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A Rant About University Rugby

best_fullback

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Jan 23, 2006
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Bristol
I don't know about you but for me Rugby has been a massive part of my life. It has done two very important things. It provided a brilliant sport in which to I could flourish and secondly a great social atmosphere. This is what rugby is all about for me.

In the past year however I have been so close to be being put off playing Rugby again after the experience that is University Rugby.

I am a second year student and after a spell in Rugby Union and Rugby League side I have pretty much given up playing rugby for the rest of this year and the next year.

My reasons are so:

1. Firstly the Union. The whole set up of Rugby selection is a farce. In both of the 'trials' I attended you were randomly put into teams of around 25 players and put into a match. Fair enough. That was until you found out you only had 15 minutes each to show what you can do. Needless to say you can't really do much in 15 minutes if the ball doesn't come your way. I had said I was a fly half, but in classic Rugby ways I was just shifted to the wing because we had several fly halves.

Everyone at the end then is sat down and they read out the numbers of 15 players they 'like' out of the 70 or so that had come. They then say to the rest of us "Yeah better luck next time". The ridiculous thing is though that the people they pick they either know, or are 'big', meaning no skill is actually taken into account. They simply see 15 minutes of Rugby and pick basically any Tom, Dick or Harry who has biceps. Seriously there were people who were picked who were garbage but big.

To add insult to this, people who were obviously mates with the 1st team Captain walked up to him after the selection and were like "Mate, you didn't read my name!" "Oh sorry man didn't see you, don't worry about it come along with the 1st team".

Its not as if I have a bad 15 minutes either. I put in two big hits but didn't get the ball. Players were even saying to me when I came off "Well done mate, you'll be in". Not being the biggest guy though and technique counting for nothing I wasn't picked, and I wasn't alone as several very good players were just brushed aside.

2.After this experience I thought I would try my hand at Rugby League. My mate played for them so I decided to go along and see what it was like. Everything went well and I was training with the 1st team and even got selected to play for them after two sessions. I soon found out though that I really didn't enjoy playing for the 1st team. Pretty much all the players were cocks. I don't understand what it is with some players who play at a quite good standard (i.e. 1st team uni) that makes them think they are the dogs boll**ks, to coin a phrase. They have their head shoved so far up their own recrum it makes it even painful to sit in the same room as them.

I have played in club teams with players who have represented England U18s, South West of England and Wales U18s and they are the most down to earth guys you can meet. It just seems like when some players discover protein shakes and flip-flops they think they turn into gods gift. Needless to say I didn't really get on with them and it literally became the barrier that made me leave.

3. Initiations/Socials. I know some of you may groan at this and say 'man up' but what happened to just going out with the team, getting drunk and having a good time? Thats what im used to. Not drinking vomit, come, ****, strawpedoing bottles of wine, getting completely naked, having things shoved up/in strange parts of the body, forced homosexual activity etc. I don't know about you but this really isn't my idea of fun. It really, really isn't. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love a drink like the next guy but drinking my body weight in urine - no thanks. Thankfully I didn't have it too bad but some of my friends tell me stories from their unis that frankly make my toes curl.


This week I have come to the conclusion that im just going to slack off rugby at uni. Ill just play whenever im home and practice when im at uni. I've played at a high level in my life (Club, County, trained with South West) and I really couldn't care if I never played rugby for uni again. Its their loss really if they want to pick big lumps instead of investing maybe a whole day and finding out who the actual good players are. I have a brilliant club at home with some really, really top lads. They know how to have a laugh and play at a good standard, plus don't take themselves too seriously. Its such a shame because I know a lot of players are being put off playing because of this. You may argue that its part of the uni 'ethos' that sports teams are like this but i just don't agree with it. Their selection policies are flawed and incredibly bias, 90% of the players are cocks (at my uni anyway) and the socials are ridiculous.

What experiences have you had? and do you agree or disagree with my opinion?

Cheers guys
 
Compltely agree mate.

Initiations are ridiculous, it's a big testostothon to see who's the biggest lad. You make real friends by getting ****** and having a good time with them, not by getting ****** and making them throw up. I love a lads night out occasionally, but the rugby team hardly ever jam with chicks.

