Some More Rugby 7's

On Sunday I competed (with a team called Den Den something) in another 7's tournament.

This time, our win/loss ratio was 50/50.  We played four games, but were punished time and again for sloppy tackling and poor team fitness.

To be fair, it was a team of oldboys and youngsters, a strange mix of big and small, fast and slow.

I didn't realise it, but the pitch we were playing on was rather small.  I took one restart kickoff, and promptly put it over the dead-ball line.  Whoops.

That, and a couple of handling mistakes in our loss to the eventual winners, gave me roughly four errors for the tournament, or one a game.  Not too impressive when you consider the halves were only ten minutes long.

But I tackled.  Oh lord did I tackle.  Everything that moved was a target, and it annoyed some of the locals immensely.  On a number of occasions I tackled someone as they were passing, and they kept yelling out for a late tackle penalty.  They don't know how to play hard here, they just complain a lot.

The refereeing was also awful, which is a shame because two more 'mistakes,' (that I haven't included in my tally) came from terribad decisions.  In one instance I was tackled without the ball, which then hit me on the head.  The ref gave it as a knock-on.  Good job referee.

The second incident arose from being tackled, the tackler didn't let go of me so I couldn't release the ball.  The ref gave me as holding on.

I recently read an article detailing how a new universities league will revitalise Japanese rugby, except they're missing basic standards of refereeing, facilities and uptake.  Before you start planning the national team, how about ensuring a grass-roots base?

Way to build your pyramid with the spiky bit in the ground, Japan.

In total I scored roughly seven or eight tries (I think) and kicked 75% of the conversions.  I was at 100% until the last two, at which point I was so tired that I spooned them terribly.  I have no shame in saying that I was absolutely, positively knackered by the end of the matches, and could barely walk for a good twenty minutes. The highlight of the day was one of the old boys hunting down an opposition player on the wing, and tackling him with enough gusto to dislodge the ball.  The opposition in that game were university students.  Well done to that man.

It's now Tuesday, and I still ache.  Must.  Get.  Fitter.

Then again 15's isn't so challenging in that regard.  Good fitness training and experience all round I think.