Yesterday I played 6 minutes of rugby. Give or take. It was against Endeavour Hills Gerries some of whom were probably a good half decade below the minimum age for Masters. It was at Frog Hollow Reserve. A lot has changed since my first game there in 2004 (see the picture above). I am the bearded blob on the right not the bearded blob on the left.

The first thing to note is that I’m about 15kg lighter today than I am in the picture above. The second thing about yesterday’s six minutes, is that much of it was like riding a bicycle. That is I had forgot none of the things the rugby years from 2004-2008 taught me. I actually did a lot more yesterday by wrote than by reaction. This means there was little of the ‘stop think act - too late the game’s moved on’ and a lot more of just being in the moment. it’s moments like yesterday that makes me wish I was 26 not 46 years old. Maybe next life around.

Yesterday also taught me that pre-game nerves are exactly the same as pre-performance nerves. Once you start - you tend to be better than you think you’re going to be.

The disappointing thing yesterday was - again - the lack of sportsmanship from the opposition. For me it appeared to be more than the usual thugby of high & late tackles. Then again - it was my first week back since May 2008. I was particularly disgusted by the action of cutting the throat displayed by the Endeavour Hills player AFTER he put the MRUFC player on the deck. In other words, this was not about winning the game, it was about the body count.

This came to a climax when Rob, a man I have always been able to have an articulate, philosophical - engaging conversation pre - during and post game, had dislocated his ankle. This resulted in his leg being at 90 degrees and his toes pointing to 180 degrees - as the resting alignment of his left leg. Having had a similar injury at 16 I could relate. Not 60 minutes earlier as we were walking to the pitch we were discussing how important is to keep playing the sport you love while you still can.

Rob was in shock, he was (obviously) in pain and he was, given his day job as a nurse - fully aware of what was happening to him. A core group of us stayed behind to stand watch - or just rubber neck. I wanted to support a man from my club.

Oh and our hosts from Endeavour Hills? What were they doing? Some were offering overwhelming support. Some were making the sign of a knife across the throat and yelling in a mocking way to ‘call the ambulance bro’. Quality.