According to Elton John, ‘sorry seems to be the hardest word’ but I have to take the legendary musician and composer to task on this occasion.
For me, without doubt the word that seems to be the hardest is Goodbye.
Whichever way you try to take the sting out of it, whether that be with a farewell, a see you soon, or any other platitude, it doesn’t take away from the fact that something is coming to an end. In this rugby case, something, and someone very special indeed.
This afternoon Leanne Infante, the artist formerly known as Riley, called time on her professional rugby career in what was her 100th game for Saracens with a resounding victory against reigning Women’s Premiership champions Gloucester-Hartbury.
Even when the difficult decision is made on your own terms, as is the case with Leanne, it doesn’t necessarily make it any easier.
But over a wonderful career at the top, she always did things on her own terms, and her decision to retire was no different.
Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming, and Leanne worked tirelessly to achieve that, whilst also helping those around her to achieve their best. Any fly half she has ever played with will testify.
I don’t think Leanne will ever realise just how good a player she was, or indeed how popular she was with team mates, fans, and journalists alike, only because that does not fit in with the humble way in which she operates.
As a Red Rose, she was often the pick of the bunch, a hardy perennial that bloomed season after season and never failed to brighten up the green fields she inhabited.
It has been my pleasure and privilege to follow Leanne’s career at close quarters. I’ve seen her mature and develop on and off the field, both as a player and person, the results have been pretty impressive.
As in the words of Rudyard Kiplings famous poem ‘If’ she has met with Triumph and Disaster and treated those two impostors just the same.
She has kept close council when things have not gone her way, frequently through no fault of her own, and chosen instead to do her talking on the field.
We are all in this wonderful game for a relatively short time. And to be able to have a career where you have maintained and upheld the values and the spirit of rugby is as big an achievement as all the trophies, titles and championships won, Leanne can be justifiably proud.
Rugby, and in particular the women’s game, will be all the better for her legacy, those following in her wake will find their paths that little bit smoother, thanks to her and her generation.
Leanne did everything on her own terms during a long club and international career, so it comes as no surprise that when it came to the agonising moment of dealing with sporting retirement, she had the strength of character. She also had the wisdom to make that difficult decision.
Having achieved the CIl Level 4 Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning, Leanne is a fully qualified Financial Adviser authorised by the FCA. She is also a qualified member of the Personal Finance Society, working with the prestigious Quilter group. So whilst our rugby days may not shine quite so brightly, our pension pots will almost certainly be booming.
Thank you, Leanne, for all the memories, you will be missed.
The number 10 in Numerology represents fresh new beginnings, leadership and innovation, self-discovery and independence, almost the perfect definition of a certain fly half now residing in the south of France.
Dan Biggar having exchanged Hymns and Arias for the Pilou pilou, a chant which describes the Toulon players as warriors coming down from the mountains towards the sea, has just released his autobiography “The Biggar Picture”.
When ‘Number 10’ is mentioned, the first thought that comes to mind is Downing Street and the individual who has the unenviable task of running the country, unless of course you happen to be Welsh.
In our case the number 10 only represents one thing that magical red jersey worn by the individual who has the unenviable task of running our country on the rugby field and as is the case with the Prime Minister he gets the blame for anything that goes wrong whether or not it is his fault.
I always felt that a lot of people would never appreciate how good Dan was until he finished playing for Wales, and this has already proved to be the case.
Memories get shorter as the M4 extends westwards the much loved Neil Jenkins had a torrid time for having the temerity to not be Barry John or Phil Bennett but once he stopped playing became a national treasure.
It is also worth remembering that Phil Bennett was dropped by Wales and also had his critics, although mostly in the Eastern areas of Wales.
Dan though had to prove himself time and time again his book unlike a lot of autobiographies draws you in, and you can feel the highs and lows with him.
This collaboration with Ross Harries is a brilliant red and a wonderful record of the career of a likeable, charming and friendly young man.
Honest and self-critical, Dan offers a rare insight into his personal and professional life. He talks candidly of his place within rugby, from the Premiership through to the Lions, and of the power dynamics within Wales’ most successful squad ever. He also opens the changing room doors and explores his relationships with past team mates, coaches and managers, from Warren Gatland and Shaun Edwards to Alun Wyn Jones and Wayne Pivac.
Cyathia Medullaris and Rosales have cross-pollinated on many occasions over recent years, at or to give them their non-scientific names, Black Ferns and Red Roses.
