A dead leg received, after only 23 seconds of the Varsity match, forced Jamie Roberts into a half time withdrawal from the fray of the 134th showdown between the Blues.

The other guy came off much worse, Oxford captain Henry Lamont was knocked unconscious and had to leave the field in the first minute.

Jamie Roberts was certainly the centre of attention, as 25,013 folk flocked to Twickenham to enjoy this historical pre Christmas rugby treat.

The Wales icon is undertaking a two year masters degree in medical science, and after spending the Michaelmas term at Queens College, he will now continue his studies, on a part time basis, as he returns to professional rugby with Harlequins.

The defeat as you can imagine did not sit well with the good doctor.

“The boys are pretty devastated and you could see some of the lads with tears in their eyes at the end. You can appreciate how much it means to them”

He went on to say, “It was a pretty disappointing day for us, but it has been a wonderful experience. I have thoroughly enjoyed the last few months, getting back to studying and to play in a match of this calibre was a huge honour”

“It’s a one off in my career, and I will will go in on Monday morning and start the Harlequins journey, and hopefully it is a special one”

As an aside Jamie was the first player onto the field to warm up and the first to applaud the victorious Cambridge women’s team as they performed their lap of honour.

A pretty decent bloke all round is our Jamie.

Fathers and sons who played international rugby.

Lloyd Williams has been put on the wing, following his cameo appearance against England in the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

15.  Andy Farrell (Eng)

14   Lloyd Williams (Wal)

13   Will Greenwood  (Eng)

12   Tom Shanklin   (Wal)

11   Jim Shanklin   (Wal)

10   Owen Farrell   (Eng)

9    Brynmor Williams (Wal)

1   Tevita “David” Sio   (Western Samoa)

2   Uli Schmidt   (SA)

3   Scott Sio   (Aus)

4   Derek Quinnell   (Wal)

5   Craig Quinnell   (Wal)

6   Louis Schmid   (SA)

8   Scott Quinnell   (Wal)

7   Dick Greenwood   (Eng)

Many great Welsh players have left rugby union to join to join rugby league.

A few came back to end their playing days but the majority were never seen again in the union game.

Here is my Wales rugby league dream XIII, can you imagine being able to watch this side playing league, or union ? great great players, all of them.

Full Back        Jonathan Davies

Wing               Billy Boston

Centre             Alan  Bateman

Centre              Lewis Jones

Wing                 Clive Sullivan

Stand Off            David Watkins

Scrum Half          Kevin Ellis

Prop                       Jim Mills

Hooker                  Tommy Harris

Prop                       John Warlow

2nd Row               Colin Dixon

2nd Row               Paul Moriarty

Lock                      John Mantle

As the 2019 Varsity match approaches, I have selected two teams to play in the “Dream varsity match”.

Everyone one selected is an international player who took part in a Varsity match during their playing career

Some great names here, and an awful lot of great names have also been omitted

The referee for this match, the one and only Clive Norling, who graced the varsity match on more than one occasion.

OXFORD UNIVERSITY

15  Hugo Macneill (Ireland)

14 Simon Danielli (Scotland)

13 Brendan Mullin (Ireland)

12 Simon Halliday (England)

11 Joe Roff (Australia)

10 Stuart Barnes (England)

9 David Kirk (New Zealand)

1  Victor Obogu (England)

2 Anton Oliver (New Zealand)

3 Kevin Tkachuk (Canada)

4 Nick Mallett (South Africa)

5 Bill Calcraft (Australia)

6 Peter Dixon (England)

8 Dugald Macdonald (South Africa)

7 Tony Bucknall (England)

Cambridge University

15 Gavin Hastings (Scotland)

14 Gerald (TGR) Davies (Wales)

13 Mike Gibson (Ireland)

12 Jamie Roberts (Wales)

11 Tony Underwood (England & Easyjet)

10 Rob Andrew (England)

9 John Robbie (Ireland)

1 Roger Michaelson (Wales)

2 John Gwilliam (Wales)

3 Mickey Steele-Bodger (England)

4 Paul Ackford (England)

5 Brian Thomas (Wales)

6 Rob Wainwright (Scotland)

8 Eddie Butler (Wales)

7 Simon Holmes (Scotland)

 As the the Russian athletic federation wears out yet another shredder, and hides its syringes, and Sepp Blatter reaches for his citalopram and stuffs a few more euros under his hospital bed, the credibility of sport has taken a few knocks in recent weeks. 

