One of the great names of French rugby, Beziers are currently in ProD2 and hoping for a return to the big time.

Here is my XV of French internationals who all  graced this magnificent club.

I have picked wine producer Richard Dourthe at centre on the proviso that he provides plenty of samples of his family’s produce.

15.  Julien Laharrague

14.  Jean Phillipe Grandclaude

13.  Richard Dourthe

12.  Cedric Debrosse

11.  Jack Cantoni

10.  Didier Camberabero

9.   Richard Astre

1.   Armand Vaquerin

2.   Alain Paco

3.   Cedric Soulette

4.   Alain Esteve

5.   Michel Palmie

6.   Yannick Nyanga

8.   Alain Carminati

7.   Pierre Lacans

It’s less than five days until the Six Nations starts, a tricky period to negotiate for us fans.

Weekend social invites have to be diplomatically declined, or at the very least postponed until  the “rest” weekends, or ideally until the end of March.

Now I count myself extremely fortunate that no one in my circle of family,or friends,has a birthday during the tournament, in fact there is one …. Me ! My birthday is on February 14th, and is always on, or around , a six nations weekend ….result !

I believe many years ago, when the six nations were only five, a family member arranged their wedding on the day of a Wales v England match, they were subsequently ostracised, never spoken of again, and I can no longer find their names on the family tree.

In Wales, even funerals have been carefully timed, and arranged, blood may be thicker than water , but you have to draw the line somewhere.

When I was young, the Five Nations lasted from January to April, there was only one game per weekend, it was brilliant, often starting in a wintery Cardiff  with wind, mud and pouring rain, and ending in a Cardiff Spring consisting of wind, mud and slightly warmer pouring rain.

One thing has never changed, that sense of anticipation as January passes by, I am excited even as I write this!  I am already calculating how all the other results have to go, should Wales lose to Ireland on the opening weekend.

For one who failed CSE Maths, this is a terrifying ordeal !

The tournament is now a highly commercialised well oiled machine, and things have changed immeasurably since my first match in 1974, and yes JJ Williams DID score that try Mr West.

No more standing in pouring rain two hours before kick off, getting drenched from above, and from behind with warmer Amber  liquid (and no it wasn’t fosters)

But I do miss some things , Bill McLaren, the singing at the Arms Park, Parc Des Princes, Merion Joseph refereeing in a V neck sweater, the Western Mail pull out supplements, the orangy sports echo, and rosettes.

So where ever you watch, stay safe, let’s hope for good weather and good company and of course good rugby.

Pilates is often classed, incorrectly, as women’s exercise.

You May therefore be surprised to learn that it was originally created for men.

Joseph Pilates was a boxer, and the legendary German heavyweight Max Schmelling was a regular at the founders New York studio.

A growing number of rugby players are now using Pilates as a way to improve coordination, mobility and flexibility, as well as for the prevention and recovery of injuries.

Wales and the All Blacks have incorporated Pilates into their training schedule, in an effort to gain the benefits that it undoubtedly offers.

Rugby demands rapid directional change, often at full pace, so an inflexible physique will hamper the movements required to achieve this.

Players are also required to deliver power from unbalanced body positions, at scrum and line out, and during tackling.

So as modern players get bigger, weights are an essential element of training , yet a body that has been bulked up in the gym can become rigid and restricted in its range of movement, and also leave it susceptible to injury.

Welsh international wing,Eli Walker ,has had endless problems with long term, and recurring hamstring injuries.

He turned to Pilates, focussing on the stabiliser muscles of the pelvis, the buttocks and the groin which goes a long way to preventing injuries of this nature.

Eli Walker

Adam  Kwasnicki, a physio and former England U18 coach says:

“From my experience as both a professional rugby player and physio, the majority of rugby players are lacking in both functional flexibility and core stability”

“Anyone who thinks Pilates is for girls, had obviously never tried it ”

So there you go, as summer approaches and fitness resolutions abound, you could do a lot worse than join a local Pilates class, if it’s good enough for the World Champions, then it might just be good enough for you.

Clive Ashby    England Scrum Half                      Aged 78

Norm Berryman   All Blacks Centre                    Aged 42

Jerry Collins   All Black                                           Aged 34

Brian Cox   Australian Scrum Half                       Aged 86

Jimmy Docherty   Scotland Centre                       Aged 83

Arthur Dorward   Scotland Scrum Half                Aged 90

John Elders   England Coach                                   Aged 84

Stan Hodgson MBE   England Hooker                  Aged 86

Phil Judd   England Prop                                          Aged 81

Mark Keyworth   Swansea/England Flanker        Aged 66

Jack Kyle OBE    Legendary Ireland Fly Half         Aged 88

Eduardo Lamborde   Argentina Centre                Aged 47

Trevor Lloyd   Wales & Lions Scrum Half            Aged 91

The One And Only  Jonah Lomu                             Aged 40

Sandi Magxala   Springbok Full Back                    Aged 73

Norman Mair   Scotland Hooker/Jouranlist        Aged 86

Abie Malan     Springbok Hooker                           Aged 78

Piet Malan      Springbok Flanker                           Aged 96

Jim McCarthy   Irish Grand Slam Winner 1948   Aged 90

Douglas Muir   Scotland Lock                                  Aged 89

Howard Norris   Wales & Lions Prop                     Aged 80

Martin Regan     England Fly Half                           Aged 85

Noel Turley      Ireland Flanker                                Aged 80

Ross Turnbull     Australia Prop/Team Manager   Aged 74

Gordon Stone    Australia Scrum Half                   Aged 100

CD Williams      Wales Flanker                                Aged 89

Ray Williams OBE   The worlds first full time proffesional rugby coach and WRU secretary     Aged 87

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.