Looks like Tommy isn't coming back to us....

[Ardglass2]

Interview with Tommy on Sky Rugby Club tonight. (repeating on SS4 now)

Says he spoke to Kidney who said provided he was getting 1st team rugby at Os it wouldn't harm his chances of selection.

And that. I suspect, was the tie breaker.

[cables]

Says he spoke to Kidney who said provided he was getting 1st team rugby at Os it wouldn't harm his chances of selection.

Cheers Deccy

Wonder if he'll be saying the same when Tommy is actually in real competition with someone else for an Ireland spot, someone who has played 10 games less in the preceeding season.

Whilst he's so far ahead of the competition right now its easy to forget that a lot can change in a couple of seasons.

Tommy is certainly playing first team rugby (see below) and doing so very well.

Obviously Kidney has no control of TB's playing time except in International selections. It is I believe reasonable to assume that he would have a benchmark idea as to the number of Club games Tommy would be preferred not to exceed.

Could a situation arise where Kidney does not select Tommy due to his total number of minutes played or would he just continue to select Tommy provided he was playing well?

The answer would seem to have potential implications for the IRFU player management policy itself. Should Kidney have added - "provided you are not playing too many games for the Ospreys."?

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[ColinM]

[The answer would seem to have potential implications for the IRFU player management policy itself. Should Kidney have added - "provided you are not playing too many games for the Ospreys."?

Glad the stats stack up with my theory Cables.

Perhaps Deccy's insinuation was that if he's in the O's team he hasnt burnt out and/or lost form.

Perhaps Deccy accepted himself or maybe even added a proviso to Tommy that if he continues to play many more matches that the risk of this happening is greater.

Tommy would then have to weigh up that risk against all the things he has going for him at the Ospreys.

Perhaps at the end of this contract, when Tommy is 29, then maximum possible career extension becomes more of an issue than at present and that may be more of a sway.


In short, at present as a young man he feels he wants to play as much as possible and be involved in every game, and can cope with that. When the big 30 is just around the corner you need to look after yourself that bit more.

[Rooster]

Surely as a winger he will clock up less miles, thumps and general wear and tear in a match than the likes of a back row player anyway and as thus may not actually burn out as quick as you might think

[ColinM]

Surely as a winger he will clock up less miles, thumps and general wear and tear in a match than the likes of a back row player anyway and as thus may not actually burn out as quick as you might think

But does the IRFU player management system make allowance for either a players position, or his age?

[Rooster]

Surely as a winger he will clock up less miles, thumps and general wear and tear in a match than the likes of a back row player anyway and as thus may not actually burn out as quick as you might think

But does the IRFU player management system make allowance for either a players position, or his age?

Don't think so but who knows as there have never been a full set of "rules" made public.

[Ardglass2]

I've cerrtaintly read somewhere that it is tailored to the individual though

[WhiteKnightoftheWeld]

yeah...probably in a paper that knows as much about the subject as u do and so made something up.

[Ardglass2]

Get lost...I don't know why we put up with a jerk like you on here.

You really are a unbelieveable bore

As a point of information the person who stated this was IRFU director of rugby Eddie Wigglesworth

I suppose he is making it up

[Rooster]

He could also fall on his ar$e while out doing his shopping but thats life.

[brianc]

Surely as a winger he will clock up less miles, thumps and general wear and tear in a match than the likes of a back row player anyway and as thus may not actually burn out as quick as you might think

There speaks a former donkey methinks, us gazelles also suffer a bit of wear & tear you know, standing around in the freezing cold while the fatties wrestle with each other plays havoc with the joints

[scrum5]

There speaks a former donkey methinks, us gazelles also suffer a bit of wear & tear you know, standing around in the freezing cold while the fatties wrestle with each other plays havoc with the joints

My Son the Back


I woke up with a headache that'd hung around for days
And half a pack of aspirin wouldn't make it go away
I knew the thing that caused it, and it made me feel depressed
It wasn't too much alcohol, but simply too much stress.

I rang my local doctor in my quest to get it fixed
A chat and some prescription drugs would surely do the trick.
I drove to my appointment and arrived in ample time.
Then waited, watched and read until the next name called was mine.

I walked into the doctor's room, he checked me up and down
Then peered over his glasses as he asked me with a frown:
Are you worried your blood pressure might be up again?
Or is your gout and hernia a cause of constant pain?

Are you being bothered by your bulging lumbar disc?
Your slowly failing eyesight or your sub-cutaneous cyst?
Your rheumatoid arthritis or those ulcers on your tongue?
Your kidney stones, your fungus, or those dark spots on your lung?

Your low sperm count, your dodgy knee, that cancer on your hand?
That rash around your ass, your grotesquely swollen gland?
Well surely, then, you're worried 'bout your pending heart attack.
No, I said, I'm worried that my son's become a back.

He's only short in stature and his thighs and arms are small
He cries when he gets injured and he cannot catch the ball.
He'd rather kick than tackle and his nose is deadly straight
He'd rather hang out with his mum than drink beer with his mates.

His ears aren't cauliflowered and he will not tape his head
And every night, by 8 o'clock, he's tucked up in his bed
He's fast and he's elusive and the girls all think he's cute
And as for scrums and lineouts, well, he hasn't got a clue.

His body isn't hairy and he very rarely sweats
He'd rather read a book than play in winter when it's wet.
He's never skulled a schooner and he's quick to bite and scratch
He whinges, whines and finds my Garry Owens hard to catch.

He's never punched a punching bag, or bench pressed his own weight
Or stacked the bar and squatted doing sets of six to eight
His head is bigger than his neck, he can't secure the ball
He's never seen a prop up close or drove a rolling maul.

As I described the symptoms my good doctor simply smiled
I said: You don't understand this is my only child.
I tell you doc, I'm worried, is there something I can do?
Give it time, the doctor said. Your son is only two.

author unknown

[brianc]

Fantastic, luv it

Mick Skinner once said that the main difference between now & when he played was that in his day only the backs wore hair gel