Will Greenwood On Rugby by Will Greenwood

Will Greenwood On Rugby by Will Greenwood

Author:Will Greenwood [Greenwood, Will]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781849837170
Publisher: Simon & Schuster


Become the referee’s best friend

Ever wonder what your life would be like if it got the Hollywood treatment? I do, and I have spent hours trying to work out which blockbuster names would play my family, friends – and team-mates from 2003. Clearly Jonny Wilkinson would be played by Brad Pitt; Martin Johnson would be a young Kirk Douglas standing on a box; Lawrence Dallaglio would want to play himself because you just know he wants to be the next Vinnie Jones; Phil Vickery would be Robbie Coltrane; and Jason Robinson has to be played by Cuba Gooding Jr.

But for me, the best fit is Jack Black as Jason Leonard, an unlikely hero who rode to the rescue when his team needed him the most.

It was the final scene of 2003 when he got the call from the director, the Gene Hackman-esque Clive Woodward. Extra time is looming and the Australians are playing against the bad guys. Helped by the referee, the ‘Darth Vader’ Andre Watson, who has taken a dislike to the England scrum, they are starting to take control. There were no great speeches, a simple you are on’ was all that was needed to get our hero into action. Leonard tossed his tracksuit aside and muttered ‘about time’. The comment probably finished his England career on the spot but, like all great stars, he knew the next 20 minutes would be his moment to shine.

Jason/Jack trots on, and instead of going to his team-mates, he seeks out the Dark Lord Watson, and delivers a monologue that deserved an Oscar. ‘Hello Andre, I believe there have been a few problems in the scrum as such [Jason always says ‘as such when he is serious].

‘You know me, I won’t go up, I won’t go down. I will only go forwards or backwards. If you don’t even want me to push, I won’t, but let’s sort this mess out. I won’t concede any pens and if there are any problems you come and talk to your old pal Jase.’

And in that second the problems of the scrum disappeared, Darth decided the scrum could use the force, and Brad and Kirk could have their moment. The game-changing move wasn’t a tackle, it wasn’t a kick, a try or a line-out. It was a simple bit of communication that let the referee know he had a player on the field who was willing to listen, willing to play by his rules and willing to adapt.

That is what rugby is about. There are some rules that are obvious and easy to understand, but there are also some that need interpretation. Before the current World Cup, referees were told to focus on the breakdown, and were told how to run it. There was nothing sly about this. It was done in an open and clear way. It had a massive neon sign over it that said remember the back-foot law for offside, the side entry by both attackers and defenders, the need for the



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