<--Back well well well another season on a campus who has referred to us as their "rogue" sport, sorry unappreciative ba*&%$s. any suggestions on how to get them on our side oh great wise buddha? Dear Rugger, Have patience with the un-enlightened. You can do several things to bolster your image. First and foremost, DO NOT GET IN TROUBLE WITH THE MAN! Try to stay on the good side of campus administration. If you have players for whom this poses a problem (and don't we all) assign a babysitter each week to keep them out of trouble. On my team, tour rules mandate that every player carry a roll of duct tape at all times. It is amazing how complacent an intoxicated or overly belligerent mate can become after spending 3 or 4 hours duct taped to a tree! And it is a source of many an amusing photo! If you must misbehave, be smart. Do it out of sight and discretely! Consider it a marketing job where you have to create a new public image for a scandalous public figure. Try to hold at least one charity fund raiser each season and get the most out of publicizing it. Create and disseminate press on every noteworthy thing your team or individual players do or accomplish. Dean's list, scholastic or social awards, etc. Get active in the community: Hold a Xmas party or Easter egg hunt for a group of disadvantaged youth. Organize a food or clothing drive for a women's shelter; A toy drive for a Boy's or Girl's Club. Organize a couple outings a year for a Big Brothers & Sisters group. There are a lot of things you can do, just get imaginative. All of the things I've mentioned above have been done by one team or another that I have played for. Every one was rewarding and a hell of a lot of fun too! Whatever you do make sure you get press for it. Good Luck! Rugby Buddha Hello there Buddha young sir [I am assuming you are both young and a sir. And I am from good old Blighty (the UK to you yanks)] where we sadly are associated with this welcome, but that is enough shit from me. My Rugby club has a drinking problem. One was caught drinking Lager and lime but even more of a heinous crime-one was caught supping shandy (1/2 lager and 1/2 lemonade-just in case). We need to know what should be done with these DEMENTED CRIMINALS? Please help we are at our wit's end. Danny.O and Dave.P (The Fly, The Gut and others). Dear Danny & Dave, While I am a sir, I am unfortunately no longer young- though admittedly very immature for my age! With regard to your team drinking problem, I must make several assumptions: First the chap polluting his lager with lime must not originally be a southern hemisphere player. As you know, while there are several good lagers that hail from the southern hemisphere such as Carte Blanca, Tusker, Steinlager, and some would say Fosters, most however, do require a bit of lime to make them palatable. If he is a southern hemisphere player then I would chalk it up to inexperience with the subtle niceties of a true lager. He is merely in need of education. As for the other, I can only assume that he is not an Irishman (nor my distant cousin) who has been instructed to forgo drinking due to medical or legal reasons. A shandy after all isn't really considered a "Drink". And if he were such a person then, though pitied, the practice could be accepted. I must therefore conclude that your Rugby Team has been infiltrated by soccer (football to you blokes) weenies looking to cash in on the over abundance of female companionship your mates- as ruggers- most certainly enjoy. Look for tell tale signs! They probably play in the back line hoping to blend in. But look closely, are their grooming habits too fastidious for even a fly half? You must immediately hold an inquisition! This parasitic infection must be stopped before more try to infiltrate- or worse yet the inherent pansyism of soccer spreads to your team!! Can you imagine a hooker writhing on the ground because he got his shin knocked? Or an inside center throwing up his hands in a whining plea to the ref that he was bumped as he chased down a kick!?! This is serious! Hold court immediately and force the accused to prove they are not soccer wimps! If they are burn them at the stake and hang their charred corpses from the uprights to ward off future incursions. If they do successfully refute the allegations then, to avoid future embarrassment to your club, you must immediately place them into a rigorous drinking program to get them back into rugby shape! Good Luck and God Speed! Rugby Buddha Dear Buddha I have played Rugby for several of years, until a couple of years back I was injured. I was cleated in the temple, near my eye and had a detached Retina as a result. After having the Retina surgery and Lasik so I could see better in that eye, I wanted to go back and play. But, unfortunately