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Rugby school

Liverbirdie

Liverbirdie

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Finally popped my Twickenham cherry with the missus the other week for the SA game.

Only just got around to reading the programme over the weekend, and was mildly curious that for the players introductory notes, they seemed to overly focus on what schools they went to. Little 8-9 line intros on number of caps, honours won, path to club rugby etc but about 75% mentioned what school they went to. Does this not sound anachronistic in this day and age. Seemed a little bit old school tie for me, and are genuine rugby fans still interested in this? Is it important?

We had a great weekend, but for next time we open the Wembley debate, it cost between £650-700 for match tickets, train tickets, air b-n-b for 1 night, meals, tubes and ale and that was only for a 1 night stay.
 
We see this on PGA golf coverage every week too though

College and university info included in the on-screen leaderboard (& if you listen to US commentary its regularly referenced where so & so player went to college)

Could just be tradition but I'm inclined to think its more than that and if certain schools get more mentions from rugby players who've made it, then it'll increase the interest from parents trying to get their kids into the sport as a school that achieves more success in that sport

Sounds more like some soft marketing that they may well be obliged to included in their player profiles
 
Rugby Union is all for the hoo-har Henry's and the Tarquin's from Tunbridge Wells, i'm surprised a rag arse scally like you was allowed to buy tickets......

Was you wearing your usual terrace wear or did you opt for the chino's/rugby shirt with the pastel sweater draped over the shoulders?
 
Did you enjoy the two pint glasses though? :love:

It's a tradition in rugby that is pretty outdated but then we are sat here criticising about an outdated tradition...........as golfers. Bit of irony there.

My BiL does one Twickenham trip a year with some friends. It's an event weekend that they look forward to all year. It's their equivalent of a golf trip to Turnberry, muirfield, St. Andrew's etc. Not cheap if you are traveling due to demand pushing up train and accommodation prices.
 
Crazyface said:
I went to a Rugby school. I was good at sports so made the team. Hated it. Still hate it. Have a few stories. HATE IT. AND THEM THAT PLAY IT and those that watch it, as they are all cut from the same cloth (mostly).
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:ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO: not that your judgement is coloured by your experiences :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:

I learned the game at a comprehensive in Wales, and finished playing 25 years later in the north east of England. Fellow team players were miners, steel workers and dockers. Hoo-ray Henry's??:ROFLMAO:
 
It's not just a rugby thing.... I work for an asset management company in Mayfair and where you are educated is still a big deal to people, a lot of the time it has a big influence on if you can get into the right circles or not which I'd guess also crosses over to rugger.

PS I hate rugby and hate that I had an awful education.
 
On a side note but appropriate to the title, when I was younger I went, a couple of times, to a hockey coaching course held at Rugby school in the school holidays. Fascinating place, proper old school stuff. 20 odd beds in a dorm, sinks down the middle of the room, box to store your gear at the end of the bed, all furniture and fittings were ancient. Fabulous facilities, best grass pitches I ever played on. It was stuck in a previous century, a piece of history. Interesting to know it it has been updated or whether it is still in the same state.
 
Stuart_C said:
Rugby Union is all for the hoo-har Henry's and the Tarquin's from Tunbridge Wells, i'm surprised a rag arse scally like you was allowed to buy tickets......

Was you wearing your usual terrace wear or did you opt for the chino's/rugby shirt with the pastel sweater draped over the shoulders?
Click to expand...

Jeans, Harrington jacket and a Paul and Shark Polo....with matching Cravat. :)
 
Lord Tyrion said:
Did you enjoy the two pint glasses though? :love:

It's a tradition in rugby that is pretty outdated but then we are sat here criticising about an outdated tradition...........as golfers. Bit of irony there.

My BiL does one Twickenham trip a year with some friends. It's an event weekend that they look forward to all year. It's their equivalent of a golf trip to Turnberry, muirfield, St. Andrew's etc. Not cheap if you are traveling due to demand pushing up train and accommodation prices.
Click to expand...

I dont think it is ironic though.

Golf (generally) has moved on a lot over 25 years. Granted not in all clubs, but overall the image has changed a lot as well as the demographic of players.
 
LB, can I refer you back to the 'Great Sock Debate of 2018' :ROFLMAO:. How many pages?

Both sports have some old school traditions, some good, some not so. Schools may be mentioned in the programme but clubs are more important now. Any decent player gets vacuumed up by their local pro club in the same way as football now. The Falcons are certainly very active up here. They couldn't care less which school you went to.

On the whole though I still maintain that golf can not give out too many lectures on outdated traditions.
 
lets not forget that Rugby was still an Am game not that long ago and Twickers still holds or did anyway the Eaton Vs Harrow match not to mention the Oxford Vs Cambridge etc, its not that long ago the Schools where the big thing in Rugby and i think there is even still a schools cup played at the home of Rugby
 
Lots of generalising going on here, probably true in the home counties of England.
A lot different in Scotland, especially the Borders, and I would imagine Northern England and the deep SW of England.

I was sitting in a hospital café in Ayr yesterday, it was busy so I asked to share with a couple of middle aged female nurses.
I then eavesdropped on quite an in depth breakdown of the Scots/SA game, very tactically shrewd and quite scathing of a couple of Scots players. Both nurses were obviously at Murrayfield.
 
Stuart_C said:
Rugby Union is all for the hoo-har Henry's and the Tarquin's from Tunbridge Wells, i'm surprised a rag arse scally like you was allowed to buy tickets......
Click to expand...
Not where I come from it isn't!

But there's certainly a significant element of 'Public School-ish-ness' to it, at least in England! Rather understandable, given its roots though.
 
All of which demonstrates rugby is a sport with a diversity of social roots. I learned the sport in a well heeled school in Surrey, some of my mates played at tough working class schools up the Valleys! (note the Valleys is a specific area 😉)

Great game... football could learn plenty from it! And yes, once I was offered a jump ups club waiting list because of my old school...disgusting!😜
 
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