About Rob Hodgetts
- 18 Jan 07, 05:51 PM
I'm what's known in rugby parlance as a utility back. Rugby and golf are my main positions - I blogged from Ireland during the Ryder Cup - but you'll see me pop up in all sorts of other areas, too.
My fondest rugby memories are Five Nations Saturdays in the OVT at Birmingham University, and sitting in the press box at Twickenham covering the 1999 World Cup semi-final between France and New Zealand.
All impartiality went out the window when France began their famous comeback, as the hardened hacks, and me, leapt to our feet to cheer on Les Bleus.
Work over, the party in the pub in Twickenham that night was legendary, with a cocktail of French, Kiwis and British all celebrating a sensational game together.
Now then, call me old-school, but I reckon all modern backs should be made to watch videos of the likes of and back in the days when sidesteps (as well as sideburns) were as important as big muscles. Those guys knew how to beat an opponent one-on-one. England backs take heed.
Wales 27-18 England
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Agree totally on both points there. Beating one on ones should be MANDATORY in training.
Also, I agree, it dosen't matter who wins, just so long as everyone gets drunk, has a laugh and a long, hard and boring argument about various obscure rules of the sport! :)
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Great post Rob I bet you were a great bloke in your day, any other fantastic stories you can regale us with?
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all very chummy and folksy but, sadly, a load of tripe.
i don't remember seeing, or hearing about, many kiwi fans celebrating after losing to france in the 1999 wc.
with modern day defences the jinking, highly individualistic sidestepping, as practised so wonderfully by bennett, duckham and others in the 1970s would almost invariably end with a smash-tackle from side-on from the next guy in the chain-link defense. Isolated from immediate support, and with modern day referees blowing for not releasing between 0.5 and maximum 1.0 seconds at top club/international level (as opposed to at least a full 2.0 seconds until a few years ago) a turnover/conceded penalty is a highly likely outcome. inherently not worth the risk. believe me, modern day professional coaches don't spend all day analysing the grass growing.
now, if you had said that bennett, duckham and others had skills that could be groomed and used within a modern framework that would have merit. they were highly talented athletes that, simultaneously, held down full time jobs. as modern day full time pros it is fascinating to think what they could achieve in the modern game. but it wouldn't, and couldn't, be the way they were able to play in their era.
dream on
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