Three rivers in three different countries signpost the rugby journey of Harlequins and Scotland international Deborah McCormack.

Her life and rugby career to date are indelibly linked with waterways, or to be precise, three rivers, the Medway, the Clyde and the Parramatta river.

England, Scotland and Australia provide the watery backdrop to the story of this popular, friendly, and down to earth forward, who was scoring tries for fun in the Harlequins number seven shirt, during the knock out stages of last seasons Tyrrells Premiership.

For the geographically challenged, Kent, Motherwell and Sydney provide the location for the meandering trio.

Kent is home, and Medway RFC was where her rugby story began, Motherwell the home of her gran, and the strong family tie that led her to international honours, and Sydney, where her current rugby adventure is set.

It’s a long way from her usual training base, Surrey Sports Park, to the Woollahra oval in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, 10,579 miles to be precise, but just a week after a try scoring appearance in a pulsating Tyrrells Premiership final, against eventual winners Saracens, whilst most players were putting their feet up for a well-earned rest, Debs was having none of it, and decided to forgo a British summer,and switch hemispheres, to spender a winter down under playing for the Eastern Suburbs club in the delightful setting of Rose Bay.

Its worth remembering that winter residing on the edge of Bondi beach, bears no comparison to the ones endured here at home, they appear to consist of cloudless skies and temperatures of twenty-one degrees plus, unless her Instagram posts have been photo shopped.

Regular readers of my column, may remember a piece I wrote last November, entitled Deborah Mc Cormack Flower of Scotland, well I am delighted to report that this flower has blossomed, and positively bloomed all season, even when replanted in the back row, during a cold spell in the early spring.

Following a full season of domestic games and six international matches for Scotland, she had earned a well deserved rest, but rather than take the easy option, one of the nicest people in the game put her boots in her tucker bag and hopped on down to Oz.

She is not the first Scottish international export to tread the long path to Australia, in the 1830’s thousands of Scots emigrated to Sydney, mostly builders, tradesmen, engineers, tool makers and printers.

Ships built on one of those three rivers, the mighty Clyde, carried them on a journey that took three months before setting foot on a strange new land far away.

The tartan connections are also evident at the Eastern Suburbs club where the ladies coach is Campbell Aitken, the former Boroughmuir full back.

Scottish links to Australia are plentiful, Peter Dodds McCormick wrote the Australian national anthem “Advance Australia Fair” whilst fellow Scot “Banjo” Paterson wrote “Waltzing Matilda”

After a long flight to Sydney, via Dubai, Debs wasn’t exactly waltzing gently into active service and found herself training with Easts within forty-eight hours of touchdown.

Her first try for Easts came in the victory away to Blacktown, coach Campbell Aitken informed me she scored a brilliant try , catching a missed kick to touch, before throwing a dummy and racing twenty metres to score.

Debs has found Easts to be a cosmopolitan friendly club, with a wide international mix, lining up alongside her have been Canadians, Americans, Brazilians and Irish, she has loved every minute.

Her presence at Easts, has helped to bring on a young inexperienced side, using her wealth of top-level experience to bring on the forwards, particularly in the arts and crafts of line out play, where she has been able to expand the set piece repertoire in the way only a canny Scottish lock can, as a result she has left a lasting legacy at the club, and one of which she can be really proud.

The learning experience has been a two-way street, having had one to one skill sessions with 1999 Wallaby Rugby World Cup winner and “scrum doctor” Andrew Blades, who has also been forwards coach to Michael Chekai’s Australian side, will no doubt have enhanced her already comprehensive rugby education.

Coach Campbell Aitken is a huge advocate of women’s rugby, his ongoing tireless work has ensured the women are getting quality strength and conditioning, together with GPS monitoring systems, and equally importantly getting top billing on match day and playing on the main pitch, something that has really impressed Debs.

