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.