Everybody’s Game

[FKAS]

Dan. I had similar at school. We didn't have a rugby team but I and one of the few other in my year who played rugby outside of school convinced the PE teacher to enter a local schools 7-a-side tournament. We ended up coaching the side and I ended up as captain. Thankfully we had some units and some speed and did ok. Talking refs out of issuing cards to our over enthusiastic forwards that tackled more like they were in WWE than rugby, that was a difficult sell particularly when we had a South African that clearly knew about rugby but little about playing it and had decided to just try and smash the best players on the opposition with mixed results. The skin tight, ancient rugby kit in fetching burgundy and lime green stripes still haunts me.

I hope this documentary opens up rugby to include more people. Living in Leicester I've openly wondered how our academy has few players of Nigerian or Carribbean background despite them both being part of the Leicester community and just as genetically gifted as the farming stock we use so often. A state school education shouldn't prohibit participation in rugby as has been pointed out it might prove a better basis for it.

[Scrumhead]

Yes - or at least they did at one stage. I played them once in the mid 90’s.

I don’t recall playing Rutlish TBH, but probably did. I went to Wallington and the teams we played were mostly pretty local with the exception of Desborough in Maidenhead.

We had Whitgift, Fisher, Trinity, Emmanuel, Wimbledon College, St. Olaves, Sr. George’s Weybridge, Hampton, Colfe’s and a few others I can’t remember. It was a tough league of good, rugby playing schools.

[Dan. Dan. Dan.]

Yeah we live in Wallington now and there's a ridiculous amount of schools that play. They are of course all grammar schools though...

[Dan. Dan. Dan.]

Yes - or at least they did at one stage. I played them once in the mid 90’s.

I don’t recall playing Rutlish TBH, but probably did. I went to Wallington and the teams we played were mostly pretty local with the exception of Desborough in Maidenhead.

We had Whitgift, Fisher, Trinity, Emmanuel, Wimbledon College, St. Olaves, Sr. George’s Weybridge, Hampton, Colfe’s and a few others I can’t remember. It was a tough league of good, rugby playing schools.

I was playing in the late 90's and definitely don't remember playing them. I think Rutlish only played because it used to be a grammar school, both John Major and Raymond Briggs went there, so I guess it had some history of Rugby. There's also Old Ruts team but they were not at all active at taking in boys from the school when I was there. Which is a massive shame because they would certainly have improved the playing level.

[Gloskarlos]

I think back in my day Gloucester would have been one area that bucked the trend. Whilst there is and was a grammar school culture there, the club rugby scene was certainly working class. All comprehensives also had a string Rugby side. ‘Secondary Moderns’ as they were called then payed less attention to rugby. There was no lack of inclusivity that I was aware of during my time with two local clubs and working through the age grade representative system through schools. Certain school backgrounds were favoured at county trials etc. But more from a ‘perceived reputation’ rather than any selection based on ethnicity. I would agree though, I played with many friends and peers of Black and Caribbean ethnicity, but very few from the Asian communities in and around Glos. thinking about it, that was the same at school. Everyone was ‘forced’ to play rugby, or hockey or cross country during the winter months. There was no football allowed at my school. ‘If’ choice was the only factor involved, all of my Asian classmates ‘chose’ not to play rugby.

[Puja]

I hope this documentary opens up rugby to include more people. Living in Leicester I've openly wondered how our academy has few players of Nigerian or Carribbean background despite them both being part of the Leicester community and just as genetically gifted as the farming stock we use so often. A state school education shouldn't prohibit participation in rugby as has been pointed out it might prove a better basis for it.

Out of interest, do you know of anyone of Asian ethnicity in the Leicester academy system? There's surely a missed trick somewhere if we're entirely missing that population in our attempts at getting rugby into schools and talent identification.

Puja

[Gloskarlos]

I hope this documentary opens up rugby to include more people. Living in Leicester I've openly wondered how our academy has few players of Nigerian or Carribbean background despite them both being part of the Leicester community and just as genetically gifted as the farming stock we use so often. A state school education shouldn't prohibit participation in rugby as has been pointed out it might prove a better basis for it.

Out of interest, do you know of anyone of Asian ethnicity in the Leicester academy system? There's surely a missed trick somewhere if we're entirely missing that population in our attempts at getting rugby into schools and talent identification.

Puja

Aadel Kardooni springs to mind of a pioneer in that respect.

[Puja]

I hope this documentary opens up rugby to include more people. Living in Leicester I've openly wondered how our academy has few players of Nigerian or Carribbean background despite them both being part of the Leicester community and just as genetically gifted as the farming stock we use so often. A state school education shouldn't prohibit participation in rugby as has been pointed out it might prove a better basis for it.

Out of interest, do you know of anyone of Asian ethnicity in the Leicester academy system? There's surely a missed trick somewhere if we're entirely missing that population in our attempts at getting rugby into schools and talent identification.