And there are startling similarities between the rugby and flora aspects of both.
The Black Fern can grow quite large, block out Roses and will take advantage of any open space regardless of sun and shade.
Red Roses are extremely versatile, hardy and can be placed in a variety of locations where they will flourish.
They have blossomed over recent weeks in the mixture of rain and warm sunshine that has visited these shores, with the hope of reaching full bloom yesterday.
In New Zealand it was 1.30am on a Sunday morning back here at Twickenham or the Allianz stadium as it is now called. It was a much more sociable 2.30pm on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Such are the vagaries of the global time differences across the hemispheres.
Whichever day of the week you were watching, this was one of the most eagerly awaited international fixtures, a contest carrying more baggage than my wife on a weekend break.
Five Rugby World Cup finals have seen victories for the women from the land of the long white cloud over their English counterparts yet outside the world crown the Red Roses have had their fair share of success.
The Black Ferns buoyed by a Collective hug from King Charles on Wednesday evening started brightly, but it was the power of England that produced three first half tries for Marlie Packer, Abbie Dow, and Ellie Kildunne. With a 17-0 half-time lead, the Red Roses were looking comfortable.
After the interval, the 41,523 crowd did not have to wait long for another try. Mo Hunt stretched out for a touchdown just two minutes after the restart, and Hollie Aitchison’s conversion gave England a 24-0 lead that looked unassailable.
Katelyn Vahaakolo however had other ideas and the Black Ferns wing grabbed a brace of tries in the 51st and 60th minute to bring the score back to 24-12. All of a sudden, the match was beginning to look like a contest once again.
England saw the game out fairly comfortably, but there are injury concerns ahead of WXV 1 in Canada, with Amy Cokayne leaving the field in pain.
As the departing crowd headed across the A316 into the blinding sunlight, fanciful thoughts of a return here in twelve months time for a Rugby World Cup final between the two sides were not a million miles away. But if a week is a long time in politics then a year in rugby is a lifetime.
The Red Roses will undoubtedly flourish once again, so now it is important that any required pruning takes place. They should be tended, cared for, and nurtured to enable them to bloom again in a packed twelve months that includes a WXV tournament in Canada, the Women’s Six Nations, and of course the Holy Grail of a home Rugby World Cup next Autumn.
Vannes is the poster boy of Brittany, the medieval port town is normally the strolling arena for late season tourists this time of year .
The crumbling ramparts and fortified bridges look out over waterfront gardens; cobbled lanes snake through a maze of half-timbered buildings in the old town; and café-lined squares line the modern marina.
But last night there was a new kid in town. The Top 14 had arrived in this French outpost for the first time and if that wasn’t exciting enough then having arguably the best rugby team in the world as visitors made the heady experience almost unbearable.
RC Vannes with a twenty-one million euro budget, one of the poorest financially in the Top 14 (what we wouldn’t give for that kind of poverty this side of the channel) faced Toulouse, the team with the biggest budget who have a staggering forty-nine million Euros at their disposal.
The 12,000 tickets for this match were sold ages ago, Vannes could not have wished for a more illustrious opponent to start their new adventure than the current Top 14 and European Champions.
There are 699 Kilometers between Toulouse and Vannes and light years between the two in rugby terms, but these are the fixtures that gladden the heart, feed the soul and show the game of rugby in its finest light.
Stade de la Rabine in Place Théodore Decker has never known a night like last night. The eleven-minute walk from Crêperie Les Joséphine on Rue des Orfèvres to the stadium took on the air of a pilgrimage, admittedly one that did not involve carbohydrate abstinence.
The teams being led on to the field by bagpipes was a delightful new experience for the Top 14 and their distinctive sound added a backing track to the game, their drone echoing into the night sky during breaks in play.
It took Toulouse just three minutes to score their first try after a delightful disguised pass from Kinghorn sent Tomas Ramos over the whitewash.
Alexandre Roumat scored Toulouse second try on 29 minutes, Ramos’ conversion gave the visitors a 23-6 half-time lead.
The moment the whole of Vannes had been waiting for arrived in the 53rd minute, when new signing Mako Vunilpola crashed over for their first ever try in the Top 14.
Toulouse scored a further three tries through Théo Ntamack, Pita Akhi, and David Ainu’u interspersed with one from Vannes lock Christian Van der Merwe.
The 43-18 final score earned Toulouse a bonus point win. For Vannes the realisation has probably sunk in how difficult a season this will be in the top flight.