And yet, after the the horrendous night in Paris, where the Stade de France was one of the many scenes of terror, fear and fatalities, sport showed that whilst being a glorious irrelevance at times such as these, it can also be a beacon of unity, sympathy and comfort .

Tricolours have flown from masts in every corner of every foreign rugby field over the weekend, sympathy and unity has emerged from the expected and most unexpected quarters

England football fans, not your first port of call for European unity and compassion,have pledged to sing “le Marseillaise ” at tommorows match against France at Wembley, makes you feel proud doesn’t it.

Every flag , every minutes silence, every handshake, every gesture of respect and dignity shows those that attempt to terrorise that ultimately they cannot defeat us and our way of life.

To everyone affected by his awful event I offer my heartfelt sympathy and to sport and sports fans everywhere, stay safe, and keep on keeping on

There are many rugby matches I have attended that have left me with a feeling of being inspired and uplifted, but very few rugby related events have provided me with such optimism, and hope for the future, as the evening I spent at the London School of Economics this week, where an illustrious panel spoke about sexism and homophobia in rugby.

The panel consisted of Nigel Owens who needs no introduction,Irish rugby writer and journalist Kate Rowan together with Heather Taylor, one of the creators of the brilliant “This girl can” campaign , Claire Purdy England star and World Cup winner, and Pedro Dias Ferreira from the Kings Cross Steelers, the first gay rugby club.

 
Nigel Owens took the podium he took the floor he took everyone’s hearts and minds and you could have heard a pin drop as he spoke with sincerity modesty and his unique sense of humour

  
He had us hooked with the first line “I grew up in a little village called Pontberem  in West Wales ,in the 1970s”.

“Now if you want to know what Ponteberem was like in the 1970s ,then just go there now”

I won’t report all of Nigel’s great stories ,as you might get to hear him speak yourselves one day, and I wouldn’t want to spoil the suprise, but he did entertain us, as well as reveal some very personal recollections that clearly moved him, and those of us in the audience.

Two great bits of wisdom :

“Never underestimate the influence that you have on others”

“One of the biggest challenges in life is accepting who you are”

You pity the poor soul who has to follow Nigel Owens, but we needn’t have worried ,as Irish rugby writer, and journalist, Kate Rowan used her relaxed and humorous Celtic charm as the perfect foil to the Welsh whistler.

  
Kate revealed her personal journey and the horrific sexism she had endured whilst trying to carve out a career in the game she loves.

She got to the stage where she was going to pack it all in, but thankfully she came out the other side and has become a popular figure on both sides of the Irish Sea and beyond.

England women’s rugby star Claire Purdy underlined what I have seen in my reporting of women’s rugby, that those who ridicule the women’s game are the ones who have never watched it her message was “come and watch it for yourself ”

Those that haven’t watched women’s rugby at the top level are in for a big shock.

Those who witnessed last years women’s 6 nations , as I was fortunate enough to do, will know what I am talking about, the France v Wales match was a absolutely brutal and the skill sets of all the teams are superb .

Finally Julia Ryland a player for the LSE superbly delivered the closing remarks and introduced a film made by the men’s and women’s rugby teams at the LSE which showed their commitment to stamp out sexism in rugby.

  
 A glass of chilled white wine and canapés and this old journo left the building for once feeling the future is in safe hands.

So, the party is finally over, the black sacks have been filled and piled up outside ready for collection, and the hangover is massive.

For six weeks we have gorged and been intoxicated, and now, somehow we have to sober up.

Some of the guests didn’t stay very long, others lingered and finally slumped off home, and some stayed right till the bitter end.

Our favourite guests Japan have invited us to their house in 2019, so bring a bottle !

As parties go, this was the best, there are so many moments we will never forget, the aforementioned Japan beating the mighty Springboks in   Sunny Brighton, Sonny Bill Wiliams putting himself in line for a Vatican appointment with his sportsmanship and genuine humanity, and Wales blowing the annual NHS budget on ambulance journeys alone.

The fans, the volunteers , the sunshine, the ball in the wall in Cardiff ,how we miss it all, it’s so bad I even miss John Inverdale, or John Englandverdale, as social media re named him.

My only gripe is that dreadful bronze match, why oh why does that take place, just give both losing semi finalists a bronze medal and declare them joint third place.

Losing in a semi final is the pits and to get yourself up for another international with a four day turnaround, in Argentina’s case ,was almost a case for the European court of human rights.

It all ended a week ago and it seems like a lifetime doesn’t it ?

I find it no coincidence that since the final ended,last Saturday,we have literally had no sunshine where I live.