A hat trick of tries in her penultimate game against Wolongong University, in a 105-0 win, is likely to get her thrown out of the second row union for being over zealous, but her eye for the try line has always been one her great attributes, incidently that performance earned her a place in the Shute Shield team of the week.

Last season, which became this season, has now become next season, how on earth players like her still have to work for a living, and remain amateur, astounds me, these folks are the beating heart and soul of rugby and its values, and surely it is now time to give them some financial recompense, not that she would ever complain.

A big season awaits with Harlequins and Scotland, who have three Autumn internationals, a January game against Spain in Madrid, before the Six nations comes calling once again.

Rivers take us on wonderful journeys of exploration and adventure, that open our hearts and minds to new cultures, new people, and new horizons, but equally importantly rivers bring us back home to family friends and loved ones.

Australia are one of the favourites to host the 2021 Women’s Rugby World Cup, so maybe the Parramatta river will be calling a certain Scottish forward back for one more journey, I for one certainly hope so.

Special thanks to Paul Seiser of SPA Images for the photographs contained in this article., website: https://www.spaimages.com.au/

These days the rugby season never seems to end, clubs were already back in pre season training before our home nations touring teams touch down on native soil, after their Southern Hemisphere escapades.

If you thought this season, or should that be last season, was long then the next one is positively endless.

This time next year the focus will be on the Rugby World Cup warm up matches in preparation for Japan 2019 which commences in September.

France and Scotland have already arranged their fixtures,with Wales having agreed to play England twice, at Twickenham and Cardiff, and also Ireland.

Each home nation will play thirteen to fifteen internationals, give or take, before the first ball is kicked in Tokyo, add in domestic leagues and European tournaments and once again it looks like it will be the survival of the fittest.

Player welfare the subject that is always discussed and regarded as a priority by governing bodies, has become the king of the platitudes, there are plenty of words spoken, but very little ensuing action.

Ireland’s centrally contracted players will be in the best position come the Rugby World Cup, whilst Wales and Scotland also have more opportunity to manage their players workload, unlike England.

The competitiveness of the new Gallagher Premiership allows little opportunity for resting players, and when you have a Premiership Rugby Board that makes Shylock seems like a charity worker a charity worker, the pounds of flesh are the ones that will inevitably suffer.

Across the channel in France, its “plus ca change”, the Top 14 rules and will span its usual marathon season from August to June, but at least France will only play three November internationals, unlike the teams in these islands.

Rugby World Cup Warm Up Matches Confirmed 2019

August 17    France v Scotland

August 24    Scotland v France

August 30/31    France v Italy

August 31    Georgia v Scotland

Sep 6/7          Scotland v Georgia

I knew that the Saturday rugby marathon was going be tough, an early morning start  heading for the Nespresso machine, side stepping the starving Labrador and looking more like George Formby than George Clooney (me not the dog).

First up were the All Blacks, the coffee and Labrador also both all black, as black as the eye of poor Remi Grosso the previous week, France looked as tired as I was, they sadly did not have instant access to another espresso, something “Les Bleus” strength and conditioning staff may seriously have to look in to.

Time for a bonio for my four-legged assistant, not something I would recommend for the French back line, although a supplement possibly the front row might benefit from, although with hooker called Chat maybe something more feline would be appropriate.

France forgot about breakfast and made a bit of a dog’s dinner of a challenge in the air, resulting in a red card, and for once pride came after a fall as a gutsy fourteen man effort made life difficult for the men in black.

Already  three coffees and two bonios down, we were in danger of peaking far too soon, there were still three internationals to navigate.

Argentina v Wales was at this point in time still ten hours away so pro rata we were looking at an intake of thirty coffees and twenty bonios, a serious over indulgence for both man and canine.

Fortunately there were a couple of three-hour windows following Australia v Ireland and South Africa v England, enough time for some serious hydration, stick throwing, and a dip in the local pond, if only the dog would join me.

As we headed down under for Australia v Ireland, mans best friend headed down under for a bit of a wash and clean, as only dogs can, Ireland’s ball skills were equally impressive.

