Posts Tagged ‘sport’

Selecting The Correct Golf Club For Each Shot

Monday, March 12th, 2012

There are various aspects to playing golf. On the highest level, there is yourself and there is your apparatus. There is only one thing that you can do about yourself and that is improve it by right thought and practice. However, it is very much easier to change your apparatus.

Needless to say, you should buy the best apparatus that suits you. This means buying your golf apparatus from an expert who can see what you need. When you have the best equipment – golf clubs and balls – that you are able to afford, you have to learn how to use them.

Learning how to use your golfing apparatus well involves practice, but also understanding which shot every club is best for. This is arguably more important than purchasing the best clubs that you can afford, because even if you have the best clubs in the world, using a putter when you ought to be using an iron will be most detrimental to your game.

This knowledge comes with experience, of course and you can substitute for information by getting in a good caddy, but truly, you ought to know for yourself as well. This involves coming second in hundreds of games against an opponent, but you do not learn a lot by playing someone less able than yourself.

This is where enthusiasm or love of the game comes in. You have to be able to put up with losing often in the early days and this is very hard for a competitive person. Enthusiasm and determination will carry you through this initial learning period, although hopefully you will learn something new from each game you play all your life.

Here follows a bit of broad common sense about selecting the right club for the beginner.

The novice golfer is almost never proficient, naturally, so hitting the ball too far is seldom a problem. Getting around corners or obstacles is also beyond the ability of the novice, therefore distance is the priority and that involves using the heaviest golf clubs until you are within easy distance of the green.

When you are within 50 yards of the green, you can make some attempt at selecting the correct club for the shot. Once on the green, it is pretty common knowledge to use a putter. If you drop into a sand bunker on the way to the green, the sand wedge appears the obvious choice. The name is the give-away here.

If you are playing with decent people, not decent golfers, they will normally be all to glad to help you choose the right club, until you begin winning. If they won’t help you, play with someone else. After all, golfing is a game and it is supposed to be enjoyed.

You will soon learn the essentials of what works best for you and you will spend the remainder of your life refining the knowledge you learned in the first few months of becoming addicted to the wonderful game of golf.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on numerous topics, but is now concerned with playing golf enthusiastically. If you are interested in enthusiasm, go to our web site Enthusiastically now.

The Ashes – The Trophy At Lords

Wednesday, February 15th, 2012

The Ashes is the name given to a biennial series of test cricket matches played between England and Australia. The very first cricket test match was played between England and Australia in 1877, but the notion of ?playing for the Ashes? dates from some five years later after England had lost the ninth test match played between the two countries.

On their 1882 tour to England just one test match was played at The Oval in August. The ground was almost impossible to play on and Australia, who batted first, made merely 63 runs. England, in response, played a little better but by scoring 101, did achieve a first innings lead of 38 runs.

In Australia?s second innings Hugh Massie?s 55, struck at a run a minute, enabled the tourists to reach 122 runs . This meant that England needed a mere 85 runs for victory. But they had not allowed for Fred Spofforth, nicknamed ?The Demon Bowler? who refused to admit defeat.

?This thing can be done? he declared and swiftly succeeded in taking down the England batting. He took his final four wickets for only two runs and England lost the match by only seven runs.

This defeat sent shock waves right through the English sporting establishment and several mock obituaries appeared in the sporting press, including the most well-known one which appeared in ?The Sporting Times? on 2 September. It read :

?In Affectionate Remembrance of ENGLISH CRICKET, which died at the Oval on 29th AUGUST 1882, Deeply lamented by a large circle of sorrowing friends and acquaintances R.I.P.

N.B.-The body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia.

Therefore this was the first reference in print to ?The Ashes?. The England tour of Australia later that year was captained by Ivo Bligh who was afterwards to be the Earl of Darnley. Bligh said that he would ?regain the ashes? and this he went on to do with England winning the three match series by two games to one.

However the term ?the Ashes? did not actually catch on until 1903 when Pelham (or ?Plum?) Warner led a team out to Australia with the same promise of recapturing the ashes. This England achieved by winning the series 3 -2 . The Australian press latched on to the phrase and this time it stuck.

An ?urn? to contain the ashes was created and presented to Bligh during the 1882-83 tour. It is rumoured to hold the ashes of a cricket bail. It was presented to Bligh by a group of Victorian ladies including Bligh?s future wife.

