Fighting through for each other

What a weekend!!

 

Granted our display on Sunday was not a vintage performance but it was another 5 points at home against a determined Sedgley Park and we have now gone 13 consecutive games unbeaten at Meadow Lane. 

 

Obviously I took enjoyment from completing our task but we know we have plenty to work on.

 

It was, however, the wider sporting world that gripped me this weekend.  I am a very keen golfer but even to those who don’t really like the sport, the Ryder Cup just has something that sparks interest.

 

The rugby slotted in perfectly to the time scheduling for the Ryder Cup and most of my weekend was spent watching it all unfold at Valhalla and although Europe couldn’t quite keep hold of the cup it was another intriguing encounter.

 

You can see and almost feel the buzz that the Americans and Europeans get from being part of a team. 

 

Most of these guys are multi millionaires who operate in their own sphere for the rest of the year but on this one occasion they are a team. 

 

They are there the whole way through fighting for each other, encouraging each other, taking the highs and lows with each other and sharing every experience as one and there is no greater feeling. 

 

When you are part of a team you sometimes forget your surroundings and don’t fully appreciate what it is to be a part of a team. 

 

But more than anything this weekend the Ryder Cup highlighted to me than win or lose it is being part of the team that counts and the team ethic is one thing we definitely have at Nottingham Rugby.

 

It is not just Rugby for us, it is our lives, we are in each other’s company a lot and have the time to share the laughs, the hard times, the wins and the losses, so many characters all with individual quirks, different routines, varying styles; it is the people that make the sport and I am proud to be a part of that team!

 

 

Exciting times in the Guinness Championship?

We are into the 4^th week of the season now and 2 wins from 3 is not a bad return, although we would have hoped for a full house.  But 4 weeks in and we still don’t really know the parameters of the competition.

It is exciting times for National Division One but with any change there is also a hint of worry.  The rumour mill suggests that the league will be reduced next season to only 12 teams from 16 that we currently have.

 

That is great news for a number of reasons but it leaves us in a situation where we are not sure how many teams are going to be relegated and what we need to do to be in the 12.  Will they relegate five and bring one up from National 2 or will they relegate 4 and have no promotion? The effects obviously don’t end with our league.

 

I think it is a great idea to reduce to 12 and I am told that the league is likely to be known as the Guinness Championship, like the equivalent football league, and thus get more funding and exposure.  But have a thought for the teams who are likely to be at the bottom of the league and, indeed, at the top of the league below.

 

There is a meeting to finalise the plans on the 3^rd of October but by then we will be 5 weeks into the season and block 1 will be over and done with (we split the season into 6 blocks).  I think the change is necessary and will be great for the league but I do wish things were clear before we started.

 

We will be pushing hard to be in the 12 and it will be exciting times.  A win this Sunday at Meadow Lane will help us move closer to that goal.  But Sedgley Park are a good side and I am expecting a battle at 3pm.

 

See you there……………………………………