Happy New Year

Thanks for taking the time

Equal Time

Highland rugby sets the standard

Deseret News (Salt Lake City), May 22, 2006 by Dirk Facer Deseret Morning News

Highland's rugby teams earn results

Deseret News (Salt Lake City), May 18, 2004 by Jay Hinton Deseret Morning News

Highland Rugby
Utah High School Rugby Powerhouse
by Wes Clark & Larry Gelwix


Their team Goal: "To do our best" in rugby, life
From (LDS) Church News, week ending 5 September 1998

The "Good Samaritan" he smoked and drank beer

Some have asked, given the absolute dominance of HR for 20 years, why very few of their players end up playing at a club to national team level? I would propose two ideas for your consideration.

1. One rumor has it that HR players are warned to avoid club play because most of these guys, on club teams, smoke and drink beer. I guess the warped thinking is that, they should not be associating with these "types" of people. This kind of moral hypocrisy is a cancer in our society. It implies that one's outward appearance is a reflection of the inner spirit, heart and soul. Nothing could be further from the truth. Remember the story of the "Good Samaritan". Who walked by with their noses in the air, and who stopped to help. Many non smokers and drinkers only put on the Sunday face on Sunday.
   
2. The Kiwi import players have and continue to handicap the skills and development of local players who might otherwise develop into exceptional rugby players. A program that annually increases it's reliance on import players from 2 to 4 to 6 in 2008, sends a clear message that local talent, collectively is in obvious steady decline. Do the math.
   

For the love of the game

This is a very good article in the New York Times called:

"Open Membership - Rapid rise of college club teams creates a whole new level of success."

Not about rugby specifically, but the principles apply.

... “Nobody competes for the money or the fame because there are no scholarships and not a lot of attention. The kids have to do all the work to make their club function. They do it because they love their sport, and I’ll tell you what, we don’t have the prima donnas you see at the higher levels of college athletics.”