The urn is a small terracotta vase about six inches high and might originally have contained perfume. It is so fragile that it is now kept permanently at the MCC headquarters at Lords.

There is a general belief that the urn and its contents represent the official trophy played for by England and Australia, but it is in fact a private memento owned by the Darnley family and is just on loan to the MCC.

The trophy actually played for is a larger Waterford glass replica, but the original ?Ashes urn? still stays one of the most famous sporting icons in the world.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on several subjects, but is at present involved with tickets for London Olympics. Click a link if you are interested in 2012 London Olympics Volunteers.

Donating Clothing To Charity

Sunday, February 12th, 2012

Do you sort through your wardrobes from time to time or do you hoard all you ‘old’ clothes for years and years? Some individuals never, ever throw out any clothes. Maybe they are waiting for them to come back into style or maybe they are hoping to lose enough weight to get back into them. However it might be a good idea to have a regular clean-out, but do not throw those clothes away, donate them to a charity shop or a church bazaar instead. By donating clothes to charity, not only will it give you more room, but you will be helping to raise money for charity as well.

Additionally, you will be giving someone else the chance to acquire good quality clothing at a knock-down price. By donating clothes to charity, you will, in effect, be recycling your clothes and doing your bit for the environment at the same time.

When you are donating clothes to charity, they have to be spotless, complete and undamaged. Check that there are no buttons missing, that they are not ripped or stained. Some of the bigger charity shops also take other household items as well such as books, ornaments and furniture. The same applies to these items with regard to quality.

There is a wide variety of charities for you to pick from when donating clothes to charity. For instance, there are: shops run by: Dr Bernardo’s, The Salvation Army, Oxfam and Shelter and churches and the Guides and the Scouts are always holding jumble sales and bazaars.

It is not right to think that the only people who use these charity shops are the itinerant and the penniless. People from all walks of life visit charity shops on a regular basis hoping to pick up decent clothing or unusual items and the money they spend on these articles of donated clothing provides a quite large and recurring income for the charities involved. They have come to depend on this significant source of income.

Some communities also hold special events like a ‘Winter Coat Drive’ where people in the community contribute a new or used coat to the distributing organization, which then redistributes them to the needy. These drives can be aimed at all age groups, but they usually target children as the most innocent of the needy.

There are many sorts of organizations that accept charitable donations of clothing. For example, there is another one that accepts smart ladies’ business clothing. The idea is that when women want to come off welfare or begin a new life after being in an abusive relationship, they can have a suit for their job interviews.

So, you see, whatever your political beliefs or wherever your social sympathies lie, there are organizations that will fit in with your charitable ambitions. In deed, a lot of people find the massive charities like Bernardo’s and Shelter just a little too large and a little too impersonal so they prefer to give their spare clothing to a local charity that helps local people.

Owen Jones, the author of this article writes on quite a few subjects, but is at present concerned with thinking about low rise panties. If you would like to know more or check out some great offers, please go to our website at Personalised Knickers.

Aikido – The Martial Art

Monday, January 9th, 2012

The subject of oriental Martial Arts is one of the most memorable presents of Asia to the world. Who will not remember that Bruce Lee was first and foremost a martial arts sports person before becoming a motion picture star?

Martial arts pictures are a colossal hit with the ever-rising popularity of Asian cinema like ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ and ‘The House of the Flying Daggers’.

The Chinese are the first nation that come to mind if you think of such sports, but the Japanese are just as sporty with a rich heritage of body contact sports in their past. Contemporary Japan still gives honour to the martial arts by holding tournaments and promoting their martial arts in foreign countries.

Aikido is one of these. It is fascinating to note the fact that the word comes from three Japanese characters from which is derived the one word. Ai is ‘joining’, Ki is ‘spirit’ and Do is ‘way’.

From this we can understand why Aikido lies beyond merely the physical skills of it students, particularly since its first proponent, Ueshiba, focused on the spiritual and philosophical improvement of his pupils.

In Aikido, one is not trained in violence instead, one is trained to be in harmony with the opponent so that you are able to defeat him more easily. This may seem strange but it really works.

When approaching an opponent, the objective of the Aikido practitioner is to become one with the adversary so as to be able to tackle him where he is weakest and in so doing, deflect or immobilize him, but never to kill him.

