Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Tropical Monsoon at Strady Park, Llanelli
But later in the game, the rain began to pour down on 30 freezing players and one sopping referee. The Kiwis will enjoy seeing Mr. Wayne Barnes shivering like that I'm sure.
As the hail got worsh, Barnes decided he'd had enough and tried to convince the players that it was time to leave the field. They clearly weren't interested though funnily enough. Ronan O'Gara made a comment which couldn't be heard unfortunately, but to me it looked like they were having fun out there, well, as much fun as you can have in the middle of a Tsunami anyway.
Ridiculously cold and miserable I'm sure, and I bet a few of our rugby friends from around the world will be able to associate with playing in those conditions. I've seen footage of guys happily playing in snow, with it coming down hard!
But for a top flight game to have to be played in that mess cannot be good for anyone. Play did continue moments later though as the rain eased up a little bit.
Tight passing and thorough ball control were key, as the pitch became a bit of a swimming pool in parts.
Munster held on to win 29-16.
Posted at 9:46 am | 24 comments
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Viewing 24 comments
De Kleft December 12, 2007 11:33 am
Had the same kind of shit a few weeks ago, total lack of ball controll on both sides so it wasn't fun anymore to play, couldn't feel my fingers anymore afterwards! but everyone wanted to play on, a 'bit' of rain won't hurt ;)
Benjamin December 12, 2007 11:51 am
playing in rain isn't fun, when the field looks more like an ice rink than an actual field it's absolutely horrible. But in snow, i think it could be actually fun, not a real match, but a game with friends, i think that could be really awesome ^^
Ronan B December 12, 2007 11:58 am
From the Irish TimesRonan O'Gara"So I asked him after how long if the game is abandoned does the team (in the lead) win and Simon was willing to give me the game at that stage" quipped a smiling O'Gara. "No, he asked to take a break for a few minutes but then he asked the forwards and the forwards said play on. So that was it."
Anonymous December 12, 2007 12:23 pm
i`ve played in the snow and in the pouring rain more than once. it`s happens almost every late fall or early winter in central europe. it`s fun if you`re not the winger or fullback :)
arg December 12, 2007 1:43 pm
A nice bit of rain, i prefer it to 35C at the end or begining of the season (argentina)
Anonymous December 12, 2007 2:24 pm
i was there, an havn't seen anything that bad before, was hard 2 see to the 10 m line from sitting by the 22 at times, good game all the same tgh!
Cheyanqu December 12, 2007 3:30 pm
One reason rugby rules over gridiron: No Padsand now another reason: No pants!
Anonymous December 12, 2007 4:54 pm
i luv playing in the rain its gr8 fun. But also if ur a forward u keep warm by running 2 every ruck maul scrum line-out ect. ect. :)
robert December 12, 2007 6:25 pm
i must said that playing as a forward is pretty fun to play with rain. as captain of my team although i heard my teammates complaining, the backs, but it still is great. is the game for the forwards, to play all closely and with difficult control. luckily that day the match finished with us winning 28-25 but if there was one more minute to play we would probably lose so it's better hehehealso we used to train without lights, at 8 o clock of the night with the car's lights on and we ran across the field... all for the love to rugby.
p-daddie December 12, 2007 7:31 pm
I found it absolutely astonishing that Munster took one passage of play up to nearly the Opposition try line with over THIRTY PHASES. after the Monsoon we seen you have to gice credit to the forwards. Not normally blessed with handling skills
Don December 12, 2007 8:01 pm
Been there...done that...played in 20F snow, played in crazy rain...not a big deal
Chris P December 13, 2007 2:07 am
living in canada i'm used to weather liek this, even worse, we get snow (no jokes about canada and snow please, since southern ontario is on the same longitude as california)its funny to see this posted the day after i made a comment about it, great to see the rugbydump lads are looking after usi play hooker and being right in there during these rainy games is awsome, cause you get to get real dirty and slide all over, plus, since you work so hard, you arent cold liek those little backs( ;P just kidding guys)haha great game, muster supporter for life
Ryan December 13, 2007 2:57 am
As a forward, I love a good rain game. it slows those speedy punks in the back line down and puts all the focus on us big boys. Plus sliding around in the mud is good too. Snow isn't so fun because your fingers get numb and makes gripping jerseys a pain. Also Wayne Barnes is a wimp, if he had hair on his chest he would have kept play going
Anonymous December 13, 2007 11:55 am
You never get cold as a forward in any conditions, that's what's so great about being one! In this kind of rain (well heavy rain, I've never played in anything like this) the backs will do a knock on in about every play they do, so you have a scrum every 2-5 minutes. That keeps you warm all the time. The rain washes of all the gloss off the backs and grinds rugby down to the essentials: forward work.Quoting from ronan b: "...then he asked the forwards and the forwards said play on. So that was it." I love that! Have never played in the snow, because here, we get maybe 1cm for 2 days every year. Playing on frozen ground is pretty fucked though (a lot of injuries).-Tim, a Flanker (openside).ps: Chris P, what the hell are snow jokes? :D And as a hooker, in the rain, doesn't your scrum claps? Having a scrum claps as hooker can't be much fun... Our hooker always bitches about it.
Anonymous December 13, 2007 5:57 pm
Yeaaah! We're forwards we're so tough & so cool! YEAAAH! I'm a fly-half and my opinion about backs is that we're the coolest half op a rugby team! We do all the work.- Matthi( proud to be a back )
Anonymous December 13, 2007 6:31 pm
LoL yeah so busy with your hair and nails...
Bandit December 14, 2007 4:01 am
Chris P.:With all due respect, sir: You are Canadian, and you will forever have to endure jokes about the yearly snowfall. Anyways, saying that S. Ontario is on the same longitude as California doesn't really mean it's warm there.But don't feel bad about it,you could have it worse. I'm from Detroit, so I forever have to deal with jokes about crime, racism, and urban decay. Also, "eh?" jokes are totally fair game (hell, I probably say it as much as you do, or more.)I don't know about playing in the rain, but as for playing in the cold...I play ice hockey...as long as you keep moving, it's not really a problem. Just get a good warm up and a good strech it's not an issue.
Damo January 20, 2008 2:20 am
I was there, it was a great effort by the forwards. Doug Howlett completes the team, we're gonna take the cup again this year, C'mon Munster !
Cheyanqu January 21, 2008 11:28 pm
In the words of Assistant Groundskeeper Carl Spackler,"I'd keep playing. I don't think the heavy stuff will come down for a while."
Josh January 24, 2008 9:30 pm
lol typical welsh weatherim welsh btw. come on the newport steelers!!
Anonymous March 30, 2008 8:00 pm
Great vid BUT the stadium is called "Stradey Park" NOT "Strady Park"thanks
Anonymous April 11, 2008 10:38 pm
i seen this match on tv.... munster were awesome. they had about 30 phases at one stage at the end...
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