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Rugby

Physical contact in sport

The effects – particularly long-term – of concussion as suffered in sport is a topic of the moment for rugby union in the wake of incidents relating to Wales’s George North (wing threequarter) and Samson Lee (prop) and England’s Mike Brown (full back) in the Six Nations tournament. [...]

February 23, 2015 // 0 Comments

I suppose the only way is up

Yesterday it was not without trepidation that I journeyed to the Sussex Arms off Twickenham Green at 1.00pm in advance of Harlequins’ Premiership clash with Exeter Chiefs at the Stoop. The Chiefs are one of the unsung successes of rugby’s Premiership. They buy well, possess a healthy mix of [...]

February 22, 2015 // 0 Comments

That’s this season over, then (again) …

Yesterday afternoon the Harlequins played Wasps away in the Premiership and lost 37-6. By all accounts, especially those on the fans’ website, the losers’ performance was right up there with the most insipid, disinterested and un-Quins-like that anyone can recall since we won our sole [...]

February 16, 2015 // 0 Comments

Every side needs one like this

Today a salute to long-serving lock George Robson, 29, who – it has just been announced on the Harlequins official club website – is departing at the end of the season to join French Top 14 side Oyonnaix. During the course of his career ‘The Goatman’ (as he is known for reasons lost in time [...]

February 12, 2015 // 0 Comments

TV-happy and proud of it

I’m relatively unapologetic about the fact that, over the decades, I have gradually become less and less inclined to attend sporting occasions in person. When my brother announced with excitement that he had secured tickets to three different sports at the 2012 Olympics, including – depending [...]

February 11, 2015 // 0 Comments

Roger, over and out

There’s not much to be said – or indeed remembered – about my visit to the Stoop to see the Harlequins host Bath in the LV= Cup yesterday. I’m not even sure why I went, to be honest: the weather forecasters were not wrong when they predicted it was likely to get bitterly cold after lunch [...]

February 1, 2015 // 0 Comments

A way to go yet

Last night, after supervising our family evening meal 45 minutes earlier than is normal, I settled down in the study to watch the Irish Wolfhounds rugby match against England Saxons being played in Cork on Sky Sports 2. In particular, I was keen to assess the progress of the latest ‘Great White [...]

January 31, 2015 // 0 Comments

Desperation alone is not enough

Last weekend – as regular readers will need no reminding – in an extraordinary game against at the Stoop in which they enjoyed 70% possession of the ball but contrived to lose 3-23, the Harlequins had also surrendered the control of their Rugby Champions Cup pool group that they had [...]

January 25, 2015 // 0 Comments

The art of tournament winning

All team sports become like chess, or ‘sports manager’ fantasy computer games, when it comes to a major tournament. In terms of soccer, rugby, field hockey (you can add your own further examples) we’re talking mostly European and World Cups, or possibly – if they’re admitted to the fold [...]

January 21, 2015 // 0 Comments

Another Quins display to forget (hopefully)

There  is a small but vital margin between being a fan of a sport and being a fan of a particular team. I can watch rugby union at any level of the game from internationals downwards, including seven-a-sides, but – in the style of the well-worn example concerning a full-cooked breakfast [...]

January 18, 2015 // 0 Comments

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