This is how Aikido becomes an art form. Art is something beautiful to look at and something positive and Aikido is all that. At least one of the contestants involved in the combat is searching for concord and concord can only be attained if there is grace in the proceedings.

The moves may be premeditated, but there is an air of elegance in performing these actions. Not a feminine grace, but a grace that comes from peace. The ‘art of peace’ is what they call it in Aikido.

It is one of the most affirmative influences of Aikido on its students and to everyone else who decides to learn about this Japanese martial art.

Some of the techniques in Aikido include the following:

Ikkyo is the first technique. Using this technique, you direct an opponent by using one hand to hold his elbow and one to hold near the wrist. This action is supposed to permit you to pin your adversary down to the ground.

Nikyo, the second process, is when you accomplish a wrist lock which empowers you to turn the arm of your adversary which will in turn cause nerve pressure.

Sankyo, the third technique, is a process that creates upward-spiraling tension throughout the arm, elbow and shoulder. There are many other moves but the first three are enough to give you a fundamental idea.

When studying Aikido, it is crucial to keep in mind that, along with building physical strength, you will have to improve your mind to be able to overpower your antagonist. Just| like in any other art form, it takes a lot of training and discipline to reach the summit of the art of Aikido.

The vital thing to keep in mind is that anyone who wants to get into the art must have the resolve to give honour to the art by performing it in the best manner that they can.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many topics, but is now concerned with Mixed Martial Arts For Kids. If you would like to know more, please go to our website at Mixed Martial Arts Quotes

Aspects Of Racing Radio Controlled Cars

Tuesday, December 20th, 2011

Racing is the most exhilarating part of owning a radio controlled car for most RC car aficionados. There are millions of RC car racing aficionados, so it is normal that a number of different types of racing have evolved, but the two main variances are on-road and off-road racing.

Whichever aspect of RC car racing interests you the most, there are a number of items that everyone has to do to prepare for a race. The rest of this piece will discuss some aspects of racing your radio controlled car.

We will take for granted that you already have the best model car that you can afford, so the first thing to do whilst preparing for a race is choose the tyres to suit the conditions, just as they would in a full-size car race.

The tyres employed for on and off road racing are different and the tyres used for a dry or a wet road are not the same either, so you will require at least two sets of tyres and you will have to practice switching them quickly at pit stops.

Most serious on-road RC car racing is done with models of real cars like Lamborghinis, Porches, Ferraris and Aston Martins leading the way. Others like to use Formula One style cars. Off-road scrambling is normally done with trucks, heavier models that can get a better grip on the landscape.

So, the faster, lighter cars are built for speed and need a smoother surface to run on. The surfaces used vary from a length of regular concrete or tarmac road that has been closed off for the day to a purpose built racing circuit of concrete or tarmac. Off-road vehicles are raced or scrambled anywhere, the rougher the better.

These conditions also affect the scale to a limited extent. Racing RC cars tend to be the smaller 1/10 th scale, whereas off-road trucks tend to be built to the slightly larger 1/8 th scale, because they need the weight for increased traction.

However, contemporary developments have seen the rise in popularity of huge 1/5 th scale tucks and cars with real miniature petrol engines in them.

Regular two-wheel drive is sufficient for racing, although some racers do prefer four-wheel drive. However, four-wheel drive is more or less indispensable for all terrain racing. It is also preferable in wet and icy conditions, exactly like the real thing.

Fuel is an vital consideration. Most speed racing cars run on nitro. It burns very fast and produces high acceleration, but you have to stop and retank frequently in a long race. Some racers prefer petrol, especially in the larger, off-road trucks.

Petrol is not so ‘violent’ as nitro and it goes further. This means fewer pit stops. It also causes less wear and tear on the engine. Petrol engines do not break down as frequently as nitro engines. The parts are sturdier as well.

Maintenance is a big part of RC car racing, but it is more vital the smaller your car is and nitro engines need the most maintenance of all. This is not a problem for many enthusiasts, in fact, they like taking their car to pieces and rebuilding it, but you might not. Maintenance is a factor to keep in mind whilst selecting an RC racing car.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with gas remote control cars. If you have an interest in model or toy rc vehicles, please go over to our website now at 1/5 Scale RC Cars

Why Would You Want To Learn Mixed Martial Arts?

