Friday, January 25, 2008

Marc Sexton's former career revealed...



If you read Tony's ramblings below, you may enjoy these delightful pictures of Sexton's glistening dome (ho ho ho) and a nice shot from when he used to present The Crystal Maze (which will be familiar to readers from the Motherland).
Let's smash PLA tomorrow (and Abderdeen).
Harps

The Captain's article the Club Magazine would not publish

Well who reads it anyway?

From Das Kapitan, Anthony George...

You know, it’s not easy being the Captain of the Rugby Section. Especially when one is also a fully active member of the ninja community. I mean, you have to sit in committee meetings and listen to the likes of Woots and Foley wittering on about how it was better in their day (Hong Kong was a great place under Queen Victoria, apparently); you are held responsible for every minor indiscretion committed by a rugby player after over-imbibation regardless of whether or not it was you (Er, it generally is you – Ed.); the forwards moan that the kit’s too tight, while the backs moan that it doesn’t really go with their eyes, can we have a lighter shade next year please?; and, worst of all, comes a moment like this. Once a month, you sit down to write an article for the Club magazine, filling the avid reader (yes, there is one, apparently) in on what’s happened over the previous month. Except. This month, nothing has happened. No games, no tours, no amusing anecdotes, no momentous RFU decisions, even Kibble’s stayed out of trouble. Nada. When you read this in two weeks’ time, lots of interesting stuff will have happened – Ten’s Dinner, nail biting League encounters, Q smiling – well, maybe not the last one, but you get the idea. But in the here and now, right this instant, rien.
However, I am aware of my duty to keep the loyal readership informed (him again) so, to that end, I have prevailed upon our very own Section Psychic and coach of the Dragons, none other than Mystic Marc Sexton, to gaze into his Crystal Dome and give us his predictions for the coming month. So, without further ado, here’s the chat I had with him reproduced for your edification:

Tony: Hello Mystic Marc, how’re things? Good Christmas?
Mystic Marc: Great thanks, Tone. Had a smashing break.
T: So, don’t keep us in suspense. What’s in store for us in the coming month? And didn’t you write a hit musical, sell it for a pittance and eke out an existence presenting a really bad Channel 4 quiz show?
MM: Quiz show? What are you talking about? Hang on while I get my Crystal Dome ready. Pass me that mirror. Right, here we go. You ready? Because once I enter the spirit world…
T: Yeah, I’ve seen what happens when you enter the spirit world, especially if it’s rum, and no one wants that again.
MM: No, not that spirit world, muppet. Right, first prediction: Ben Stobart to miss more drop goals than he hits.
T: Not sure you had to be psychically gifted to see that one, Mystic Marc. And weren’t you one half of a two-hit wonder duo that had a smash hit singing something about their shirt?
MM: Eh? Oh well, another prediction: Q to smile before Easter.
T: Steady on there Mystic Marc! That’s a gutsy call! And didn’t you play an evil, murderous robot in a film set in a Wild West theme park?
MM: What? Oh, another prediction: Robin Bredbury to become a fully qualified psychotherapist specialising in anger management. And qualify as a referee.
T: Are you sure you know what you’re doing, Mystic Marc? And didn’t you sing a hit song about nothing comparing to someone and then jack it all in to become a priest?
MM: Stop asking me stupid questions. More predictions:
PT McGee to attend self confidence classes to bring him out of his shell more
The Dragons to spark a major diplomatic incident whilst playing the PLA in Guanzhou
Sam Cooper, Select Captain, to renounce meat as murder and become vegetarian
Tony George to write a good article for the magazine instead of the tosh we’ve had to put up with so far
T: Right, well think we’d better call it a day there, eh Mystic Marc?

Meet the Old Boys #4 - Jim Rowark



Bouch - Jim Rowark's favourite player. Bouch in action in Manila, 2005. Top: Bouch in
hot pursuit of someone who looks certain to be a little quicker. Bottom: Bouch flaps at a lineout while your correspondent tries to put his head where it should not go.
Yes, it's meet the Old Boys with Broony again. This time we meet Jim Rowark, a stalwart of the Club whose image appears in nearly every 1970s, 1980s and 1990s team photograph in the tunnel and a commonsense Englishman - the first among this crop of middle-aged delinquents.
Name: Jim Rowark
Age: Younger than springtime
Occupation: Retired
Nationality: English
Rugby Position: Flanker (or as it was called when I played, “wing forward”)
Years at Club: 30 plus
Previous Rugby Clubs: Old Thornensians, Cambridge University, Redruth
Favourite thing about HK rugby: Touring with good friends and listening to Foley, both are highly amusing.
Current favourite Club player and why: Bouch. Never a dull moment watching Bouch, ranging from tragedy to comedy.
Most embarrassing spectating rugby experience? 1998 England v Australia at Brisbane. Score England 0, Australia 76. I was at the Park Hotel, Manila in the company of Woots, Burgess and sundry other Australian “gentlemen”. Morgs and I refused to leave our room.
Wanchai or Manila? Hard to decide. However, Manila on “The Wootten” is very hard to beat.
Sequins Corner or the Sportsman’s? Sequin’s Corner. There are plenty of characters in the "older we get the better we were" category, which makes for interesting commentary on the day’s events.
HKFC 10s or the HKRFU 7s? Not wanting to appear disloyal to the Club (I did play/coach the Club team in the inaugural 10s) but the 7s has a special place in my rugby memories
Drinks with Woots or shopping with the wife? The latter is safer and only marginally more expensive but nowhere near as much fun.
Marilyn Monroe or Sophia Loren? I have always been an admirer of the sultry, Mediterranean looks of Sophia Loren but Marilyn Monroe could always come on as an “impact player” when Sophia began to tire.