As the Boks took the lead in match three, my four-legged friend was losing interest, a bit like the England defence his concentration had gone, and thoughts had turned to other matters as he attempted to jackel a tin of “Chappie” entering the cupboard from the side, like any self-respecting All Black Labrador.

By the time Argentina were lining up to face Wales, the boy was spent, he had nothing left to give, I was hanging on in there with my protein shake to hand, okay Peroni isn’t strictly a protein shake but what the heck.

Argentina v Wales was just one match too far for he furry one, but he missed a treat as a young Wales side bossed matters and beat the Pumas convincingly resulting in a test series win for the men in red.

I’m not sure either of us could cope with too many Saturdays like that, even George Clooney would struggle to keep up with the coffee intake involved, but we have to do it all again next Saturday, it’s a dog’s life.

If you are a Labrador lover, you may wish to vist the website of balladofdoggybonar.co.uk for all the adventures of a secret service labrador, or even purchase his books available from Amazon. He’s also on twitter @DoggyBonar004  

Wales against South Africa has always been one of the great fixtures of international rugby, I was brought up on tales of the massive men from the veldt that Wales had never beaten, and indeed it stayed that way until Wales first victory against the Springboks in 1999.

A back catalogue of brutal encounters exist that took place in Johannesburg, Cardiff, Pretoria, Durban and even Wembley, but Washington DC ?

Ok let’s try and be positive about a match that created about as much interest locally as a party political broadcast.

Firstly Arriva trains the scourge of rugby fans attempting to get in and out of Cardiff, do not operate in Washington, secondly you didnt have to get up from you seat eighty times during the match to let fellow spectators carry out their beer transportation, although was largely due to a crowd figure of 21,357.

If the idea of the exercise was to spread the game stateside putting out two severely weakened teams seems a strange way to go about it.

Ex Wales captain Gwyn Jones gave his opinion last week

“Test rugby against the Springboks should not be a stepping stone or a preparation match, it’s a test match and that’s why I think it’s devalued the standard of international rugby.

The match was held at the Robert F Kennedy memorial stadium, The Beatles performed a concert there on the 15th August 1966,in front of 32,164, and a lot of people wished that theWelsh  Rugby Union had just “Let It Be”

Then came Warren Gatland perhaps “Speaking words of wisdom” ?

“Anyone who has come out and criticised this match, they’re completely ill-informed in terms of how important it is for the long term,” he said.

“I think you would have to be someone with a chip on your shoulder or be pretty bitter and twisted to criticise this match because I see it as absolutely vital in terms of our long-term planning for 2019”.

Which ever camp you’re in the match itself was one for the insomniacs, Channel 4 had to make do with Washington DC (DC meaning dodgy camerawork), which made a poor match match look worse, if that were at all possible.

Having watched the pulsating Top 14 final between Castres and Montpellier that immediately preceded the stateside snooze fest, it brought home to me the gulf in excitement that now appears to exist between club and international rugby.

But hey it was a win for Wales against the Boks, and having waited forty one years of my life for the first victory,  I will amidst my cynisism rejoice in that fact.

At least now we can move on to Argentina, and two blood and thunder tests against the Pumas.

It takes two to tango, and after a Hard Days Night last Saturday we look forward to the real thing.

A misty morning gave way to a warm muggy afternoon in south-west London, the sun shone and temperatures climbed to a sultry twenty-five degrees, there was thunder in the air above Twickenham, but it was nothing compared to the thunder that was taking place on the pitch below.

The two top teams of the Aviva premiership were battling it out in front of a crowd of 75,128 to earn the right to be declared the premiership champions of 2018.

This was Exeter Chiefs third consecutive final, and Saracens had won their last six encounters at Twickenham stretching back to 2014, so something had to give.

The first ten minutes belonged solely to the Chiefs, they put together seventeen phases in the opening few minutes before a penalty gave them a 3-0 lead, but from then on there only looked one likely winner.

