Rugby

Those Adidas boots are fantastic in every way apart from the fact they tear my poor little feets to shreds. The problem is that they have a non slip grippy surface on the inside surface of the heel, it's supposed to stop your foot slipping out of the boot.............. A problem I have NEVER encountered before, this surface just grips your socks meaning that your socks rub against your feet instead of the boot.

Try a 2nd pair of socks

Not playing this weekend, but that is my plan, that and zinc oxide tape.

Gaining weight is so hard. Currently I'm struggling to keep 9.5. I need to be atleast 10 and a half stone, ideally Id like to be 11 or more, especially at 5ft6. Along with constantly eating, could anyone recommend protein powders or something else of the sort?

Why are you trying to gain weight and what is your excercise programme like? Are you trying to gain lean weight? What supplements do you currently take? What type of food are you eating in an effort to bulk up?

Im trying to gain the weight to make myself heavier, so, for now bulky weight. I like to think I have a good workout programme which is 20 push ups, 50 sit ups, (pause for drink time only e.g 10 seconds) 20 pushups, (pause for drink time only e.g 10 seconds) 20 dips, (pause for drink time only.g 10 seconds)10 push ups

then I use my weights

5 lots of 6 reps barbell curls at 25kg followed by 10 squats.

and I go for a 5k run every 2 days

I get through a loaf of bread in 2 days. Porridge at night, bran flakes for breakfast, lots of eggs. Will get through a 6 pack in around 2 days some times, with steaks, pasta, tuna and rice featuring heavily. I was taking maxi muscle cyclone, but I cut that out after Im convinced it made me really grumpy

Scored my first try in far too many years on Saturday. Was a great game, couple of good carries and a few tackles. One particularly meaty hand-off too, the kind of one where the other guy lifts off his feet and lands on his arse. I much prefer second row to prop now. However, I caught a flailing elbow to the left ear. Even with a headguard on, it hurts like hell. Ear slightly bruised, jaw aches. Got hit in the left ear and still my right ear popped at the time. I reckon it's because my jaw got shifted to the right. Since it happened it feels like I have water in my ears. I am putting it down to the joints at either side of the jaw being slightly swollen but if it doesn't go away in a couple days will go to the GP.

Nice.

The try and hand off. Not having your ears rung.

It was only their out-half, will aim for someone bigger next time.

It could be a perforated eardrum. It's happened to me and it felt like water in the ear. GP should be able to tell you.

I have no lasting effects and it healed on its own BUT go to the docs because if it gets infected it may harm your hearing.

#internetz

I did google that but don't think it's that bad. Just annoying at the minute. It's worse in my right ear (opposite side to the impact) so I would have expected that kind of injury to be on the impact/left side as that would have been where the biggest pressure build up was. The sweaty headguard made quite a good seal over my lug'ole.

Just hoping it doesn't cauilflower, my ears are weird enough as it is.

I was punched in my ear. I didn't seem that bad and I carried on regardless. The next day it just felt like I couldn't equalise the pressure.

It was only their out-half, will aim for someone bigger next time.

Dont think I've ever done a decent hand off. My arms are half the length a normal adults. So it kinda doesnt work.

I tend to try and appear to be slowing and bracing myself to be tackled. Then try and shoulder charge them as low as possible. Can be good. Can also result in scooping up a 110 kg player onto your back. Which can slow the attack somewhat.

first step 'jump onboard the try train, fucker'
second step 'youre quite heavy'
third step 'I think I'll ly down here'

I've never been a great ball carrier, I always assume I will be tackled straight away so I'm never thinking far enough ahead. If I break a tackle, I'm kinda lost so panic a bit, slow down and then get emptied. A mate said you should expect to make a line break with each carry and you will always make ground.

With the try, it was our ruck just outside their 5m line, I was third man there, we had comfortably won the ball in the breakdown, our 9 called for a pick and go so they moved to cover the sides of the break down. I saw the gap and went down the middle, glanced off their 9 with a cheeky spin (i fell over in a spinning motion) and grounded the ball. Feels good man.

I never really carry the ball or score tries. I clean shit up, and am very good at retaining the ball in a tackle. But thats the end of it.

Last time I scored it was in 7s. I did a neat loop near the end of the line, recieved the ball, and cut inside. Creating a nice overlap for our winger/prop. The sort of neat and clever timed play I never usually pull off.He then, for some insane reason, ignored the massive overlap, and did a switch (text book 7s ball movement admittedly. But open your fookin eyes man). This left me face to face with this massive semi-pro mauri league player, who'd been snapping people all day. Shit myself, and did a scooby doo scurry around him. It might have been my only score that year. But all I could think was 'he wont tackle me now, the balls down'.

Ball carrying is the strongest element to my game.

