November 22nd 2003 was the best day of my life. My wedding day was outstanding and the births of my two girls were pretty cool as well, but when England won the rugby World Cup on Nov 22nd 2003? The best day ever, end of. I can’t pretend that I am a die hard club rugby person, but I keep a close eye on proceedings and I’ve had a lifelong passion for rugby since the age of seven. I had to give up playing just before I turned 18 due to head injuries - explains a lot?! - and ever since I can remember I have been a passionate supporter of our national team……………..
But I’ve had enough. Excuse my basic language here, but if I had to sum up England’s spineless performance against South Africa on Saturday afternoon with just one word? Shit. Our scrum was shit, our lineout was shit, our kicking was shit, our attack was shit, hell, every single thing about our performance was a great big steaming pile of shit. I still don’t know how we got to the final of the rugby world cup in 2007, but we were never going to win it, and in 2019 we played our final in the semi-final and we had our pants seriously pulled down by South Africa in the final. It’s know it’s easy to blame the coaching setup, but how else do we explain such endlessly wasted talent on the field and the multiple selections that make so little sense?
We haven’t stood astride the rugby world since 2002 and into 2003 when we feared nobody on the rugby field. Damn right we obsess about the world cup far too much, but it’s how great teams are measured - and we sure as hell haven’t been a great team since 2003. But as rugby supporters we continue to dream and hope and grasp at various and all too brief highs which then turn to crushing lows. We surely have the largest player pool in the world and our club rugby is pretty incredible these days. We have some incredibly talented players but for whatever reason those skills and talents do not translate to the national stage. Saturday afternoon was shit and I can’t take anymore of watching a game of men against boys like that and continuing to hope that it will all be okay in the end. The definition of insanity and all that? I know that I will once again start to wonder if this autumn campaign’s shitshow really happened when the 2023 Six Nations comes around and we all dare to dream again, but Saturday afternoon was it for me. Anybody got any Irish or French relations I can lay claim to? I guess any of you Welsh rugby supporters are feeling a bit like me at the moment as well!