But for now the memory of such a memorable and historical occasion in this rugby outpost should be savoured. Thoughts will quickly turn to next week’s visit to face Stade Francais in Paris, before entertaining Racing 92 back at the Stade de la Rabine the following weekend.
“These two teams have met on 8 previous occasions Wales have won all 8 but the last one was very tight indeed 11-10 it was a couple of years ago in Cardiff, and here’s another chance Fiji really on the ramapage Delasau there looked like a knock on but he’s got another crack at it Delasau it’s a foot race does he get the bounce he does”.
I think I should explain the title.
Firstly declaring October as mid summer is stretching artistic license to its limits, also, sadly this was not a dream but more like a nightmare and one that occurs fairly regularly for us masochists that follow Welsh rugby.
The title came to me over an early morning coffee and I was so ridiculously pleased with myself that I couldn’t bear to change it.
There are two certainties in life, death and taxes, actually make that three, Wales drawing Fiji in any Rugby World Cup tournament pool is another cast-iron certainty.
If you are Welsh or of a nervous disposition, or even both, please look away now.
There are people in Llanelli still receiving counselling as a result of the affects of the match that took place on French Atlantic coast.
This game in Nantes was a riot of rampant rugby and the flying Fijian winger set it alight
In the final pool game, already having an early try under their belt, Fiji chose to attack from a scrum inside their own twenty-two.
Seru Rabeni produced a magical offload behind his back to midfield partner Seremaia Bai who in turn passed out of the tackle to Vilimoni Delasau, with the winger hacking on despite the ball going to ground.
Seemingly overcrowded out on the touchline, Delasau chipped forward before towering above the covering defenders to collect an impossibly high bounce and touch down to complete a remarkable solo effort.
Fiji would eventually go on to win a thrilling game 38-34 thanks to a last-minute pick and drive by second row Graham Dewes and earn a first quarter-final appearance since 1987.
However, it was Delasau’s sensational score for which one of the most entertaining games the World Cup has ever seen will always be remembered.
As Fiji headed to Marseille for a semi final showdown with South Africa Wales headed to the airport but not before sacking coach Gareth Jenkins in the hotel car park.
A late try from Graham Dewes saw Fiji dump Wales out of the World Cup and get a quarter-final against South Africa.
Wales’ open style played into Fiji’s hands, big hits and strong running leading to tries from Akapusi Qera, VilimoniDelasau and Kele Leawere.
Alix Popham, Shane Williams, Gareth Thomas and Mark Jones brought Wales back, and Martyn Williams’ 73rd-minute interception try looked the clincher.
But the islanders rallied, Dewes bullying over from short
It was Fiji’s first win in nine games against Wales and sees them advance to their first quarter-final since 1987.
With a record of six wins from 20 games in charge of Wales, coach Gareth Jenkins’ position will now come under serious question.
His side had aimed to banish their slow-starting blues at the Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes, and in the first minute a superb Stephen Jones break deep in his own half should have led to a try.
Jones found the supporting Tom Shanklin, but he delayed his pass to a free Mark Jones, allowing the defence to rally.
Stephen Jones put Wales ahead with a penalty and Chris Horsman and Gethin Jenkins had Fiji under pressure at the scrum, but Jones missed with a straightforward kick and Wales continued to spurn overlaps.
Seru Rabeni had already made his mark on Shanklin and Thomas with trademark hits, and another on James Hook in midfield forced a turnover.
The islanders attacked quickly with a flowing move, the ball coming to Gloucester flanker Qera who stormed over from close range.
With confidence flying, Nicky Little and Rabeni attacked from their own 22.
The ball fell to Delasau, who chipped over the top of the defence, a wicked bounce flying over Mark Jones’ head and collected his own kick for the second try.
Little added two penalties, before a dynamic Qera break from his own 22 ended with Kele Leawere barging over for the third try from close range.
A panicked Wales spurned penalties in front of goal, and were finally rewarded in the 34th minute as a five-metre scrum was walked over for Popham’s try.
Fiji relished Wales’ desperate, expansive style, but their discipline fractured with a late hit from Leawere on Popham.
Qera was then yellow-carded for aiming a knee into Stephen Jones’ chest on the stroke of half-time, but Hook missed the resultant penalty from in front of the posts.
Wales pounced on 14-man Fiji after the break, and after a Martyn Williams turnover in his own 22 Shane Williams danced inside from the wing with a superbly balanced run, beating three defenders and crossing under the posts.