Saracens scored two tries in four minutes, through Billy Vunipola (15mins) and Chris Wyles (19mins), and held a half time lead 12-3, which didn’t look big on the scoreboard, but the way Saracens were performing you felt the die had been cast.

The Vunipola brothers looked refreshed and exuberant, Billy showed just how much club and country have missed him this season, he really is some player.

Saracens had a bite and a fizz in their play that Chiefs couldn’t quite, or weren’t allowed, to produce, even when the moves broke down, you felt that Sarries just had to keep to their game plan and it would pay dividends.

Schalk Brits came on as a replacement in the 53rd minute, to the acclaim of the melting crowd, and as all retiring players do this season, he received a yellow card for collapsing a Chiefs maul, but he returned to play a part in the closing stages which was only fit and proper for such a wonderful player.

Wyles scored his second try on 47 minutes before Steenson pulled one back for the Chiefs. Earle’s try on 80 mins put the icing on the cake for Saracens.

Referee Wayne Barnes had a superb game, and there were plenty of landmarks in his direction. It was his 200th Premiership match and his eighth Premiership final.

As always Alex Goode, the Saracens full back, was the catalyst for Saracens more creative moments, a wonderfully gifted footballer, who appears to have more time on the ball than anyone else, some of his footwork on Saturday was sublime.

He was involved in every one of Saracens tries, how he is not involved in the  England set up amazes me, and many others.

It was real summer in the sun-kissed West stand, after the cold and rain and snow of earlier months, this felt like a proper end of season, except of course rugby seasons don’t really end these days.

Player welfare in England manifests itself in words and not sadly in deeds, and as the national team head to South  Africa in two weeks time  (if they haven’t all been injured in pre tour training), you do wonder how on earth they are going to survive next season, which includes RWC 2019, but that is a story for another day.

As the crowds grabbed a final cooling beer before heading home northwards and westwards, it was time to reflect on two great teams who played the match with a brutality, and at yet at the same time in a wonderful spirit, we could all do with a few more days like these.

As I tuck into my final packet of British Beef and Suffolk ale crisps, courtesy of Tyrrells, it has brought home to me the stark realisation that the women’s premiership season is over, and that actually it has been for some weeks, I have been in denial.

This fact fills me with sadness on two counts, no more Saturday afternoons at Surrey Sports Park for nearly four months, and perhaps even more startling, the fact that I will now have to go out and buy my own snacks, such is my state of mind I have even considered switching to Hula Hoops.

The Tyrrells Premiership began for me on a sunny Saturday afternoon last September, when I arrived at Surrey Sports Park, in Guildford, to cover Harlequins Ladies v Firwood Waterloo.

To be honest, I didn’t know what to expect, but when I discovered there was a “Starbucks” less than one hundred yards from the pitch, I knew that destiny had brought me to this place.

What I underwent that afternoon was a conversion of a totally different kind, and I was hooked professionally and personally.

Standing on the touch-line with the match only five minutes old, there was a roar, follwed by a huge gust of wind, and I was covered in dust and grass, that’s what happens when you stand too close to Jess Breach, who by the time I had recovered my eyesight had raced fifty metres to score the first try of the game.

Those who have followed my “Monday Roars” throughout the season will have no doubts where my loyalties and indeed my heart lie, they are firmly embedded in the chocolate brown, French grey, magenta and light blue shirts, but taking a wider view they are also rooted in the women’s game overall.

Many players and coaches have become friends, and good friends at that, also Starbucks profits shot up dramatically in the trading period between September 2017 and April, 2018 so much so the company are even considering fulfilling their UK tax obligations.

There is still plenty of rugby left for me to do this season, the Aviva Premiership Final, the London and Paris Sevens and some Barbarians work, but a little piece of me is counting down the days until September, and a return to Surrey Sports Park where with a latte and a notebook, I can renew my acquaintance with the Tyrrells Premier 15s, and the wonderful people who make it what it is.