Outside of drinking, a lot of good rugby players behave like the jocks from American teen movies. If you're at Uni and play rugby and/ or went to boarding school, you are a prick. There are a few exceptions to prove the rule, but generally they've got a massive ego.

What did I do? I joined an intra-mural team. It's basically a bunch of guys who don't like the Uni rugby club but still want to play rugby, even though a few of them still play for both. We play in a league against other teams like ourselves, or the Medics, Agrics etc, once a week (when the weather permits). It's great fun, we don't train but we've got some great indibidual players so we do alright. I've moved myself to wing and get a half here and there. If your uni has it, you should definitely try this.
 
Compltely agree mate.

Initiations are ridiculous, it's a big testostothon to see who's the biggest lad. You make real friends by getting ****** and having a good time with them, not by getting ****** and making them throw up. I love a lads night out occasionally, but the rugby team hardly ever jam with chicks.

Outside of drinking, a lot of good rugby players behave like the jocks from American teen movies. If you're at Uni and play rugby and/ or went to boarding school, you are a prick. There are a few exceptions to prove the rule, but generally they've got a massive ego.

What did I do? I joined an intra-mural team. It's basically a bunch of guys who don't like the Uni rugby club but still want to play rugby, even though a few of them still play for both. We play in a league against other teams like ourselves, or the Medics, Agrics etc, once a week (when the weather permits). It's great fun, we don't train but we've got some great indibidual players so we do alright. I've moved myself to wing and get a half here and there. If your uni has it, you should definitely try this.

Yeah definitely. I just don't understand why they have to ruin it. I always see the first team just hanging about in random places in their Jack Wills Gilets and rugby shorts seemingly not doing much apart from looking like the jocks, as you said. Yeah and that is the other thing, about the girls, half the team are usually home by 1 on a night out because they're so drunk they can't walk. What happened to socialising?

I have looked into the Intramural teams and unfortunately we don't have a league at our uni which sucks considering we are top 5 in the Bucs Premier for Union. We do have intramural football though. I know a fair few lads who play that and its just really laid back but still a pretty good standard so I may go and join a team there.
 
Mate I experienced the same thing at my Uni

Stick with club mate, university rugby is for s bunch of ******* wankers who think they are hot ****... I played with so many assholes the two years I played and our right the selection was bullshit. Our Captain was the biggest prick I ever met, he basically picked on me for two years cuz he thought he was hot **** then finally I snapped and beat the **** out of him the last practice I went too (he was a rich prep school ass who thought he could take me with my years of boxing, wrestling, and jiu jitsu, he learned quickly that being good at rugby doesn't equate to being able to throw down) I told the coach to **** off after that and quit right there

haven't been back since, and have loved every minute of my life since then. Playing was fun and it was good rugby but the team atmosphere, the bullshit, and the jsut general attitudes of everyone that played turned me away.

It was great though because instead of playing rugby at school I went back to training combat sports regularly which were my first love. The only reason I had stopped is because I am in the military and they weren't sanctioned like rugby was; however, they are becoming more accepted so I can train full time again.


Its really funny though, you would think in martial Arts circles, especially MMA you would get a bunch of meatheads, not the case at all, everyone I train with is super cool and egos are kept to a minimum.

I will play rugby again once I get out of here and have a decent club team to play for, until then screw the university team.
 
I don't know about you but for me Rugby has been a massive part of my life. It has done two very important things. It provided a brilliant sport in which to I could flourish and secondly a great social atmosphere. This is what rugby is all about for me.

In the past year however I have been so close to be being put off playing Rugby again after the experience that is University Rugby.

I am a second year student and after a spell in Rugby Union and Rugby League side I have pretty much given up playing rugby for the rest of this year and the next year.

My reasons are so:

1. Firstly the Union. The whole set up of Rugby selection is a farce. In both of the 'trials' I attended you were randomly put into teams of around 25 players and put into a match. Fair enough. That was until you found out you only had 15 minutes each to show what you can do. Needless to say you can't really do much in 15 minutes if the ball doesn't come your way. I had said I was a fly half, but in classic Rugby ways I was just shifted to the wing because we had several fly halves.

