April11th
Well isn’t the Heineken Cup hotting up? The quarter finals produced some spectacularly exciting matches, and two rather unexpected results, with Wasps’ and Northampton’s surprise progression to the semis, along with Llanelli and Leicester. So as a Wasps supporter, I’m very happy to be playing the Saints, rather than Biarritz, and the Llanelli and Leicester match should be an absolute cracker. Unfortunately though, I’m stuck in deepest darkest Wales without sky, radio, internet or any form of communication on the semi final weekend, so that will be fairly torturous; thank heavens for sky+ though, I’ll be able to watch it on my return!

I went down to Adam’s Park for the match against Leinster, and I was beginning to get a bit worried in the first half, but then Wasps pulled something out of the bag, and began to recreate their outstanding 2004 form, to cruise to what was eventually an extremely comfortable victory. Meanwhile, I was in the terraces enjoying the atmosphere with the Leinster fans, who were all belting out Molly Malone at every opportunity. I must say though, out of all the rugby fans I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet, the Leinster fans’ language was the worst; they can be forgiven though for being Irish and having wonderfully sexy voices, I for one could have listened to them swearing all day. (Image courtesy of Ellie)

The following day, I was playing again which was fabulous. Quins U17s were playing Worthing, and perhaps the most exciting part of the day (apart from having our squad photo taken) was being in the Quins changing rooms and seeing Dave Strettle’s undies. Although we lost to a vastly superior Worthing side, I was again extremely pleased with my performance, at my new position of flanker, and once again made many big hits, and put in a few turnovers from the school of Neil Back. I’m rather pleased though that it isn’t yet quite warm enough for bare legs, because after that mine are not fit to be unleashed on society, having been completely shredded.

The thrill of the Heineken Cup though, makes the decision of English clubs to follow their French counterparts in boycotting the competition even more distressing for fans. If this does go ahead next season it will be to the detriment of every player, club and fan that is involved. The competition every season without fail produces unquestionably the most exhilarating, physical, spectacular and enjoyable rugby in the world. No other competition can possibly compete with it, and if the European rugby nations are ever going to be able to compete successfully with the Southern Hemisphere sides, the Heineken cup is an absolute necessity. The two warring factions need to recognise that what is in the best interests of the game as a whole is to resolve their differences, no matter how difficult that may be and ensure that the Heineken cup continues long into the future. If Northern Hemisphere teams are to have any chance at winning the world cup, its survival is absolutely imperative.

March 14th
Well, what a turn out for the books! England beat France for the first time since the world cup semis. Now, I was rather dreading going to Twickenham, fearing a rout was on the cards, especially considering the rather makeshift team Brian Ashton was forced to play due to injuries, but England played really well, despite rather too many unforced errors in the first half, and really stepped up in the second half, although France really were just standing still, take nothing away from the English players, they were fantastic, and Catty really brought something to the team.

The new boys all played superbly, considering the huge pressure they’re under, and though I was a little concerned at losing Jonny, Flood and Geraghty were more than adequate replacements – its nice to have some real competition at out half again. The result coupled with the gorgeous weather made for a fantastic day, apart from the rather scary, football hooliganism that took place at the pub on my street following the Chelsea vs. Spurs game.

The other games were full of surprises too, Scotland holding Ireland to such a small win, and Italy’s second win on the trot. It’s really great for Italy, and after so many years of the wooden spoon, they’ll be pleased that they’ve (pretty much) managed to avoid it this year, and still have a (remote) shot at the championship.

There was more controversy too, with Ronan O’Gara being involved in an incident at the final whistle which rendered him unconscious, having been allegedly chocked by a Scottish player, and Mauro Bergamasco has been cited for striking Stephen Jones.

So even though there will be no grand slam this year, the weekend’s results have thrown the championship wide open, with 4 teams, statistically able to win, it promises to be an exciting Saturday – I have even arranged a bit of a VI nations finale shindig, but as much as I love the VI nations, it’ll be rather nice to get my social life back.

On a completely different note, I’d like to say hi to all the girlies at Letchworth Girls Rugby. They and their coach John Birch very kindly invited me to play with them at their international rugby festival. They have a fantastic site: Letchworth Girls which gets 1500 hits per month – which is not bad for a site aimed at the 30 girls who play for them!

Image Courtsesy of John Birch
 

February 26th
Well, I really enjoyed my first game back after two and a half years, I think I was almost as keen as Wilko to be back, and it was absolutely fantastic. I’d almost forgotten how much enjoyment I get out of playing it. Quins youth academy were playing Grasshoppers, and we won 0-36, which isn’t bad for a sevens game. I also put in some tackles that Joe Worsley would be proud of.