A fine three-quarter move from an attacking scrum saw Hook free Mark Jones with an inside pass.
The wing found Gareth Thomas, who celebrated becoming the first Welshman to 100 caps by taking his record try tally to 40.
Williams thought he had sealed the win for Wales
Dwayne Peel found acres of space from a line-out to spark the next try, accurate passing along the line sending Mark Jones in at the corner and regaining the lead for Wales, Stephen Jones’ conversion making it 29-25.
The outsiders found their second wind with some thrilling attacking rugby, two Little penalties putting them back in front going into the final quarter.
Wales wheeled on the replacements, but needed a desperate, brave tackle from Thomas on his own line to deny SeremaiaBai a try.
As Fiji went for the kill, Little floated out a needless pass – and Martyn Williams plucked the ball out of the air for a 65mrun-in.
But the islanders regrouped once more and, when Delasau was held out inches short, Dewes picked up to cross for a try awarded by the video referee, sealing the biggest upset of the 2007 World Cup.
It was Wales’ third south sea island embarrassment in World Cups following defeats to the Samoans in 1991 and 1999
Wales (10) 34 Tries: Popham, S Williams, G Thomas, M Jones, M Williams Cons: Hook, S Jones (2) Pens: S Jones
Fiji (25) 38 Tries: Qera, Delasau, Leawere, Dewes Cons: Little (3) Pens: Little (4)
Wales: G. Thomas, M. Jones, Shanklin, Hook, S. Williams, S. Jones, Peel, Jenkins, Rees, Horsman, A. Jones, Evans, Charvis, M. Williams, Popham.
Replacements: Phillips for Peel (57), R. Thomas for Rees (47), D. Jones for Horsman (66), Gough for Evans (66), Owen for Popham (66). Not Used: Robinson, D. James.
Replacements: Ligairi for Rabeni (67), Bobo for Neivua (52), Daunivucu for Little (80), Sauturaga for Koto (78), Qiodravu for Railomo (54), Ratuva for Qera (74). Not Used: Lewaravu.
Sin Bin: Qera (40).
Att: 34,000
Referee: Stuart Dickinson (Australia)
Delasau went on to score a try in Fiji’s semi final defeat to South Africa, he was regarded by many as the best right winger in the tournament. He played 17 times for Fiji between 1998 and 2005 and also scored 85 tries for Fiji sevens, but that sunny day in Nantes he lit up the Rugby World Cup.
King Midas famously requested that anything he touched would turn to gold, although when he discovered the peril of his wish, he begged Dionysusto to reverse the spell.
The god relented and told Midas to plunge his hands into the river Pactolus.
Antoine Dupont will not be repeating the same act in the River Seine this morning. The man with the Midas touch caresses his Olympic medal after France beat Fiji in the Rugby Sevens Final at Stade de France last night.
There are no unused superlative remaining to describe the talents of this wonderful rugby player.
Everything he touches turns to rugby gold. He had played rugby in one form or another virtually non-stop for the last two years and yet his standards have not dropped for a single moment, in fact he just appears to get better and better.
He entered the field at half-time in a damp, grey final and turned the game on its head.
Dupont grabbed hold of the match with both hands both feet and every other available part of his anatomy, Fiji didn’t get a look in throughout the whole of the second period.
75,000 serenaded the home team to victory against a Fiji side that had never lost an Olympic Sevens match in the history of their participation in the games.
Cliff Morgan once said of another pretty good scrum-half after he scored a try – ‘If the greatest writer of the written word would have written that story, no one would have believed it’. That player was Gareth Edwards.
Dupont’s impact and his two tries would have tested the literary skills of Victor Hugo, Honoré de Balzac, Émile Zola, Marcel Proust, George Sand, and even Voltaire.
Nine months ago, the Toulouse scrum left the Stade de France distraught and in tears following Les Bleus defeat to South Africa in the quarter-final of the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
This time, for the man with the Midas touch, it was tears of joy that mingled with the Parisian drizzle.
In the old days my summer sport consisted of afternoons that lengthened with the Sun’s shadows, sat in a deck chair listening to the sound of seagulls and willow on leather on the south coast.
I’ve never bought the definition that cricket is just baseball on Valium, and as for watching it, well laziness is not just a physical phenomenon there is a huge mental side to it.