my family and wife have discouraged it. I was wondering if there was anything made or if rule permitted me wearing protective gear for my eyes. I am just sick in the stomach because I have been side lined for the past two years. Buddha thanks for the Help! Scrummer Dear Todd, Unfortunately there are no provisions for protective eye wear. I wouldn't let that discourage you though. I think that IRB approved head gear would give you ample protection for anything short of something directly to the eye itself. From the description of your previous injury it sounds like head gear would have prevented it. Plus the odds of doing it again are pretty slim. I am not a doctor though and your eye sight is serious business. Consult with your doctor and follow his reccomendation. If he advises you not to continue look at other ways to participate. I don't know what Union you are part of, but every one I know of has a ref shortage. In my old age and decrepitude I have taken up the whistle and really have enjoyed it. I didn't think I would, but I have been pleasantly suprised! I really wish I had done it early in my playing career. It has broadened my understanding of the game and given me a whole new level of appreciation for the strategic and tactical beauty of our sport. You might also go into coaching. I've gotten my Level II certification and am looking forward to getting Level III. This too has expanded my rugby horizons and given me a whole different level of satisfaction. Coaching can be incredibly rewarding. If you can't play again, pursue either or both of these alternatives. You will enjoy it and it gives you a chance to give something back to the game. Good luck and keep me updated on what you do. If you try coaching or reffing, I like to hear how it goes. Cheers! Rugby Buddha Hi, my name is Sianna. the qustion is: In your past life did you have anything exciting happen to you? Sincerely, Sianna Well Sianna, There have been lots of exciting things in my past lives, but one of the most memorable was my first cap playing for Ether Realm against the Hades All Black. It was my first Rugby Ragnarok Cup, and playing for the defending Midgard Champions had me very nervous. I was actually slated as a reserve, but Bacchus was benched for a violation of team rules and I started. As a hooker I couldn't have asked for better props. Zeus at loosehead and Brahma at tight were an immovable force. Our loose forwards Thor and Ares were a devastating combination and Michael at eightman was a proven warrior. Jesus at scrum half fed good ball to Mohammed, who was one of the craftiest fly-halfs that ever played the game. With Apollo and Hermes at the wings nobody turned the corner on us and Gabriel and Anubis were solid on the inside. Now don't get me wrong, The All Blacks were battle hardened too. With Satan captaining their side we knew we could expect some surprise plays. Always the master of the mental game, you can never let your guard down against a team he is leading. Their props, twins Thrym and Thiazi, were relentless as glaciers and both cold calculating players. Loki, at hooker, was a seasoned veteran with more tricks up his sleeve than I had ever seen in my relatively young career. He tweaked and torqued me at every set piece. Shiva at eight man lived up to his reputation as the destroyer, dishing out punishment and plowing a path of carnage on his all too frequent picks off the base of the scrum. In the backline, the original Four Horsemen, Famine War, Pestilence and Death, rode a hard aggressive lead and scrape against us that had us on our heals most of the match. And their huge second rows, Baal and Aamon hit the rucks with brutal intensity. The match was played to a bloody (no blood rules back then) standstill well into injury time when, on a desperate counter from a lineout inside our 22, Mohammed made a skip pass to Anubis who drew in Death, faked the outside pass to Apollo and fed back in to a hard charging Woden joining the line from fullback. His grey beard and braids streaming behind him, his battle cry ripping forth with the true joy of combat, he stiff armed War right on his backside, juked Shiva coming across on the scrape and out ran the fullback, Cerberus, who vainly tried to corner him as time expired. We won 4- nil. (trys were worth four then) And though I didn't score a try, just being part of a team like that, winning a game on heart and desire, seeing an aging but wily veteran like Woden step up and put it on the line.... well, it still sends chills down my back to remember it. I've played in the Rugby Ragnarok Cup, or Rugby Armageddon Cup as it is known in the Southern Hemisphere, more times than I can remember. While still undefeated, that first match was, for me, the most exciting. Happy Rucking, Rugby Buddha