So after that, it was back to some proper rugby, and the 3rd round of the Six Nations. Now it all looked pretty certain on paper, but all the matches (bar the England one!) were all very surprising.

Firstly the Scotland vs. Italy game; massive congratulations have to go to Italy on their first away win. The first 6 minutes of the game were absolutely incredible, their first try seemed lucky, the second unbelievable and by the third I was in complete shock. Scotland threw the game away in the first 10 minutes, and although they came back, the damage was already done. Credit to Sean Lamont though, he was the best of a fairly poor bunch. It really shows how far Italy have come though, from struggling to compete at all and being a bit of a walkover, to providing really tough opposition, and definitely not a team to be underestimated, and that can only be good for the game as a whole. I also discovered my new rugby love - Allan Jacobsen. With a nickname like “Chunk” it’s hard not to love him. If you haven’t seen him - imagine a barrel with legs, and you’ve got the idea.

(Image - Edinburgh Rugby)

Then off to Croke Park, and a historic day indeed. Split loyalties for me and if I was emotional for the match against France, I was twice as bad on Saturday; and along with Jerry Flannery shed a few tears. From an Irish perspective it was not a bad performance, we dominated and you really can’t help thinking that they ought to still be on track for the grand slam, it’s a great shame they let it slip, and from and English perspective, well I’d rather forget it. It really shows what Ireland can do when their “O factor” is on form; Paul O’Connell really stepped his game up, after a couple of quiet (by his standards) games, and O’Gara was fantastic. It was also nice to see BOD back; he’s an absolute dream to watch. One comedy moment during the anthems – the hilarious height difference as Peter Stringer stood between Donncha O’Callaghan and Paul O’Connell, although I dread to think how much more ridiculous it would look if someone as short as me was standing between them.

Finally it was a very late kick off at the Stade de France, which rather ruined my plans for Saturday evening! I was expecting a whitewash after the Welsh performances of late but they did really well, although whether or not they’ll avoid the wooden spoon is yet to be seen. Again France were good, but I still don’t think they’ve played to their potential.

So, we have to wait another fortnight before the next round, and I’m looking forward to heading back to Twickenham to see the French match, although to be honest, the result at the moment doesn’t really seem to be in doubt given the performances at the weekend.

February 15th
Well, I suppose I should introduce myself first of all: I’m Ellie, I’m 17, and I live in London. I’m also unbelievably girly, except for one small blip – I absolutely adore rugby. It all started when I was 7 – my dad took me to see Wasps play up at Loftus Road, and I’ve been hooked ever since.

So, as you might have guessed, I support Wasps of course, I support England too, and since my mother’s side of the family hail from Cork, I’m a Munster supporter as well.

Rugby plays an enormous part in my life: I’ve spent countless hours watching games, and I started playing in 2003. As you might expect though, there aren’t a great number of 17 year old girls who want to play rugby, and matches have been few and far between. I am playing tomorrow though, for the first time in two and a half years and I can’t wait. I’ve also met some absolutely fantastic people over the years, whether its random fans in the queue for the loos at Twickenham, training buddies who share my passion for jumping in puddles and squealing or the absolutely delightful Wasps Academy boys.

Now, obviously it’s that time of year again – The Six Nations have come around again and by some miracle I’ve managed to procure tickets for all three of England’s home games. So - the Scotland game, I don’t ever remember being quite as excited for and England game what with the new team and new management, and also the prospect of a win, in comparison with the Ireland game the season before. Oh and who could forget the return of Jonny. The match really did live up to expectations and the atmosphere was superb. I was hoarse already when the time came to sing the anthems, and by the end of the match - well, try as I might, I could not utter a single sound.

Then came the Italy match, which was a completely different kettle of fish. Twickenham was almost dead and the game was extremely dull. However I did record a record time for getting home from the stadium, a mere hour.

As far as the other teams have gone, I was massively confident about Ireland, and far less so about France, but the French have really shown their class and Ireland have severely disappointed me. Scotland have been fairly consistent, and pretty good, despite the loss against England. The Italians are narrowing the gap further every year, and Wales seem to be in a bit of a sticky spot.

On a less positive note, the club versus country row has erupted again, this time involving Guinness Premiership based Scottish players too. To be honest I’m a bit sick of hearing about it, and it does really need to be sorted, because it’ll only get worse, and it can’t be good for the clubs or England.

So, we’ve had a week off the six nations, and although I do love the Guinness Premiership, roll on the next round!