Many youthful summer afternoons were spent at Dean Park, Bournemouth, watching Hampshire play whilst drifting in and out of a relaxing snooze before a Gordon Greenidge Six would land in the tea tent, shattering the cups and saucers, and turning a county championship match in to the soundtrack of a Greek wedding.
You didn’t snooze for long with that Hampshire team, the West Indies star and South African genius Barry Richards opened the batting and there were no safe zones beyond the boundary.
Snoozes were equally limited when Hants were fielding, with the great Malcolm Marshall reigning down, his run up seemed to start somewhere near the pier and any wides or bouncers were likely to do more damage than anything Barnes-Wallace could have invented, they were a heck of a team.
These days the rugby and cricket seasons merge, there was a time when sportsman could play both games and at the top level.
The rugby season ended on May 1 and a new one started on September, and that was the natural order of things.
Keith Jarrett The Welsh wonder kid who beat England single handedly in 1967 as a teenager, also played cricket for Glamorgan.
Wilf Wooler, Vivian Jenkins and Jack and Billy Bancroft all played rugby for Wales and cricket for Glamorgan.
Dusty Hare the England full back played first class cricket for Notts, whilst another England full back, Alistair Hignell was an accomplished cricketer with Gloucestershire.
In the Southern Hempishere the legendary All Black Don Clarke turned out for Auckland, and Sir Graham Henry, yes that one, played cricket for Canterbury.
Brian McKechnie the full back who kicked Andy Haden’s line out dive penalty to beat Wales in 1978, played international cricket for New Zealand,
Heading to the land of Springbok, former captain Morne du Plessis wore the whites of Western Province with distinction.
Other notable names who have excelled at rugby and Cricket are Rob Andrew and Simon Halliday, who played rugby for England and first class cricket for Cambridge and Oxford university respectively.
The names of those that played top class rugby in the winter and cricket in the summer, are too numerous to mention, but sadly there will be no new ones to add to the list, I’m afraid that is the price of professionalism when seasons collide.
The real tragedy is that Malcolm Marshall was taken from us at such a ridiculously young age, those of us who had the privilege to see him play will never forget him.
Friday dawned to a beautiful hot sunny summer morning yet amidst the calm tranquillity a global event occurred that caused panic, consternation, chaos, and disbelief right across the world.
Despite the assurances of experts, the unthinkable actually happened, Wales won a rugby match.
Sky Sports gave in to demands from Amnesty International and pulled the plug on television coverage of the match between Queensland Reds v Wales.
The Red Cross has already been concerned about the welfare of Welsh rugby fans globally since the start of 2024.
There were fears that a loss to a club side would have catastrophic consequences and put an end to an even greater strain on a beleaguered NHS.
With Wales leading 24-14 at half-time, Sky took the courageous step of plugging in the broadcast with the away side having established a healthy lead.
Given Wales recent record, this an extremely brave call, which looked to be bordering on the edge of foolishness when Queensland Reds clawed back the deficit to take the lead 35-31 with just six minutes remaining.
A 79th minute try from replacement scrum-half Kieran Hardy saved the day for Wales, the Red Cross and Amnesty International to give the tourists their first win of 2024.
Four first half tries from Archie Griffin, Regan Grace, Rio Dyer and Chris Tshiunza to two from Reds hooker Richie Asiata put Wales in front at the interval.
A try from Nick Tompkins seven minutes into the second half gave Wales a surely unassailable 31-14 lead, sadly in Wales we don’t do surely these days.
But just as Amnesty International were about to put on their out-of-office reply, Asiata completed his hat-trick with a try on 53 mins. A try by Mac Grealy seven minutes later narrowed Wales lead to a slender 31-28.
Grealy’s second score came on 70 mins and was the try of the match, an outstanding coast-to-coast effort converted by James O’Connor’s gave Queensland a 35-31 lead, before Hardy earned Wales the victory laurels.
Saturday 7 October 2023 is slowly becoming a memorable and distant milestone in the annals of Welsh international rugby history.
That date was the last time Wales won a rugby match, it took place at Stade de la Beaujoire in the glorious Nantes Autumn sunshine when Wales beat Georgia 43-19 to qualify for the knock-out stages of the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
Everything in the Welsh garden appeared rosy it was their fourth win in a row at the tournament following victories over Fiji, Australia, and Portugal.
Those four consecutive wins meant Wales topped their group which earned them a Quarter Final date with the Pumas in Marseille on 14 October 2023 a match that ended in a disappointing 29-17 defeat.