Blue has been the colour this week, as Cardiff  basked in a week of glorious sunshine and unadulterated sporting glory.

It’s difficult to decide which is the more notable, as meteorological success in Wales is probably harder to come by than sporting triumph, but for the capital city to have both, and in the space of less than a week, may well make residents and supporters rush out en masse, to buy a lottery ticket, as unlike the weather, good fortune appears to raining down on the South Wales city at the moment.

On Friday night glorious success spanned the 1006 miles from Cardiff Bay to the Bay of Biscay, and from Barry to Bilbao, I would imagine there were even “Bluebirds” over the white cliffs of Dover.

The Welsh capital had only just recovered from its massive footballing hangover, following Cardiff City’s promotion to the premier league, when the “hair of the dog” came in the form of European Challenge cup success in the San Mames stadium over Gloucester.

The celebratory pintxos replaced Clarkie’s pies on this occasion, and chip alley was temporarily re located to Plaza Emilio Campuzano, a gastronomic upgrade of massive proportions.

It couldn’t have started much worse for Welsh side, losing star man Josh Navidi after 6 minutes with what looked like a dislocated shoulder, from then on Gloucester bossed the first half and went in at half time with a 20-6 lead.

I had already prepared my headline “Cardiff sunk in the Bay of Biscay”, but not for the first time, and certainly not for the last time. I was proved totally wrong.

Barely having time to finish my Cortado, a minute into the restart Blues scrum half Tomos Williams went over for a brilliant try, that set the tone for a thrilling and nerve jangling second half.

The tide was turning in the Bay of Biscay, and the water was starting to look a bit choppy for Gloucester.

The Blues scored seventeen unanswered points in fourteen second half minutes, to give them a 23-20 lead, but the cherry and whites were not finished, and proceeded to score ten unanswered points of their own to take a 30-23 lead.

The score remained that way until the clock hit 76 minutes, when Blane Scully went over in the corner, Anscombe missed a difficult conversion, as finger nails slowly disappeared with Gloucester clinging on to a 30-28 lead.

The Arms Park boys gave it one last thrash, which resulted in a Cardiff penalty in the 79th minute, Anscombe slotted the pressure kick as Cool as the cucumber in my vegetable bocadillo, they collected the restart, wound down the last few seconds, and booted the ball into touch to gain a memorable win by 31 points to 30.

Open top buses are going to be in short supply next week in Cardiff, as the city’s sporting heroes display their wares, if there’s another week of sunshine to go with it we may just have to pinch ourselves.

There is an old saying “You only get one chance to create a first impression”, for the game of rugby, in the football mad country of Spain, that chance came on Sunday 18 March.

For once, rugby was on the front pages, it was on prime team television and radio, this was the moment the rugby lovers, and supporters of Spanish rugby, had been waiting for, a chance to showcase their wonderful game, and its values, to let the uninitiated and the casual sports fan know just what the our sport was all about.

The bars and cafes across Spain were alive with anticipation and excitement, over a Cortado and a cerveza people were speaking about Malie instead of Messi, Rouet and not Ronaldo, and instead of Bale there was talk of Belie.

But sadly What was intended to be a celebration of Spain’s potential qualification for next years Rugby World Cup in Japan degenerated into an ugly and sordid affair, resulting in a complete antithesis of everything rugby people dear.

All the unseemly events that unfolded that afternoon of which we are now all too familiar, came about as a direct result of the actions, or rather the inaction of Rugby Europe.

This was an accident waiting to happen, Rugby Europe appointed a Romanian referee to a match where his home nation and employer would directly benefit from a win for Belgium.

The “Ref Team” should never have been put in this position and in my opinion Rugby Europe failed in their duty of care to the referee and his Romanian assistants.

Requests by the Spanish Rugby Federation to change the officials were refused, as were the requests for a Television Match Official for what was the biggest and most important rugby match in the world on that particular day.

