Musings from the Couch

I usually write this before I have read the Sunday papers. It is then interesting to see what the pundits and reporters come up with. This is certainly the case today.

I read with some degree of disappointment that club rugby in Wales would be abandoned this season. This is not unexpected and I believe the correct decision in light of the circumstances that the country finds itself in. The all-pervading Corona Virus is doing far greater damage to society than the cancellation of rugby matches could ever do. Hopefully normal service can be resumed in September and that the vast majority of clubs are able to get back to playing matches on a Saturday afternoon. No doubt there will be a shuffling of the pack in terms of the team players end up turning out for. It will be almost like starting with a blank piece of canvas. I look forward to it and hope that Pontypool will finally get the job done and win a place in the Premiership.

Meanwhile back on the couch, I have been watching European rugby on the TV. Two really exciting matches with Munster and Ospreys both fighting back from large deficits to claim away victories. Sadly though, the tournaments are rapidly becoming farcical with the awarding of bonus point victories in matches cancelled due to Corona Virus infections. It would surely be better for a virtual panel of “experts” to be convened to predict what they think might have happened rather like the old Pools Panel did in football. In many of the cases so far, a team has been on the losing end of a comprehensive defeat through no fault of their own. Meanwhile other teams are sweating blood on the field to win valuable points. I do understand that the show must go on to gain income but winning on the basis of the other team’s misfortune off the field is somewhat unsatisfactory. So far, the Welsh Regions seemed to have fared well from cancellations so lucky them.

The Six Nations Championship is just around the corner. With a worsening situation with the Corona Virus in all the countries involved, surely this must now be postponed. If it were my decision, I would postpone it until the Autumn. I would then amalgamate it with the matches in Spring 2022 and have a “Super Six Nations” where the teams will have played each other home and away to determine the champions. If the situation with the virus improves, perhaps some matches against Southern Hemisphere teams could be arranged in May or September.

The other big issue hitting the headlines is the tragedy of early onset dementia for rugby players. I don’t know enough about the medical science involved but this is really eye-opening stuff. I did once go to a lecture in Cardiff University where they explained how they were working to redesign the American football helmet to reduce the effect of head impacts. Some of the illustrations of what happens to the brain in a collision were frightening. Their proposed design modifications to the helmet were encouraging. 

I don’t suppose we will see hard helmets used in rugby but you never know. All this will, of course, end up in the law courts but you do wonder how rugby can survive in its present form. My heart goes out to the players suffering the consequences of playing the sport they love and I wish them all well.

So, it’s back to the couch for another shift.

Have a safe Xmas everyone and let’s hope for a better 2021.