Page 44 - All Shapes & Zebras From Treorchy

K
Knowledge is Power
An Oracle: “a person or thing regarded as an infallible authority on something.” All rugby clubs have them. Some of them are genuine; others are false prophets. But whatever your own beliefs or thoughts, there is always some character within a club who can call a result that chops logic or defies sense with absolute confidence and wisdom, backed up by years of experience and knowledge...
Knowledge. Gleaned from years in the game: playing, coaching, supporting, analysing. From calling the results of amateur games or professional ones - to picking out players to keep an eye on or dismiss, some members of rugby clubs have a nose for making the bold calls, and often find themselves as the go-to when an opinion is sought or a bet to be made.
From personal experience, there’s one man at the club who constantly calls Wales’ results, sometimes in convention and sometimes against all logic when it comes to form. The Gwernyfed RFC Chairman - Rob Stephens - knows how to call a rugby game. Nicknamed “God” within the club (his son, Sam, is naturally nicknamed Jesus!), for England vs Wales in 2013, 2015 and like a bolt from the blue in 2021 - he called a Welsh victory, even when common logic said not to. Luck or judgement? Either way, there are some club members who call results and buoy the mood of the camp by simply uttering their views - “We’ll be too strong for them today,” or “Keep in touch and they’ll be there for the taking in the last twenty” or some such like utterance. Then, as the game unfolds, and prophet-like, as they are proved right, you sit and bask in their qualities...
42 ALL SHAPES & ZEBRAS FROM TREORCHY