Monday, December 19th, 2011

The sport of mixed martial arts appears to be taking North and South America, Europe and Japan by storm. It is not a new sport by any means; the modern bout of popularity for mixed martial arts goes back about 20 years.

So, it has been bubbling under for quite a while, but now every city and town appears to be offering training in MMA to one degree or another.

There are gyms specializing in mixed martial arts and other gyms are providing it as one of their repertoire of martial arts and fitness regimes. However, learning MMA is not like studying other fighting skills, because MMA incorporates, or may incorporate, all the other skills. Mixed martial arts is not a solitary fighting skill on its own like say, karate or aikido is.

At the end of the day, this means that a devotee of MMA has to learn say, boxing, wrestling, karate, jiu jitsu and Thai boxing which naturally takes a great amount of dedication on behalf of the acolyte.. So why would you want to learn mixed martial arts?

The reasons why individuals do some things are extremely personal, but two of the most popular reasons cited for wanting to learn MMA are to stay fit and to be able to defend oneself.

MMA requires a high level of fitness and endurance, but it also increases one’s self-confidence and powers of concentration. This latter benefit seems to help children (and adults) with ADD and ADHD, but all children benefit from elevated confidence, fitness and the capacity to protect themselves from bullies.

All recognized, formal fighting skills have weaknesses when it comes to a real street fight. In a street fight, normally the bigger guy wins. Training can reverse this, giving the smaller person with superior skills the edge.

However, say you learn boxing to defend yourself and you are picked on from behind one night; you are knocked to the ground and a large man gets on top of you. Your boxing skills are not much use now, are they?

Or say that you studied wrestling, but the other guy is very fast and he keeps darting in and hitting you, wearing you down and you simply cannot get a grip of him. Or say he has a knife?

Aikido is fantastic for disarming opponents and karate and Thai boxing give you a better reach by teaching you to fight with your legs. In this fashion, mixed martial arts provides a more rounded method of self-defence and attack.

Part of the skill in learning mixed martial arts is selecting which martial arts to learn. Tae kwon do is a very athletic style involving high kicks and jumps. A heavy person would not take to tae kwon do readily, but may prefer Brazilian jiu jitsu. Fortunately, your instructor will know which combinations of sports will be best suited to your personality and your body type.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on a variety of topics, but is now concerned with Mixed Martial Arts Training Gyms. If you would like to know more, please go to our web site at Mixed Martial Arts Quotes

Getting A Good Deal On Children’s Clothing

Monday, December 19th, 2011

Every parent is aware how quickly children grow up and how frequently you have to replace their clothing. This is an awfully expensive operation. Children are a lot more fashion conscious now and much more aware than ever before about what they dress in. They ask for designer this and designer that and that just adds to the cost of the items of children’s clothing that you have to buy.

Children also need clothing for school. The question of a school uniform is contentious, but wearing a school uniform does take some of the strain out of buying children’s clothing. School uniforms are not really designer wear (although every school has a unique uniform) and they are usually hard-wearing. A big family can pass clothing down, but sometimes the younger children take exception to this. Luckily, there are some other ways of reducing the cost of buying children’s clothing.

One way of saving money on children’s clothing is to take advantage of ‘two for the price of one’ or ‘buy two get one free’ offers. That is fairly obvious advice, but the twist is to ask if you can stagger the sizes, so that you have two or three successive sizes, which will allow your child to grow into the larger sizes and give you a breathing space.

Try to buy children’s clothing out of season, so that you buy swim wear in the winter and jumpers and coats in the summer. You will find massive discounts on out-of-season children’s clothing. Discounts of 75% are not unusual. if you are buying in advance like this, it is essential to remember to buy a size or two larger to take into account your child’s growth before it needs them.

Sweaters and jumpers offer great chances for saving money. Purchase a handful of jumpers at a time when they are on discount, possibly in the summer. Again, buy a variety of sizes. One warning here, do not buy seasonal or high-fashion colours that may seem out of place in a year’s time. Choose quite traditional, neutral colours.

When you have a clean-out of clothing that is too small or never worn, take them to the local charity shop. While you are there, see if you can pick up a handful of bargains. Charity shops are brilliant places from which to acquire children’s clothing at hugely discounted prices. The clothing is clean and blemish free, they are fantastic bargains.

