rugby's special

I might not have mentioned it before but I do like rugby, specifically union. It's often perceived as being a very middle-class game and in some parts of England it is. On some levels I think I don't like rugby players but actually what I don't like are tossers England players like this

Many rugby players are actually not bad, in fact all the men in my life are rugby players. In Scotland and Wales (and parts of England and Ireland) it's not just public school rugger-buggers who play. My dad played; as a kid I spent most of my Saturday afternoons on the touchline and one of my greatest heroes was a rugby player. R played all through school. And now O has started playing. We decided to try him on rugby instead of gymnastics. He's been doing gymn lessons for a couple of years now and not enjoying it as much as he used to, plus to be honest he's not really built for it (prop forward yes, gymnast no), also we think it would be good for him to do a team sport.

So it's off down the local rugby club to see if he likes mini-rugby. He went for the first time last Sunday and liked it. R liked it nearly as much, coaching from the touchline, I can see him turning into a rugby dad. Which is good, if it gets me out of cold wet winter mornings on the touchline. I'll settle for knitting in front of the world cup on the telly. And England scored nul points yesterday, even better.