Conspiracy theories abound, investigations, conversations, recriminations and conference calls are all ongoing, and to add to catalogue of catastrophe Russia has now complained that Romania fielded an illegible player during the qualifying tournament.

The real loser, whatever the final outcome of the governing bodies findings will not be a referee, or even Spain or Romania, the loser will be rugby itself.

Many of my Spanish rugby friends are heartbroken, not because they lost a rugby match but because the years they have spent fostering and proclaiming the spirit and values of rugby, whilst being global ambassadors for the sport, have been compromised and disrespected.

A wonderful and unique opportunity to spread the development of rugby in Spain has been blown, hearts and minds have been lost, some forever.

If that match had been the first rugby game I had ever watched I’d have switched to the round ball game overnight.

The Spanish team did not cover themselves with glory either after the final whistle, and the scenes witnessed were disgraceful, shocking and depressing in equal measure, but would these unseemly events have occurred if Rugby Europe had carried out its duties competently, and appointed a team of officials from a different country.

World Rugby, the game’s governing body, are awaiting Rugby Europe’s explanations, and I have no doubt there will be repercussions, whether these will be to Spain’s advantage I have my doubts.

Whatever happens Spain can still make next years World Cup, and I hope their anger and frustration will be channeled and prove to be a motivating factor in their efforts to beat Portugal, and Samoa, to secure qualification for RWC 2019.

The rugby world will be wishing them well, and just maybe those hearts and minds lost on that wet Sunday afternoon in March will be recovered next year in the Japanese sunshine.

The land of the rising sun would be the perfect place to see a new dawn for Spanish rugby.

A sun drenched Stoop rocked on Saturday, it rocked to the excitement of a cup semi final, it rocked to the sight of the some of the world’s top rugby players going head to head, and hell for leather, and it rocked because it proved once and for all that the women’s game is the real deal.

On a day of shades and shorts there were fans queuing waiting for the gates to open, the whole atmosphere felt different, there was an edge, a big game ambience, something I have not witnessed before in the women’s domestic game.

It felt more like Tenerife than Twickenham, but as well as factor 50, there was also  X Factor on show, and it came in many forms.

You can take your pick from Rachael Burford’s delicious floating passes, to Deborah McCormack jumping like a salmon at the line out, the skill sets on show were a joy to behold.

Scrum half Leanne Riley barked at her forwards and sniped around the scrum like a hungry Jack Russell, providing fly half Ellie Green with a service that Roger Federer would have been proud of, whilst Zoe Sayner put her body on the line time and time again hitting rucks and mauls like a rampaging bull.

There are over 100,000 different species of the insect variety of Wasp who are renowned for their persistence, but when it comes to the two-legged rugby version, there is one Wasp that is always a delight to watch.

I’m referring of course to Dannielle Waterman who’s silky skills are more butterfly than Wasp, watching her glide like a phantom through tackles with a grace that would be a credit to the Bolshoi, was worth the entrance fee alone.

The home side had the slender advantage of a six point lead from the first leg of this Tyrrells Premier 15s semi final, and you sensed from the kick off that they were not going to let that slip.

This was Quins third semi final match in seven days, in various competitions, and coaches Gary Street and Karen Findlay have had to manage their charges carefully, inevitably some players have had to perform in all three matches, and there were some tired bodies, and minds at Twickenham last night.

Quins lost wing Ellie Miles after eight minutes and centre Fiona Pocock after nineteen minutes, both injured, but it caused little disruption and it was replacement Stacey White who scored the first points of the game with a try on the half hour.

Jess wooden added a second on thirty-four minutes and Quins went into the sheds with a 10-0 lead, and an aggregate scoreline of 35-19 in their favour.

Harlequins started the second half like bats of out hell and Deborah McCormack who is making the number 7 shirt her own these days, scored for the second week running with a twenty metre sprint to the line,

On fifty-two minutes prop idol Vickii Cornborough produced a searing thirty metre break that resulted in Jess Wodden producing some crisp finishing (rather appropriately in a Tyrrells semi final) to touch down for her second try of the match and Quins appeared home and hosed.

