Club Rugby: Traditions Run Deep, Across the Globe
A Saturday afternoon at “Easts” in the leafy Sydney suburb of Rose Bay gave ample proof that the traditions of the club game run deep wherever it is played in the world.
The Eastern Suburbs Rugby Club, formed in 1900, is a premier league club that has produced its fair share of Wallabies down the years. Former Bok and Wallaby flanker Tiaan Strauss and Aussie great Jason Little played for Easts in the 1990′s and their current internationals include Luke Burgess and Ryan Cross.
Having spent a fair amount of time watching rugby at False Bay in Cape Town as well as the odd match at Villager, Hamilton, UCT and Maties it was interesting to note similarities that I suppose are unique to the game. Firstly, there will always be at least one portly referee abuser, usually from the home team, who barks instructions and criticisms at the ref in-between hefty swills of lager. Easts had one of those too. The stereotype was exact, even down to the old style rugger shorts, faded club golfer that is at least a decade old and no-brand trainers with tattered old rugger socks. The ref abuser stands at ground level, on the verandah adjacent to the makeshift bar where the smell of a few hour old hamburger patties and hot chips brings back fond memories of home. In his immediate vicinity the players from the teams that have played in the preceding match lounge on the sideline enjoying a beer and some snacks as the spoils of battle. To his left, three stereotypical rugby wives are seated, sipping warm Chardonnay and puffing on one cigarette after another. Their wrinkled frowns and hardened features are a telling sign of many years of involvement at grassroots rugby. Anxious moms and seemingly interested fathers who appear more concerned about how they are dressed fill the tables outside. On the top level of the clubhouse, the supporter who should have been the coach – another stereotype – sits with his posse of experts, barking instructions to the support team down below. However we may view them and no matter how irritating they can sometimes get, these are the game’s true fans and that is why they are common the world over. They are as vital to the survival of the game as is the sight of the two teams clapping each other off the field at end of the match. That happened too at Easts. Long may these traditions live.
Anthony Mackaiser
Manager: Communications & Marketing
SANZAR Rugby manages professional rugby competitions staged in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
Anthony Mackaiser: SANZAR – Manager Communications & Marketing, NSW, Australia
