Laudus Himself

Pride comes before a fall There are a million ways you can be tackled in rugby, and they all hurt. The tap tackle is more painful than most, because it injures your pride. Rugby is a brutal, bruising contact sport where keeping control of the ball while pushing through pulverising hits is pivotal. The moment you know you are free of the pain and that white try line approaches, Elysium and eternal glory beckon. That’s all in your head and you don’t need to get hurt to be hurt in rugby, your confidence can be ripped from you along with the air in your lungs, by a tap tackle. The first time I was truly cut down by one I was a schoolboy. My stupid little scrum half legs got me free of the chase, in a game of sevens because I’m not so good I can really do it on a full pitch of fifteen. Scampering towards the immortal score, before I had time to know what was going on I was choking on grass, winded and confused. Nobody else was confused, they’d seen it. My bell well and truly rung, I got to ...

by Arron Phelps-Gardiner Rugby is going to war, you ride into battle every Saturday and play for the team and not as an individual. Well I did anyway. It also allows you to get rid of the week's frustrations in a positive environment. I started at secondary school but didn't start playing properly for a team until 1997. It's part of my identity, rugby, I started coaching at Chipstead RFC with the U5s, I finished my youth coaching journey last season with my players finishing Colts (U18s). I always wanted to cross the white line with my players and my son but this was brutally taken from me in the accident. So the next best thing was to take on a coaching role. I have had eleven of my players playing senior rugby and six playing for the first team this season. I think you can say I've done my job as a coach. I was playing for the British and Irish Lions Wooden Spoon national team. We were playing against Sterling RFC in Sterling when I was tackled illegally and snapped ...

A little bit of Hungarian food, drink and travel In Hungary I learned via television, which was all in foreign, that Hungary's favourite McDonald's special is the “Goosey Gustav”. Described by McDonald’s as “Beef patty, with goose liver slices fried on a contact grill, lamb's lettuce, sliced hot green pepper, grilled onions, slightly peppery sauce, in a shiny hamburger bun”, the idea of a foie gras burger had me staring at the TV advert I didn’t understand with dreams in my eyes. Who doesn’t want grilled goose liver on a burger, except for geese and cows. I’d say vegans but there aren’t any in Hungary, except maybe in a museum or zoo somewhere. A burger with grilled “foie gras” on top, in a brioche bun. Now if that sounds classy, it's because it is, but McDonald’s make it?! 24 hours into my stay in a country I immediately loved when I first came a few years ago, I had my Holy Grail. I had to try the limited edition Goosey Gustav. There for a week, my (Hungarian) girlfr...