KeithQuinnRugby
Thinking and talking about rugby every day for 50+ years
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'The greatest thing that can happen to the state of Queensland and the nation of Australia would be if and when we get rid of the media. Then we would live in peace and tranquility - but no one would know anything!.'
From the Scottish rugby star of the 1920s; 'It doesn't matter in any game of rugby how many points the opposition scores, as long as we score more!'
'Young men have visions, old men have dreams.'
'Scientists now say there are two things you can see from outer space; the Great Wall of China and the holes in the Scottish rugby team's backline defence.'
When rugby teams still gather in a huddle at halfway after they have run onto the field usually someone in the team can be seen talking away. But really, once you're on the field there's actually nothing left to say. You just have to get on with it!"
When the new young golf star Jordan Spieth, in the 2014 Masters Golf tournament, had played fearlessly throughout, showing no nerves, Weekley said; "That kid ain't got no bills to pay, he ain't got no kids; When you're that young to him it's only all about the sport he's playing. You don't have to worry about nuthin' else!"
Seen regularly on Japanese supporters shirts in Australia during the 1987 Rugby World Cup; 'If you ain't got no guts, you don't get no glory!'
From the renowned American gonzo journalist Hunter S.Thompson: "Sportswriters are a rude and brainless subculture of fascist drunks,'
'The (bronze) medal I won is fine, but it is only a souvenir. It's what you learn from the Olympics that is most important.'
"It's 45 minutes after the game right now and I still don't want to take this jersey off. That's because I know that when I do it'll be for the last time..."
Brian O'Driscoll, the Irish and British Lions centre three-quarter - reacting philosophically for the media after his 140th, and last, game of international rugby, in Paris 16th March 2014.
(Before his 1984 Wallaby team played their last international heading towards winning a Grand Slam in Great Britain): 'In life there are four things which don't come back; a speeding arrow, the spoken word, time, and a neglected opportunity.'
'Of the five most useless things there are in the world; three of them would be the cheers we do for the ref at the end of any game!'
Spoken with his strong north of England accent; 'On the field you gives it, you takes it, and yer doon't fookin' groomble!'
When speaking about his time as an international rugby player: 'In my country (Belgium), if you sit beside the phone long enough, it will ring and you will be invited to play rugby for Belgium!'
'Time is of the essence,
The crowd and players
Are the same age always,
But the man in the stand,
Is older every season.'
Today, on this day the Springboks were welcomed back into World Rugby
11 years to the day after the last NZ v SA game they are back! But the ABs win in a Johannesburg thriller by 27-24.
BALLS
You cannot have a rugby match without a ball. According to legend, the ball that William Webb Ellis picked up and ran with at Rugby School in 1823 was similar in shape to the oval ball of today. Why Rugby School played with an oval football before running with it in one’s hands was allowed is a mystery, but the evidence is that balls of that shape were used for many years before Webb Ellis attended the school.
It could be that different forms of football were traditionally played with a pig’s bladder as the ball. Any good pig-hunter will tell you that a pig’s bladder, when inflated, is basically oval in shape. When, by 1840, leather covers were made for the bladders, they were fitted to that shape. Thus today’s rugby ball is a direct throwback to the pig’s bladder balls that were kicked around the playing fields of Rugby School early in the nineteenth century. The ‘feet only’ game of association football adopted the round ball on its own.
For years South African rugby favoured using an eight-paneled leather ball, as distinct from the standard four panels used elsewhere. In 1961 it joined the rest of the world in adopting the four-panel ball.
The first rubber bladders were made in 1870. Another significant change to the rugby ball came in 1931 when the rather squat shape of the early ball, which made for easier place-kicking and drop-kicking, was replaced by a narrower, more torpedo-like shape that is able to be passed more easily. The length was shortened by one and a half inches (35mm). A lace to hold the inner bladder together used to be found on every ball, but is now missing from the modern ball.
The main other differences that exist in the modern ball are that they are made out of synthetic rubber and have thousands of raised lumps on their surface. All are designed to give greater grip for the players’ handling. Whether they do aid catching and dispatching in a pass is the subject of endless debate among rugby watchers.
Also used on every ball are various brand names, as companies vie to have their ball used in major televised fixtures and therefore expand brand exposure and sales.
Which club supplied seven players of the 1971 British and Irish Lions touring team to New Zealand - five of whom played all four tests?
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