Jumble Sales and bazaars are another good source of children’s clothing. Jumble sales and bazaars are often given by well-intentioned institutions such as The Women’s Institute, The Guides, The Scouts, local churches and local schools. The clothing on sale is given by parents from the institution and it is sold to raise funds for that institution. It is usually of high quality and some of it is even new, bought specifically to contribute to the charity for fund-raising purposes.

A good way of customizing children’s clothing is embroidery. You could embroider or sew on a picture of the child’s favourite animal or pet. The child’s name, the name of a favourite band or a slogan is also very popular.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece writes on quite a few topics, but is at present involvedd with thinking about women’s panties. If you would like to know more or check out some great offers, please go to our website at Personalised Knickers.

Why People Like Sports Cars

Thursday, December 15th, 2011

People frequently wonder why people like sports cars. Some say that it is the macho image, some say that it is a striving to revisit the owner’s youth, some see them as sex symbols and pulling magnets and maybe all those are valid, but one thing is for certain, sports cars stand out in an age when you have to be an expert on cars to be able to tell the difference between the different models without looking at the badge.

Contemporary family cars all look the same; all SUV’s look the same, all pick ups look the same, because they are all designed by computer and computers can just come to one ‘best’ conclusion. Enquire of a computer which is the most aerodynamic shape and it is not going to give you fifty alternatives, is it? As a result, all family cars look the same.

But sports cars are all different. Manufacturers of sports cars like their models to stand out for their beauty and style among other things. That is not to say that sports car manufacturers do not use computers, but they can permit themselves more freedom in the design aspect because the engine is going to be more powerful and the materials are going to be more expensive (that means lighter) and fuel economy is not the name of the game – beauty and style are.

If you have reservations about what I am saying, look at real racing cars like those in Formula One – they all look the same as well, because a computer was asked: what is the most aerodynamic and fuel economic shape? Beauty and style are beside the point in Formula One.

Another reason why people like sports cars is because they are faster than regular cars, although most countries have restrictions on how fast you can drive on their roads. However, the fast acceleration that a performance car like a sports car has, is still useful for overtaking and getting out of difficulty. If used properly, acceleration is a helpful safety feature.

Some individuals also like to show off their wealth by buying an ostentatious car, because everyone knows that a Maseratti, a Lamborghini or a Ferrari is very expensive. The appearance of these cars is important to their owners, because not only are they flamboyant, but they are also beautiful, sleek and stylish and the owner hopes that some of that identity will rub off on him or her.

Different sports cars also have different driving characteristics. Whilst this is a fact of all marques of cars, it does not matter so much if steering is a touch light on a family car travelling at 40 mph, but it does on a sports car travelling at 80 mph.

The car has to be just right for the driver’s ability and preferences. The car will not be manufactured to suit the driver, so drivers of sports cars normally have their favourites the choice of which is affected by its handling characteristics.

A last reason why drivers like sports cars is because they frequently hold their value well and can even rise in value if it is a particularly special or desirable model.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on several topics, but is now involved with how to get cheap 4×4 tyres. If you would like to know more, please go to our web site at Car Tyres For Sale.

Ought You To Have A Weather Radio?

Monday, December 12th, 2011

There are radios that are dedicated to reporting the weather. Not everybody has to have one of these specialized devices, although we are all fascinated by the weather. However, the amount of information given out by most radio stations is enough for the majority of us. So what type of people would profit from a so-called weather radio?

Weather radios are most appropriate for people living in areas where extremes of weather can and do occur on fairly a ordinary basis. If the area where you live is subject to hurricanes, tornadoes and flash floods or even severe storms, you are a likely candidate for a dedicated weather radio. Particularly if you have to travel away from home when an extreme weather event might happen.

All radio stations give weather news and weather warnings, but not all radio stations will suspend a programme to give ‘stop press’ updates on impending severe weather fronts. It is the same with television stations, not all of them will interrupt the highlight film of the evening to report on an approaching storm. Some of the smaller stations are not even subscribed to these types of weather reporting services.

However, it is not only people who live in areas of possible extreme weather who might benefit from these weather radios. People who carry out certain activities and specialized jobs need more specialized weather reports as well. For example, deep sea fishermen, sailors, farmers, mountaineers, hikers and backwoodsmen need to know if severe weather is on the way.

A lot of weather radios are not only capable of broadcasting news about the weather. Many of them have a built-in AM/FM radio too and some will even act as alarm clocks. Some are mains only, while others are battery powered, wind-up or solar powered.