Nine months later, Wales are pacing around a losing rugby labour ward and the birth of a win still seems miles away. The hope of inducing one in the second test against Australia yesterday fell painfully short in the Melbourne rain.
If the habit of winning becomes a driving force and stirs the sinews with confidence, then surely the habit of losing brings the equally negative emotion of fear and the expectation of defeat.
Wales ninth defeat in a row seemed an inevitability despite them scoring four tries and with their line-out driving maul keeping them in contention in the first half.
Ultimately, Wales made too many errors at crucial moments in the game, and it cost them dearly.
It is difficult and uncomfortable to talk about positives time after time, but Dewi Lake was immense, he led from the front as well as picking up two tries.
What this team and management desperately need is a win, just a win, a win of any kind, any way and anyhow, until that happens they are stuck in a dormant torpor of Groundhog Day proportions.
So where will that elusive victory come from ? Wales’ next international opponents are Fiji in Cardiff on Sunday 10 November followed by Australia and South Africa on consecutive weekends, you wouldn’t bet on a home win in any of those tough encounters.
The 2025 Guinness Six Nations begins against France in Paris on 31 January followed by Italy in Rome before we welcome Ireland to the Principality Stadium.
It doesn’t get an easier, next come Scotland in Edinburgh before Wales face England at home in the final game of the Championship.
How we long for the days of that Welsh rugby rollercoaster, when it was feast or famine on the international stage. At the moment that ride is closed to the public with the rollercoaster lying idle and rusting in the summer rain.
Whatever the rugby equivalent of WD40 is, Wales and its followers need an industrial size quantity before that rollercoaster seizes up completely.
Just a short drive from Inverness, lies the Black Isle, a magical part of the Scottish Highlands steeped in myths and legends, a land within a land.
The name “Black Isle” can be traced back to ancient times. The land was associated with darkness and mystery due to its murky bogs, rocky terrain and sparse vegetation. This view of the Black Isle continued throughout the Middle Ages, where it was believed to be a place of superstition and enchantment.
Over the course of hundreds of years, soothsayers, witches, healers, and mystics have gravitated here.
The Brahan Seer lived here in the 17th century. A self-styled mystic, prophet and psychic, held in high esteem due to the accuracy of many of his prophecies.
On a cold windy Saturday night as the mist rolls in and the rain clatters against the window panes of the Allangrange Arms in Munlochy, locals will gather around a roaring fire and recount tales of a chosen one, born and bred in the Black Isle then sent to England to show the sassenachs how back row forwards should really play. Her injuries would be plenty, but the healers of the Black Isle had touched her with the power of endless recovery.
It is just over 580 miles between Black Isle and Twickenham Stoop, but the healing powers are still working for the “Chose One” Harlequins and Scotland number eight Jade Konkel.
Injuries sadly are part and parcel of sport, some athletes are more affected than others over the course of their playing career.
This can be down to sheer luck, or in some cases by the sheer attritional nature of their style of play.
Of course, attrition does not come at the expense of style or skill, as I can testify in Jade’s case.
Her injury list would give BUPA shareholders palpitations, Jade Konkel must have her surgeon on speed dial, such is the catalogue of misfortune she has suffered in recent years.
They say everything comes in threes (including injuries and operations) as Syndesmosis in her ankle in February 2023 reoccurred followed by a fractured fibula. Triple surgeries and fifteen months out of the game tested her physically and mentally to a point where she questioned whether her body could cope with with the rigours of top class rugby again.
Some players need a good few games to get back in the groove when returning from injury, but not Jade. All of her comebacks appear to have been seamless, hitting the ground running as well as hitting anything else that gets in her way. Maybe the medics use WD40 during rehab because she never shows any sign of rustiness when she steps back on to the field of play.
Pagans on the Black Isle centuries ago based their religion on nature and its elements; Earth, air, fire, and water. Fire is a daily part of Jade’s other life as a member of G39 Feltham Red Watch, part of London’s fire and rescue service – one of the largest firefighting and rescue organisations in the world.
We all hope for an injury free run for the Tartan Tornado she is certainly due a break (of the non limb shattering variety) Harlequins and Scotland are all the poorer for her absences.
Meanwhile, over the border as another log is thrown on that crackling, roaring fire at the Allangrange Arms in Munlochy the locals raise a glass and a wee dram to their very own Black Isle legend Jade Konkel.
Mike Pearce Rugby 