’t believe RWC is over….but still lots of rugby to be played. Looking forward to watching the Premiership, EDF and Heineken Cup matches.
Two World Cup Finals in a row is an amazing achievement - The England Squad should be absolutely proud of themselves – considering they were written off early in the competition – shear grit and determination has shone through. Extremely unlucky about the try (definitely was in my opinion). Jonny and the team did their best against a very strong Boks team. I enjoyed being there showing my support (disappointed but was pleased by the way the boys played). South Africa definitely knew they were in a game, seeing how battered they looked at the end. It was rather bizarre surprisingly – with the guy running onto the pitch disrupting the flow and then at the end when the cup was placed on the stand – someone came up and picked it up. After the game, I was expecting the South African supporters to be far more excitable, but it was as if they were expecting the win and they just headed out of the stadium as quickly as possible.The atmosphere at the 3rd place play-off was a lot more exciting, probably because of the host nation being involved. The French were unlucky and gave it their all, but it was not meant to be. Les Bleus missed so many opportunities – the crowd were shouting at the shear number of overlaps they had created but overlooked. All the credit goes to the Pumas – excellent ball handling skills and turn over balls galore – an outstanding tournament all together too!
Look out New Zealand in 4 years time …..
18th Oct 2007
Two days to go for the World to find out the 2007 Rugby World Cup WINNERS – rather sad for it to be coming up to the end but highly exciting too.
It was amazing to be at both Semis. First up England v France. Men in white shirts have done it again! After the try I thought this would be a cracker, but for a good portion until the second half went it a stalemate situation. Our boys definitely came out stronger after the break. Everyone in the stadium was singing but also tense to see who would come out with the ice breaker that was so needed. Eventually a penalty and then another of Jonny’s magic drop goals – awesome. French fans went so very quiet. English fans held their breath during the last few minutes and barely heard the whistle go. It was so surreal and no body knew whether it had ended….don’t think I jumped up and down so much in my life and almost fell off the seat to boot. I hand it to the French – their fans were very gracious on the night. However, the French papers said we were cruel and Trafalgar was quoted a few times.
Having recovered from a hang over I went the second game - Pumas v Boks. It was a better game technically but lacked the intensity. Argentina really tried their best and kept possession well. Springboks upset the panther party and just played straight. The last few minutes were intense, but for all the wrong reasons - punching. The highlight was seeing the speedster Habana (racing Cheetahs in his spare time must be a doddle for him).
SO the repeat of the first game of the tournament and the England’s second pool game – who would have thought. Will the Boks have a spring in their step or will England come up smelling like Roses……I just can’t wait for both matches – and yes I’m going back to the stadiums for the final two matches……..unbelievable…….feels almost like a dream! Someone please wake me up!!! Preferably an England player
Go ENGLAND Go - Go PUMAS Go
Oct 2007 – Quarter finals
Hello…
My thoughts on the 4 games – almost speechless – in true style of World Cups, upsets galore…. England has done us proud – keep up the good scrumaging. Wallabies did not see us coming! France beating All Blacks – astonishment! Michalak made an unbelievable impact. Talk about tense for a saturday, biting my fingers (rather than my rather short nails) and jumping up and down in front of the TV. The self belief for both England and France got stronger each phase of each game – just amazing. Pure passion and determination at its best – is what the spirit of sport is all about.
Sunday - I was so routing for Fiji to do another upset, if only they had touched down on that third attempt across the try line. South Africa won but Fiji gave them a good run for their money and all credit goes to the South Pacific Islanders – awesome tacklers maybe rather brutal at times, but awesome all the same.. The last game was a bit of anti climax. Scotland left it far too late and also made some very silly errors (particularly from the Lamont brothers). Pumas deserved the win with some basic intelligent play but no passion came through from either team. Argentina will need to up their game and show the determination against the Springbox that they have shown during the group stages.
I so can’t wait to get sat at the Parc de France Stadium for both Semis next week. Who would have thought Eng v Fra and S Africa v Arg. Game on……
Sept 2007
Hey girls
I’ve finally got round to blogging…..
Intros first – you’ve probably seen me on the Ben Cohen dinner page and the O2 England Rugby Send Off do already. I’ve been a massive fan of rugby for a long time. My dad and my brother use to play the game. Then when I went to Uni, I had a chance to play too, but have to give up when uni finished and lack teams in the area. In the last few years my interest has been re-ignited, as I became an Honorary Steward at Twickenham Stadium and going on my first Lions tour in New Zealand. After meeting many of the players at various games and other events, I was well and truly hooked. My favourite team behind England of course, is Leicester Tigers.
Pool Stages
I got into the spirit of the World Cup by taking family members to some of the Pool matches in particular the three England games. South Africa game was not a bad game, because England were strong in the scrum and line outs, but with more than a few mis-tackles and some awful kicking made the result rather dire for us. I felt sorry for Jamie Noon and held my breath for Jason Robinson.
The results of the Samoan and Tongan games were so much better, with our descent kickers back and keeping it tight in the forwards, we made our way to the quarter finals, but for the hard way it seems. Samoa and Tonga both gave us a scare when we went to sleep, but luckily woke up in time to finish the games on the high. Paul Sackey is having a very good tournament with 4 tries. Gomersall has given the team a much needed boost and done amazingly well considering he had no team to play for 15 months ago. I was glad to see Lewis ‘Crazy Horse’ Moody back on the starting line up (3 serious knocks during the Tongan game made me hold my breath a few times). We need some tries boys to give us more confidence. Some of the backs may need to up their game a bit more…
Bye for now….
Debs
August 2009
Debbie's Blog