Puja

Aadel Kardooni springs to mind of a pioneer in that respect.

Yeah, basically the Iranian who wore I is pretty much the only Asian I've been able to find on our books.

Puja

[ExAviator]

I was brought up on one of the largest council estates in the UK (in Morden, adjacent to Mitcham). As a working-class kid, I won a scholarship to Rutlish, then a grammar school, in 1947 aged 11 and played rugby there for the first time. This was just after Neville Heath the serial murderer was at the school and just before John Major. Tubby Hayes, the well-known jazz musician, was there at the same time as me. I left in 1952 but continued to play for the Old Rutlishians for two years before joining the RAF where I continued to play until 1965. (I ended up as a test pilot for over twenty years at Farnborough and other test establishments.)

At Rutlish I certainly played against Emmanuel, Wimbledon College, St. George’s Weybridge, and possibly Whitgift, Fisher, Trinity an many other schools. We played two matches a week then, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

“Old Ruts” now have a thriving junior program and my twelve-year-old Grandson has been well coached there for many years.

Ref another thread but related to comments above: in 1960 I was concussed, totally unconscious, whilst playing rugby for RAF Germany. When I came to, I decided to return to the pitch (no subs then!) only to be forced off again fifteen minutes later by my own team. I gather whenever I got the ball, I ran in the direction we were playing in at the time of my concussion. Whilst unconscious I had totally missed the half time and hence my team were not happy with me setting off, ball in hand, …….. in the wrong direction!

That was Saturday afternoon: on Monday morning I felt OK and flew for well over two hours as the pilot of a Canberra aircraft at up to 420 Knots (just under 500MPH) at just above treetop height!

“Ignorance is bliss!”

[Puja]

Ref another thread but related to comments above: in 1960 I was concussed, totally unconscious, whilst playing rugby for RAF Germany. When I came to, I decided to return to the pitch (no subs then!) only to be forced off again fifteen minutes later by my own team. I gather whenever I got the ball, I ran in the direction we were playing in at the time of my concussion. Whilst unconscious I had totally missed the half time and hence my team were not happy with me setting off, ball in hand, …….. in the wrong direction!

That was Saturday afternoon: on Monday morning I felt OK and flew for well over two hours as the pilot of a Canberra aircraft at up to 420 Knots (just under 500MPH) at just above treetop height!

“Ignorance is bliss!”

Good grief!

Puja

[Dan. Dan. Dan.]

“Old Ruts” now have a thriving junior program and my twelve-year-old Grandson has been well coached there for many years.

Well that's good to know. I've often thought as an adult, why did they show no interest in the school teams at all? Seemed a real shame as surely that would be the perfect way to up the membership?
I certainly get the feeling that I was immensely unlucky timing wise in going to Rutlish. It seems it was a really good school once but our year group and the ones either side seem to have got the raw end of the deal. My step brother went there too but two years below and they already seemed to be making improvements then. Improvements in funding post 97 taking a while to trickle down I guess...

[FKAS]

Out of interest, do you know of anyone of Asian ethnicity in the Leicester academy system? There's surely a missed trick somewhere if we're entirely missing that population in our attempts at getting rugby into schools and talent identification.

Puja

Aadel Kardooni springs to mind of a pioneer in that respect.

Yeah, basically the Iranian who wore I is pretty much the only Asian I've been able to find on our books.

Puja

Luke Abraham I believe had a multi cultural background. I know the club are trying to reach out now but we are far to reliant on going to the county strongholds of e.g. Hinckley or the annexed qualification area Norfolk for our talent. I used to work in Leicester and some of the local lads from the city you'd look at and think geez you're a unit and then talk to them and I'd invariably ask and they'd never have held a rugby ball in their lives. The football club have a poor hit rate as well, I think Choudhury is the first there. The cricket club I don't know but should have a pipeline of talent given the cultural make up of the city.

[Mellsblue]

Looks like there’s going to be a Worlds Apart II:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/driving-chan ... e=customer

[Oakboy]

Ah well, if we are reminiscing, we were at a football grammar school but the PE staff liked to mix in the sports. Has anyone else played 'hurly-burly'? It's rugby-ish on a football pitch. We had an Irish lad who took to it. I always find it odd that colour/mixed-race gets all the exposure. An Irish lad was out on a limb as very 'different' in Dorset. I treasure the memory of his version of the hand-off. It was a full-blooded right hook. After he had laid out two, the master simply said, "Open hand in future, please, Brown. Well done."

[fivepointer]

Old Ruts....brings back memories. First team i played for having not really played at school. Pelham, where i went, didnt do rugby apart from the odd game.

[Dan. Dan. Dan.]

My dad and uncles all played for Old Pelhamians!
Are we all from South London?!?!

[Danno]

I ended up in South London* after playing in Poole, Portsmouth and Southampton

*wasn't playing anymore. The other fuckers kept growing. And growing.