Thanks everyone for making the tournament so great here is my personal list of closing credits to those who made it so special for me

Adam Jones

Stephen Jones

Jamie Freeland

Doggy Bonar

Daniel Razza

Nigel Owens

Costa Coffee

Springbok fans at Wales v South Africa Twickenham

Daniel Craig

Gareth Bale

Mr J Wilkinson

Bob Skinstad

South West Trains

Evolution Battersea

74:06 on the clock at a damp grey Twickenham, bread of heaven ringing around the stadium and Wales less than six minutes away from a second consecutive Rugby World Cup semi final, and leading South Africa 19-18.

The men in red had given everything, put their bodies on the line and repelled everything the Springboks had thrown at them, which included the kitchen sink and the kitchen itself.

One scrum, one pass and the dream was over .

This team, this squad, this group have displayed qualities that have made the nation proud, and that have upheld the standards and ethics of this great game

They have shown humility in victory and graciousness in defeat and in captain Sam Warburton they have someone very special both as a rugby player and as a person.

Thank you Wales for a magical four weeks , for your efforts , and for the humble way you have conducted yourselves, we feel you are part of us and that we are part of you.

We are sad that this particular journey is over, but we will all unite again for another roller coaster ride soon.

Ok so the words Welsh  rugby and ambulance (or ambiwlans if you are Welsh speaking) have been the most used nouns since all eyes focused on RWC 2015 , but I would like to tell you the tale of my personal battles which have not received the headlines they deserve

It all started at my pre tournament training camp in Barcelona the week before the tournament started .

The waiter at the cafe was not exactly the Richie Mccaw of personal hygiene, and whilst suffering from some form of severe bronchial disorder ,managed  to infect me,via my morning croissants, with the most horrendous dose of man flu.

I attempted to to nip this in the bud through extremely high doses of  cortados, bacalao omelettes and Madeleines.

The self administration of anti biotics I found the bottom of my wash bag propelled me in the road to recovery.

Despite concerns, I managed to get through the full eighty minutes of the Uruguay match ,although I was not severely tested to be honest.

I was starting to feel good, and even got through an interview with Adam Jones in a London eye capsule high above the city ,as part of my altitude training.

But in true Welsh style worse was yet to come.

Monday morning arrived, and as people of my age will know ,every action involving bending is accompanied by a corresponding groan .

The process of getting dressed for me sounds like a soundtrack to the Haka these days .

Anyway ,I had reached the socks moment, to be precise I had over reached the socks moment  the pelvis shifted and there was a clicking of the lower back , I  felt my World Cup was over.

Now unlike the national team , I do not have the expertise and medical back up that they enjoy, so it was up to me to be disciplined and follow the tried and trusted regime of the pound shops ibuprofen gel together with fruit and nut chocolate.

I had to sit out the the Wales v England match although there was a miracle moment when I arose like Lazarus from the sofa, as Gareth Davies dived under the posts for the winning try.

The Fiji and Australia games have seen an improvement, but I may be too late for his tournament, unless Wales make the semi finals

So I may have to cling to hopes of Japan 2019 for a full tournament injury free.

Thank goodness for the one bit of kit that has got me through the tough rehab.

State of the art medical equipment does not come cheap, but without my Nepresso machine I would never have made it

So here’s hoping for  Wales win against the Springboks as I just might be fully fit for the semi final.

 Things have been going bump in the night in darkest Surrey this Week.

There have been spooky goings on , with players revealing  they have seen a ghost at their Oatlands Park hotel, in Weybridge.

In room 1313, Dan Lydiate claims to have seen Henry Viii ! Of course it could have been Warren Gatland in a shower cap, and Dan did get a whack on the head against Fiji.

His room mate Sam Warburton was so spooked by Dan’s late night revelations that he couldn’t get back to sleep that night.

Even more spookily the whole Welsh squad were injury free and available for selection against Australia, now that can only be achieved by mystic means.

Maybe these ghostly apparitions are a Portent, the assistance of the supernatural to overcome the demons of the last ten Wales v Australia encounters which Wales have lost by an average of 2.7 points

Having failed CSE maths I cannot corroborate this figure but it has been supplied by a reliable source.

Now I have been to Oatlands Park, and to be honest , the only frightening,and spine tingling aspect of my visit, was the size of the bill for afternoon tea.

The men in red have been haunted by the last minute defeats exacted on them by the Wallabies in recent years

So maybe come Saturday afternoon Wales will have divine assistance in their quest to bury the ghosts of those heartbreaking losses to the men in green and gold

If that happens I don’t think any of us will get much sleep on Saturday night.