It has been a long time since you have your first rugby match. There are more rugby playing years behind than in front of you. If you agree with this status, this article is made for you.
You know that you are an old boys when:
On the pitch
_you call the referee by his name rather than “mister referee”
_you know every player and some of them you have trained when they were still juniors
_for some players, you could be their father
_during the warm up, you are the only one smiling because you don’t feel the pressure anymore and are just happy to have rugby today and escape the family lunch
_you spend more time sleeping in the ruck than running
_you are more often on the bench, for the official reason “you want to give the opportunity to the youths playing”; and you know the truth is you can’t run for 80 min anymore
_you regret that in the bottles there is only water
_you are the troubles maker and expect that the referee will blow a penalty to take your breath back
_you were a back few years ago with a good pace and speed and realize now you are mainly useful as a prop
_you manage to break a tackle and sprint for the line but then realize your legs aren’t quick enough anymore to outrun the defense and just wait for someone to tackle to put you out of your misery
_you watch your team start the match like maniacs chasing every tackle knowing from experience that they will be exhausted within 10 mins
_you see the team grow and have a paternal pride in seeing it
Outside the pitch
_the third half is more important than the first or the second
_your budget for beer and hard drinks is higher than anyone due to your professional situation but you also have to face the consequences back home
_you spend the whole week watching rugby on the TV because it’s cold outside and what’s else to do
_you start to collect every rugby shirt you can, amateur or pro, and actually get a dress room for rugby bigger than for casual clothes
_you are starting to plan how you can get agreement from your wife that the best holiday would be to follow the British Lions for 6 weeks on a tour
As a coach
_you may have a kid and expect him/her to become a great champion
_you like to share you great experiences with the youths and share some funny stories
_the kids you train are listening to you with attention and at the end understand barely half what you said
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Rugby Klub Bratislava 