TGRFC Friendly Versus Someone

This game was pretty strange, you can find the 'official,' write up here.  I wasn't playing, so I had the opportunity to take a few photographs.  Some of them came out well, one in particular is my favourite action shot from the two years I've had my camera.  I'll let you guess which one you think it is, and I'll let you know at the end.

Here they are, in no particular order:

Spaghetti legs.

Gareth is probably an inch or two taller than me, but due to his spaghetti legs he looks to be about seven feet tall.  In a unique way he also has spaghetti arms, which helps him score more tries than a second-row has any right to.  Many teams have fallen victim to the optical illusion of his torso versus limb ratio, which means they stop him nearer the line than they should and he simply reaches over the whitewash and plonks the ball down.

The enforcer.

Jesse is a pretty key player when in the loose, because of tackles like this one.  Keita came in with the follow up as Jesse dislodged the ball handily (heh.).  He used to play ice hockey, so I think that kind of physical mentality has helped him become a solid defender.

They don't use Gilbert for their games here, they use a bran I'd never heard of.  I find the absolute best way to prepare for international tournaments and international test matches is to change every single aspect of the preparation, so that when you arrive on the scene everything is brand new, different and intimidating.  Oh no wait, the opposite of what I just said.

This posed looking shot was actually from the warmup, where I was able to get close to everyone while they were doing drills.  The hardest thing with this camera is getting shots of far objects due to the lens, so to be able to walk right up to the guys was a massive help.  Obviously that wasn't possible during the game, so a lot of shots went begging.

I don't know this guys real name, all I know is he's called viking.  His round face belies a bedrock player in the scrum, who is key for all the set pieces.

A little scrum half with ball in hand.  I quite like the motion of the ball in this picture, it gives it energy.

Another forward, this time one more mobile around the park and willing to support.  Gorka, the Spanish (Basque) forward who has scored only one try for the gaijin.

Keita, normally a scrum-half but who played at ten on this day, is one of the players for Lion.  He also plays for Canon who are in the top division of rugby in Japan.  I don't really know how that works, but he only works half days and spend the rest of the time training.  Lucky bastard.

The new captain for this year is the Welshman, Rich.  In a team of lanky people, he's probably the lankiest of them all.

Shin got player of the year last year, and the year before, so he's the man to beat this year.  With tries like this it won't be easy.

And the culmination of his efforts.  Placed perfectly on the line, just so everyone knows how precise he is.  Of course being Japanese, the hand placement isn't exactly in the middle, and his hands are  pretty dirty so it's not ideal, but it'll do.



So which one is my favourite?  I think there's one clear winner in this group of pictures, and that's the second to last one.  The movement is a big distracting, but the face is clear enough that you can still see the look of joy on his face.  Or is that pain?  I have no idea.