HEAR ME NOW!

Scared you a lil’ bit? Good. As with all blog posts, authors need to GRAB the reader’s attention, and today I’m going to show how the already aggressive rugger displays voice in blogs. “Voice,” simply, is the means that authors convey their personality through their text by their use of diction, phrasing, and content. All authors have voice, some more amusing than others, but no two are ever the same.

Tim O’Connor is barrister, and now that his playing days are over, he fills this void with his blog title simply, “Rugby Law” where he explores rugby and the laws that govern it. After reading his posts, it is clear that Tim did have rugby experience and that I am not the first to question the safety of rugby, especially in the scrums.

He first lets readers know about the amount of pressure first-row players endure during a scrum by comparing it to having cars fall on your shoulders.

“Take a small car - this being rugby, let's say a French one, a Citroen C4. In fact, take two. Suspend one 15 centimetres - six inches - over each of your shoulders.

Now let them drop.

That's what it is each member for a professional front row to take the hit of a modern scrum. If you're an international hooker, since hookers take a bit more of the hit, you're talking a family saloon like a C5, onto each shoulder. 3kN of an impact. Ten or fifteen times a game.”

With this, he emphasizes how dangerous the scrum can be, especially for hookers, and that though it is overlooked, the dangers can be as dangerous as a car falling on someone with 3kN of force.  He continues to do this by his concise, simple statements that help convey that there is nothing complex about the issue at hand. He states simply,

“The net result has been more dangerous scrums, more resets, worse scrummaging and more dangerous scrummaging: bad rugby, and dangerous rugby…And there is no excuse for it.”

His passion is clear, and he gives authority to himself by stating that he was a prop himself and pulls in the sympathy of the audience by his anecdote where he had to hold his hooker’s neck immobile after a bad scrum. Rugby is important to him, being a third-generation prop, but the issue of safety is so controversial that he who grew up with rugby is now questioning it and the IRB.

In another post, his angry voice towards the IRB is again heard in “Concussion – Fatality.” Short and to the point, he tells reader about a 14-year old boy that died on the pitch because he was left alone after being concussed for a second time.

“I've written before, on this blog and elsewhere, about the failure to deal properly with concussion,” he states, exemplifying his dismay that there are cases where concussions still go untreated, and because he refuses to comment until the verdict on the case is made, it shows his own anguish on the event and perhaps his own realization that this is a common event and ultimately up to the courts as to what will happen, not the players or community.

Between these two blog posts, Tim shows himself to be a lover of the game of rugby, but like myself, cannot bear to see players continue to be injured by laws meant to promote player safety with the IRB sitting idly aside, watching. His passion is evident by his anecdotal stories and his anger clear towards the IRB. Like me, he understands that change must start with them, and until the IRB amends its law, players are subjected the rules of the game, no matter how dangerous. 

Profiling a Rugby Blogger: Another Exists?!

Any team player will tell you that getting to know the other members of your team is essential; it allows you to know how well they play, what ideologies they hold, and if you can respect them enough to trust their opinion and their abilities. The same goes for blogging, and who you decide to follow and shape your ideals. This week, I’m going to show you valuable readers some other rugby bloggers that I have found to be interesting, and hopefully give you more insight on the world of rugby.

Simply going by “Dave,” the author shares very little if at all about himself in his blog “The Rugby Banter” choosing to focus rather on his subject matter, rugby. He varies from talking about rugby law to rugby tournaments to rugby in the community, which allows viewers to see the sport in a variety of levels and contexts. However, his blog comes to be from the view of a fan, rather than a player, so while in his blog post, “Dear IRB, The letter of the Law…” talks about the growing power of referees, he is less concerned with the safety of the players than he is about the continuity of the game, or in other words, how referees affect the enjoyment of the game by continuously stopping the game. He implores the IRB to make changes as these multiple penalties/yellow cards are “starting to get us fans worked up.”

In another post, “The role of School Coaches,” Dave talks about the need for school coaches to focus on individual skills and techniques rather than the schools’ win/loss record. This way, players can be the best they can be and start their rugby careers with a better start and attitude. Rugby skill and knowledge development start early on, and because of this, school coaches must instill in players the right mentality. However, safety is not mentioned in the blog, though it is an essential education for all rugby players. It seems that the “entertaining and success” of the game is most important to Dave.

While this blog also focus on rugby and the nature of the game for its players, it seems to focus on the sport from the eyes of the fans or recruiter rather than from the players themselves. It is informative, yes, and provides detailed accounts on the game, its laws, and practices, however it does not address the safety concerns that my blog centers on. Dave and I’s audiences are the same, in that we both target the rugby community and hope to drive home some aspect of the game that otherwise went unnoticed or is undermined. Dave’s blog is a great source of rugby news, and because we both blog weekly, I hope that we can get our information to much more people and spread awareness despite our differing focuses. 

A Social Bookmarking Match Made in Heaven

There are very few opportunities in life where another rugby enthusiast walks into your life. Yes, I play with a bunch of them, but damn near none of them are willing to express it through the web. Extra work: a true enemy to the rugger.

Which brings me to my point. "FuckYeahWomensRugby" is a tumblr that archives all of the "shenanigans" associated with rugby. From the love of beer to the fear of 300-pound women, this site has it all. Shown through "gifs," or short computer animation, one can cannot simply love rugby and live without this in their lives. Presumably a women rugger herself, she has thousands or followers, and she just KNOWS what it's like.

Here are some examples:

"A Trues Rugby Trophy is..."

 

Intense, righttttt? This probably hurts like a motha'fucker but hey, you'd get some street cred. I speak on behalf of the rugby community when the more, the bigger, and the darker your bruises the better, the cooler. Almost every girl on the team is jealous when someone else has a cool bruise, treating them almost as a sign of their self-worth. The idea is that if you have them, you went all out at the game, so in some way these "battle scars" are almost sought after as if everyone is attempting to be the next Odysseus or Achilles. Silly girls. 

"After your post-game shower, you end up for hours like..." 

 

You don't even how true this is! Pizza and towel and all! After every game, I just want food, a nice shower, and someone to rock me to sleep (yet to get that last one though).

Love rugby, love her. Best. Tumblr. Ever!