I never expect to break a tackle but am very good at carrying momentum into the hit in a low and dynamic body position. I find the key to the hit is on the last step to plant your leading foot a bit further forward than you would normally do in a running stride, drop your shoulder on the same side as your leading foot (it should be as close to your knee as possible) and straighten your back (this makes it almost impossible for the tackler to wrap their arms unless they are tackling below the knee), once your weight is fully transferred to your leading foot drive up and out of the tackle. If you can do this unless the tackler is fully committed you will come out of the tackle relatively unscathed and because your body position is coming up it makes it easier to offload.

I love it when people try to hand me off as I just grab hold of their arm and pull them to ground with me. If you can turn your weight over as you go down it makes it a lot easier to get up and Jackal to flash harry who just tried to hand you off.

What did you guys make of the internationals over the weekend?

I think that England are going to get royally screwed by the ABs I don't think they have it in them to turn them again.

Ireland seemed to do well against Samoa, and have Sexton back for this weekend.

I was impressed by the Scotland team we received a lot of stick for the boring 1st half but crossed the whitewash twice, if the second try had been allowed I think it would have been a cricket score. We effectively wore them down in the first half and reaped the rewards in the second when our offloading game was excellent. It won't be that easy against the boks but the confidence from the Japan game and the fact that we took them to the wire in South Africa over the summer should give the boys a lot of belief.

Wales appear to be in trouble, irrespective of the scoreline at the weekend they were soundly beaten and lost a lot of their stars. Tempted to have a sneaky fiver on the Argies by 5.

Anyone been watching the RLWC so far? I've gotten tickets to the double header at wembley in 2 weeks time, lookinh like England vs NZ and Oz vs ??

Anyone else going? tickets are pretty cheap

Not really been watching the RWLC as I find the lack of a ruck in the code to be frustrating to say the least. That said I have been following the results I am pleasently surprised that Scotland have done so well, especially given that one of the starting players has had to delay the installation of two new fireplaces (his day-job) in order to run out against NZ in the QF.

That said the thought of a jolly to WEMBERLEEEEE is enticing, even if the Scotland team stands a snowball's chance in hell of making past the QF.

How much are the tickets CP?

Just looked at the dates - I have a family do that day.

I'm not a fan of RL but that's just a personal preference. One tip for watching rugby at Wembley is to get to the bar early. There aren't as many as at Twickenham as the football crowd can't be trusted so they aren't really set up for selling booze to tens of thousands of rugby fans. Went to watch a four nations double header a couple of years ago, couldn't get a drop.

I've been to a couple of rugby matches there since it has re-opened SA vs Babas and Sarries vs Wasps. Admittedly it was not capacity but I had no problems getting a beer.

I did have a problem because the beer they were serving was fucking horrible pissy lager stuff that came out faster than you could ever hope to put it in.

I was pissing like a fountain all night and at the Sarries game when our minibus got stuck in traffic on the M40 myself and my mates made a break for freedom out of the emergency exit to write our names in the snow covering the hard shoulder. We got a very stern telling off from a copper apparently shitty beer and full bladders are not a sufficient excuse for walking across three lanes of stationary traffic to turn the hard shoulder into a lavatory. The copper actually fined our hooker for unrinating in public when he turned round and said "would you rather I went on the central reservation!"

'kin hell! For some reason I find this photo absolutely terrifying.

Ball carrying is the strongest element to my game.

I never expect to break a tackle but am very good at carrying momentum into the hit in a low and dynamic body position. I find the key to the hit is on the last step to plant your leading foot a bit further forward than you would normally do in a running stride, drop your shoulder on the same side as your leading foot (it should be as close to your knee as possible) and straighten your back (this makes it almost impossible for the tackler to wrap their arms unless they are tackling below the knee), once your weight is fully transferred to your leading foot drive up and out of the tackle. If you can do this unless the tackler is fully committed you will come out of the tackle relatively unscathed and because your body position is coming up it makes it easier to offload.

Our captain does this so well. Smashes me every time, and I'm a foot shorter than him. The only thing to do is to try and get deflected into the window between shoulder and leading leg. Not easy.

I get low, and well positioned. But I'm 85kg. It doesnt take much weight/timing to stop me. But like I said I dont lose the ball.

There is much talk of new rules for scrums, better pitches for scrums, and a strong England scrum. Sounds like hype to me. The ABs will at the very least hold their own, and murder us in the open.

Not really been watching the RWLC as I find the lack of a ruck in the code to be frustrating to say the least. That said I have been following the results I am pleasently surprised that Scotland have done so well, especially given that one of the starting players has had to delay the installation of two new fireplaces (his day-job) in order to run out against NZ in the QF.

That said the thought of a jolly to WEMBERLEEEEE is enticing, even if the Scotland team stands a snowball's chance in hell of making past the QF.

How much are the tickets CP?

mince were £10.. I think £20 is the cheapest at the mo..up to about 50. figured it'd be something different ad at £10 can't really complain

Edit: ah saw you update... oh well