Page 91 - All Shapes & Zebras From Treorchy

“For many in the Welsh amateur rugby fraternity, cold ”and wet winter days are your quintessential rugby conditions.
With November and December – and into the New Year, the weather really turns, with unrelenting, long winter rains rendering many a pitch waterlogged. These are often accompanied by excitable, raucous Welsh gales. Frequently, games may get postponed, but hundreds of matches will go ahead even though there’s absolutely no reason why they should.
Playing on waterlogged pitches is par for the course as an amateur rugby player, and one feels exalted for playing on them, and for enduring what has to be endured. Although the rugby may not be vintage, games like this are a sight to behold.
And then there’s the cold too, with partially frozen pitches who have somehow managed to pull the wool over referees’ eyes bringing with them a whole host of challenges and considerations.
For many in the Welsh amateur rugby fraternity, cold and wet winter days are your quintessential rugby conditions. Although the muscle-draining, wearying winter pitches undoubtedly help heavier and more cumbersome forward packs and slow down quick and agile backlines, the weather is, in its own way, a leveller for all – and quite often will pose the opposing teams a simple and straightforward enough question: “Who wants this more, then?” In this deep midwinter time, the buzz of
ALL SHAPES & ZEBRAS FROM TREORCHY 89