Some are bulky, but most are intended to be carried easily in a regular backpack and may have earphones too so that you can listen to a broadcast during a howling gale.

If you are just sitting at home, you may feel safe enough with the local television or radio station on, but if you have to go outside whilst there is a risk of awful weather, a weather radio is very comforting.

There are plenty of kinds and styles of weather radio to suit all has, but a battery or wind up radio are the most reliable if you are away from a mains power source such as at sea or in the forest.

You will be able to find weather radios in a good number adventure or camping shops and in many chandlers. It is also straightforward to find these dedicated radios on line particularly on eBay or Amazon.

Weather radios are not dear to buy, but some models can eat up batteries so always take a couple of extra sets of batteries if you are going off the trodden track.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on a variety of subjects, but is now concerned with Bose Radioss. If you would like to know more, please visit our web site at Bose Digital Radio.

The History of Rugby

Wednesday, December 7th, 2011

Today, every schoolboy knows the story of William Webb Ellis, the Rugby School pupil “who with a fine disregard for the rules of football as played in his time, first took the ball in his arms and ran with it”. The presentation trophy for the Rugby World Cup is named the Webb Ellis trophy in his memory, and his “achievement” is honoured by a plaque at the school

There is just one thing wrong with this story. It simply is not the case. It was not until four years after the death of Webb Ellis in 1876 that the story first saw the light of day and its origin is thought to come from a local antiquarian and previous Rugbeian Matthew Bloxam.

He was not a contemporary of Webb Ellis but says that the story was told to him by an anonymous source some 53 years after the incident is supposed to have happened.

In 1823, when the event is alleged to have happened, the rules of rugby had yet to be written and any alterations, such as the legality of carrying or running with the ball, were often agreed on an ad hoc basis a short time before the start of a game.

There were therefore no formal rules for football during the time William Webb Ellis was at the school (1816?25). It was not until 1845, some 200 years after football was first played at Rugby School, that three pupils published the first written rules of the game.

For numerous years it had been the boys, and not the masters who had set down the rules which were often modified by every new generation of pupils.

Guy’s Hospital Football Club, created in London in 1843, by old boys from Rugby School, has strong claims to be the oldest football club in the world. It definitely predates by 14 years the creation of Sheffield FC, believed to be the oldest club playing association football.

In 1871, after a number of problematic disputes with the Football Association, 21 clubs met in London to create an association of those clubs ‘who play the rugby-type game’.

Consequently, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) was formed. The first International rugby match was played on 27 March 1871 between England and Scotland. The English team wore white shirts ornamented with a red rose and the Scots brown shirts with a thistle. (Scotland won the game).

The worries and conflicts regarding amateurism and professionalism had long proved a thorny topic. The representatives of Yorkshire and Lancashire are accredited with bringing in rules concerning amateurism in 1879.

These rules were finally formalized by the RFU in 1886. It is widely believed that the northern clubs were in favour of the professional game whereas these northern bodies were robust advocates of amateurism,

However, conflict arose over the controversy regarding ‘broken time’, the topic of whether players should receive reimbursement for taking time off work to play.

The northern clubs had a large number of working class players who had either to miss games due to working commitments, or give up their wages in order to play rugby. By 1892, this subject of broken time payments was a problem not just for northern clubs such as Bradford and Leeds but also for clubs in the south.

It became a concern of the RFU: these broken time repayments would become a rapid path to professionalism.

On 29 August 1895, 20 clubs from Yorkshire, Lancashire and Cheshire met at the George Hotel, Huddersfield and decided to resign from the RFU and create the Northern Rugby Football Union, which from 1922 became the Rugby Football League.

The quarrel about payment was one which at the time was also affecting soccer and cricket. Each game had to work out a compromise; rugby’s position was the most radical. Amateurism was strictly enforced, and anyone accepting payment for playing rugby league was disqualified.

However, on 26 August 1995 the International Rugby Board declared rugby union an “open” game and thereby removed all restrictions on payments or advantages to those connected with the game.

It did this because of a committee conclusion that to do so was the only way to end the hypocrisy of sham amateurism and to maintain control of rugby union. The wheel had turned full circle.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is at present involved with the London 2012 Olympics mascot. Click a link if you are interested in the 2012 London Olympics Volunteers.