Everyone at the end then is sat down and they read out the numbers of 15 players they 'like' out of the 70 or so that had come. They then say to the rest of us "Yeah better luck next time". The ridiculous thing is though that the people they pick they either know, or are 'big', meaning no skill is actually taken into account. They simply see 15 minutes of Rugby and pick basically any Tom, Dick or Harry who has biceps. Seriously there were people who were picked who were garbage but big.

To add insult to this, people who were obviously mates with the 1st team Captain walked up to him after the selection and were like "Mate, you didn't read my name!" "Oh sorry man didn't see you, don't worry about it come along with the 1st team".

Its not as if I have a bad 15 minutes either. I put in two big hits but didn't get the ball. Players were even saying to me when I came off "Well done mate, you'll be in". Not being the biggest guy though and technique counting for nothing I wasn't picked, and I wasn't alone as several very good players were just brushed aside.

2.After this experience I thought I would try my hand at Rugby League. My mate played for them so I decided to go along and see what it was like. Everything went well and I was training with the 1st team and even got selected to play for them after two sessions. I soon found out though that I really didn't enjoy playing for the 1st team. Pretty much all the players were cocks. I don't understand what it is with some players who play at a quite good standard (i.e. 1st team uni) that makes them think they are the dogs boll**ks, to coin a phrase. They have their head shoved so far up their own recrum it makes it even painful to sit in the same room as them.

I have played in club teams with players who have represented England U18s, South West of England and Wales U18s and they are the most down to earth guys you can meet. It just seems like when some players discover protein shakes and flip-flops they think they turn into gods gift. Needless to say I didn't really get on with them and it literally became the barrier that made me leave.

3. Initiations/Socials. I know some of you may groan at this and say 'man up' but what happened to just going out with the team, getting drunk and having a good time? Thats what im used to. Not drinking vomit, come, ****, strawpedoing bottles of wine, getting completely naked, having things shoved up/in strange parts of the body, forced homosexual activity etc. I don't know about you but this really isn't my idea of fun. It really, really isn't. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love a drink like the next guy but drinking my body weight in urine - no thanks. Thankfully I didn't have it too bad but some of my friends tell me stories from their unis that frankly make my toes curl.


This week I have come to the conclusion that im just going to slack off rugby at uni. Ill just play whenever im home and practice when im at uni. I've played at a high level in my life (Club, County, trained with South West) and I really couldn't care if I never played rugby for uni again. Its their loss really if they want to pick big lumps instead of investing maybe a whole day and finding out who the actual good players are. I have a brilliant club at home with some really, really top lads. They know how to have a laugh and play at a good standard, plus don't take themselves too seriously. Its such a shame because I know a lot of players are being put off playing because of this. You may argue that its part of the uni 'ethos' that sports teams are like this but i just don't agree with it. Their selection policies are flawed and incredibly bias, 90% of the players are cocks (at my uni anyway) and the socials are ridiculous.

What experiences have you had? and do you agree or disagree with my opinion?

Cheers guys

Stereotypical Uni rugby. Much can be said for my uni socials. But I can tell you that its much worse at Cardiff Uni, trials are attended by over 200 players and you are just literally given 5 mins to shine.

But in the uni im at now the playing side is much different to the one mentioned. We made sure that trials was really training and all freshers were eligible if they trained regularly. We made training challenging so that the it challenged the good players and worked the poor ones even harder. What we found out the best stay and hack it and the rest drop off. You will get the odd one or two who will tag along and they usually improve. But for most uni's this is simply not the case.
 
Another person who completely agrees. I was very tempted to join my uni's rugby team, but got put off by the sh*t that goes on during initiations. Not my idea of fun atall, and I'd flat out disagree if I was forced, so no real point trying for the team. Where the hell has this stupid iitiation thing come from? Watching too much American teen movies? It's utter bull, and must put off soo many talented players from even considering joining.

I have a few mates who joined the American Football team because of this. The American footy team is a real down to earth bunch of guys, who don't take it all too seriously. Now that's tempting. Not enough time really though, an architecture degree keeps you busy enough!
 
like in that simpsones episode with the stonecutters or something ? haha

cant a group of lads who want to play rugby just play rugby instead of acting the douche?
 
