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Losses. In any sport, they always hurt. In rugby, there are a thousand and one ways to lose a match but some losses smart more than others.
First of all, the drubbings – the hammerings – the thumpings. Whatever you call them – and they all sound incredibly violent and painful which these games frequently are - to be on the receiving end of an absolute schooling is a humbling experience.
Try as you might, if you come up against a much stronger, fitter and more skilful outfit and ship a couple of scores early enough, the collective levee breaks, heads drop and the points on the scoreboard begin to pile up. If you’re lucky enough, you may only experience these type of defeats once or twice a career. But spare a thought for some poor souls who concede 100+ points on several occasions per season and lose all of their fixtures. There are rugby enthusiasts, but only rugby sadists turn up week in week out to face results like that.
You also get the losses that, in heart of hearts, you knew were on the cards and could see coming, like a trundling freight train bearing ominously down the fixture list track. Facing a team who are in a rich vein of form, unbeaten, you can usually tell when it’s not going to be your day.
ALL SHAPES & ZEBRAS FROM TREORCHY 39