MY BACK PAGES

Romantic facts of musketeers

Foundationed deep, somehow

Ah, but I was so much older then,

I’m younger than that now.

This week is a troll through my back pages, a journey tinged by the tide of father time that the sandbank of youth failed to hold. It’s the scent of tradition with a whiff of nostalgia, a paean to pageantry and precision.

My interest in pageantry and marching bands, has re-awakened in recent times following the royal wedding and Saturday, the magnificent trooping of the colour.

Bring Back the Marching Bands

Perhaps it is the boy in me that has not grown up but I never fail to be stirred by the sight of marching bands, ceremonial soldiers on horseback, gleaming armour, the finely brushed manes of the horses, the precise movements, barked commands and all round movement of massed ranks of military pageantry.

At the start of the Rabodirect PRO12 the Ulster team could do worse than cast a backward glance at the precision of military ranks and learn a thing or two about discipline and teamwork under pressure.

In fact I’m advocating the return of marching bands as warm up at Ravenhill matches which will remind the team of the old fashioned values of discipline and precision before they take the rugby field of battle.

RAB – a – DAB –a – DOO TIME

The new Celtic League sponsor arrived with as much heraldic trumpeting as e-coli virus from Germany.

For me I was pleased to see the dispatch of ‘League’ and the introduction of the more intellectual ‘PRO12’ tag signalling the shift to higher gear for the Celtic League, with apple crushers being replaced by high falutin’ number crunchers.

RAB – a – DAB – a – DOO TIME, Part 2!

Rabobank have a decent looking pro cycling team who will be a feature of the Tour De France when it starts in a few weeks time. I plan to get on my bike but not in the fashion of the wannabee peleton posers who currently clog our roads with their two abreast riding and idle saddle chat.

Me? I’ll be pedalling down our cycle lanes and by ways out of harm’s way and more importantly,10 tonne trucks and blind 4 x 4 drivers.

Deja Juniors

Meanwhile I watched the Junior tyros at the JWC playing the Gym Monkeys from across the pond. Despite high expectations, that Paddy Potter, Ron Marshall and Dumbledore Ruddock would weave their magic on Malfoy and the rest, it was plus ca change.

Tuesday night, the Juniors play the baby Boks and best of luck to them but it looks like another hard day’s night against another physically imposing pack.

The Sweetest Game

As the juniors prepare to do battle with the baby Boks, they could do worse than sit down and watch the goldies strut their stuff.

I recently sat in silent admiration watching a re-run of the Lions 1974 tour to South Africa and the classic Babarians-All Blacks match from the seventies. It was an espousal of all that was classic about rugby.

The blocking and forward passing of the modern game are absent as are the bulk-bash centres with all the creative genius of a dalek, The goldies relied on speed, sleight of hand and acute alignment.

Not that long ago I saw a re-run of match at Twickenham featuring a backline that included Mesnel, Sella, Saint Andre and Blanco. It made hairs on the back of my neck stand up to see the alignment, speed and sleight of hand as they moved the ball.

No lingering with ball in hand, just the swiftest of transfers in one classic movement. The hands are held out, the shoulder dips, the foot is planted forward on the side receiving the ball and the ball swishes across the backs in a matter of seconds.

The skill of moving the ball like this appears to have receded into the archives of time amongst modern backs. It is now a game of bosh, rumble and thunder without the deftness of touch and fleetness of foot.

Not so Super 15

I was reminded of this Saturday whilst watching the Super 15 Stormers / Bulls match. A game to enthuse the SKY team, it was full of physical endeavour, commitment, blood and thunder, as befits a good old fashioned derby.

It lacked a certain chemistry that would have made the juices flow in a way that skill set and variation of game pattern causes one to remain interested in the unpredictable nature of rugby.

Instead, the persistent running with ball in hand followed by ruck after smashing ruck induced an almost trancelike state only alleviated by the close nature of the score.

NO Crouch, Pause, Touch Engage Here!

Watching the 1974 Lions test series in South Africa and a glimpse of yesterday’s rugby was enticing. Not a scrum collapse in sight or a crouch. touch, pause, ENGAGE! within earshot and the game fairly hummed along.

A very physical contest, the 4th test finished a draw, after Fergus Slattery was controversially denied a try at the death. Had this been yesterday, the ref, who was poorly positioned behind the defender, would have referred to the TMO.

Looking at it on the grainy television pictures from all those years ago it is difficult to see how the referee could have awarded the try when he was so badly positioned.

Ballymena Meets the High Veldt!

Ulsterman Willie John McBride was captain of that test winning Lions team and has a hatful of stories from touring Springbok country. The one I like the best comes from his first ever Lions test match against the Boks when he was running towards the pitch to start the match.

It was a long way down a tunnel and he was running alongside a beetle browed, Springbok prop called Moff. Surveying the brown tinged playing vista in front of him, Willie John remarked to Moff, “There doesn’t seem to be much grass here!”

Thinking he hadn’t been heard he repeated in a louder voice, “There doesn’t seem to be much grass here!”

Without so much as a sideways glance the prop replied,

“I didn’t come here to feckin’ graze!”

I’ve Just Got To Say!!

It’s commonly acknowledged that the Troubles set back Northern Ireland’s development as a country by about 30 years.

Of recent times I’ve concluded that the Troubles merely hid a salient fact that people in Northern Ireland just have to have their say and it’s this ability to carrying on talking that has slowed our development.

Be it foxes, wheelie bins, bats in girders or even that old hoary done to death Maze Stadium, you can be sure someone will need to say some more even if it’s been said before.

In attempting to re-open the Maze stadium debate, (yawn), thon Alliance fella needs taken aside and kicked or more importantly he should look closer to home where unemployment and socially disaffected youth is a feature of his East Belfast constituency.

There’s work to do in his backyard before he goes prowling round someone else’s. He could sort those old bats out at Ravenhill which would greatly assist some of his constituents get their sportsground re-envigorated.