Unfortunately in uni that goes out the window. Certain guys feel the need to make themselves feel more manly by making other people do discusting things. Honestly, I have no idea why people are willing to do such sh*t. I've never given into peer pressure before, not gonna start by downing a glass of puke, or eating a gherkin that's been showed up someones ass! (Cardiff uni thing). Downing a pint is as far as I'll go, and even then I'll normally refuse to do so.

What's wrong with a good night out. There's no need to force people to do anything they don't want to. I'll never feel less of a man for refusing to do anything I'm not confortouble with.
 
I play league at my uni,
I wanted to get back into rugby (after about 3 years out) when i started uni, but decided to take a year to get fit(tish) and join in my second year, but heard lots of horror stories about initiations and socials and the like (mostly chinese whispers - but i'm not much of a drinker anyway, so even downing a pint isn't enticing to me :p ) so i joined the league team instead.
It's a relatively new society (about fourish years i think) and a pretty small one as well, about 30members, so there's no trials, and if you go to enough training you'll get game time, either in a league match or a friendly. There was also no initiation either, and the socials are just a group of friends on the lash, with dirty pints for birthday boys and a kangaroo court at the christmas and end of term meals, but even with this if you don't want to do it, you don't have to, nothing is forced/no peer pressure on you to go mad.
 
like in that simpsones episode with the stonecutters or something ? haha

cant a group of lads who want to play rugby just play rugby instead of acting the douche?

You laugh but it actually is like that.

Rugby at uni is nothing more that humiliation and watered-down torture. I heard bad things about it when I was in my 1st year but I never expected it to be like it is. Honestly I can't wait to back home in summer and train with my local team. Good lads with a good outlook on how Rugby should be.
 
Initiations are an American influence, although these things did exist within Cricket in the 70's but these initiations involved singing a song or being on the receiving end of a prank like whipped cream inside batting gloves etc. Not like these perverse challenges.

Maybe it is a sign of being part of a team or just proving how manly they are that makes these things so common.

There was that story last year about some sort of initiations being stopped.
 
Initiations are an American influence, although these things did exist within Cricket in the 70's but these initiations involved singing a song or being on the receiving end of a prank like whipped cream inside batting gloves etc. Not like these perverse challenges.

Maybe it is a sign of being part of a team or just proving how manly they are that makes these things so common.

There was that story last year about some sort of initiations being stopped.

Its halarious that you say this because Hazing is heavily frowned upon in University sport in North America now... teams have to be so careful with what they do its not even funny
 
The points you made are exactly the reasons I haven't played rugby at Uni. I just want to play the game and then have a good few beers afterwards, not drink my own **** or someone elses, that is why I am now only playing rugby when I go home odd weekends and during holidays
 
The points you made are exactly the reasons I haven't played rugby at Uni. I just want to play the game and then have a good few beers afterwards, not drink my own **** or someone elses, that is why I am now only playing rugby when I go home odd weekends and during holidays

Bud,

Club rugby is the way to go, I am the same way. Firstly the players are way more mature usually ebcause they are a little bit older. The attitude is a lot more relaxed but the level is still highly competitive especially if you can get a run out with the firsts team.

I would say club rugby in terms of skill is higher then the university leagues... especially the top clubs. You get a bunch of guys who like to have a good time and throw the ball around and drink a little bit, none of this stupid frat boy **** you see in Uni rugby.
 
Is there a club near your university that you could play at? One of our players used to travel back from university for matches, but that must have cost him a fortune!
 
Stereotypical Uni rugby. Much can be said for my uni socials. But I can tell you that its much worse at Cardiff Uni, trials are attended by over 200 players and you are just literally given 5 mins to shine.

But in the uni im at now the playing side is much different to the one mentioned. We made sure that trials was really training and all freshers were eligible if they trained regularly. We made training challenging so that the it challenged the good players and worked the poor ones even harder. What we found out the best stay and hack it and the rest drop off. You will get the odd one or two who will tag along and they usually improve. But for most uni's this is simply not the case.

UWIC and Glamorgan Uni's are the same, a few of the guys on my team are at them one guy made it into UWIC 1st's but he said there was around 300-400 people there at least, guys at glamorgan said there was around 250 ish and he got into the 2nds.

Really reading this has kind of put me off going to join the uni team next year I'll just goto the local team tbh then :p its only around 15 mins from the uni I want to go to.
 

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