Wasps rallied with a Waterman try on the hour mark, but the contest was over to all intents and purposes

As referee Nick Wood blew the final whistle the sun-baked Quins fans rose as one to salute their team, and the joyous scenes on the pitch provided a wonderful end to a wonderful day.

With an aggregate win of 47-26 Quins head to the final, where they will face Saracens.

Wasps, the class outfit that they are, took defeat with grace and dignity, and as the evening sun began to set, maybe it just heralded another bright new dawn for women’s rugby.

Just off Highway 1 in the Rangitikei district of New Zealand’s North Island , there lies a small community called Hunterville.

The township on the Porewa stream had a population peak of 546 way back in 1896, but in the census of 2013 its population had declined to 429, the railway station closed in 1988, the maternity hospital in 1989 and in the 1990’s three of its banks closed.
The town is best known for its statue of the Huntaway, a herding dog that uses its voice to control sheep, the steep hills of the Rangitikei would be impossible to farm without the dogs.

But Hunterville may be getting a new statue the way things are going, as it is also the home of Hadleigh Wayne Parkes.

The geographical similarities between home and Carmarthenshire are evident, and as the likeable Kiwi comes from a proud farming heritage, it may explain why the international centre feels so at home in Llanelli.

The people of Wales have taken Hadleigh to their hearts, a down to earth humble bloke, who Scarlets fans adopted as one of their own quite some time ago, but since December the whole country has grown to respect and appreciate the Kiwi centre, for his performances on the field, and his demeanour off it.

His debut for Wales on December 2 2017 against South Africa was treated with scepticism in some quarters, this was soon quashed after a superb performance scoring a try after 8 minutes, another after 33 minutes, topped off with the man of the match award.

He looked like he had been on the international stage all his life, if there were any nerves they certainly didn’t show once the match kicked off.

Pre match is another story, learning the national anthem from hours spent with his Scarlets team mates,  Hadleigh was anxious to sing it and to sing it properly, another act that endeared him to the people of Wales.

“It was a huge opportunity and privilege to be able to represent the Welsh people”

His parents Bill and Janet missed his Wales debut, but his partner Suzy arranged for a video tribute to be sent from New Zealand from family and friends, which brought a tear to all our eyes as well as his.

Thankfully Mum and Dad made it to the Principality Stadium, in February, to see their son make his 6 Nations debut against Scotland.

“They were waiting until the team was picked, with their bags packed, were ready to go” says Hadleigh and when the call came they set out on the 12,000 trip to see their son in action.

Bill and Janet became celebrities themselves when shown on the big screen during the match and there was a lovely moment when their boy in the heat of battle glanced up to view Mum and Dad having a whale of a time.

“I caught them out of the corner of my eye, it was just a good laugh to see Mum and Dad enjoying themselves, and we were playing a good game of rugby as well”

It was a tough decision for both him and Suzy to leave home (New Zealand), but they were both keen to explore new cultures in the Northern Hemisphere.

Rugby playing offers came from France but having known Scarlets coach Wayne Pivac from his Auckland and provincial rugby days Hadleigh opted for the West Wales side.

Since then he has become the glue of the national team with his superb rugby brain bringing a coolness and consistency to the number 12 shirt.

The Northern Hemisphere experience could switch to Asia in 2019, as I have no doubts that he will be an integral part of Wales Rugby World campaign in Japan next year.

Hopefully Suzy and Hadleigh will partake in some further European exploration in the Basque city Bilbao in May, a champions cup win there with Scarlets, and there could well be another statue erected to a Hunterville citizen, this time one with two legs.

But the biggest match of all takes place in New Zealand in June where there will be two certain winners, Suzanne and Hadleigh, when they become Mr and Mrs Parkes.

That will be some “Shemozzle”