Decay?

PREVIOUSLY:

My poor thighs have just recovered after last week's comeback at the gym. Looking very much forward to a session tonight, even if I mostly resemble Barbamama on steroids when doing my squats, and not the Wonder Woman that is the ultimate goal... 

CURRENTLY:

Have given up on: running, squats, leg press,  sit ups (I mean hello!) and several yoga excercises that might sound like they'd be good for you (the happy child - now doesn't that sound promising?) but really just make your pelvis go KILL ME NOW! and prevent you from sleeping the next two nights. Not to mention the duck-like walk you have to surrender to during the day.

Hence my upper body is benefitting from this being big malarkey. Watch out next year!

Come what may

The ladies' meeting on Sunday was strangely comforting. Despite the sad number of players available (of which two was brand new rookies and two was increasingly pregnant) everybody seemed to agree that we'll play in whichever form the union decides. We'll play as Uppsala - come what may (saying that - we DO have some suggestions for league structure tho).

On my way home I cruised by a guy on a MTB. This was clearly offensive to him - he got so annoyed he had to overtake on the uphill, pedalling furiously, and then block my path all the way home. Congratulations you retard - you just won against a six months pregnant woman riding a bike without gears!

The escalating want for contact

As autumn is creeping upon us so is darkness. This effectively cuts down our training time at Fyrisfjädern, where the local council hasn't yet bothered putting any lights up. The hour that we spent yesterday evening was however used well - the ladies practised some unopposed back line reforming during multiple phases, and pod movement for us forwards. I hope the newbies felt it was worth all the shouting and confusion - I might've sounded more murderous than usual in my struggle to get to the ball in time. (There seems to be a direct correlation between the amount of frustration over lost mobility and the escalating want for getting involved in every contact situation possible!) The trip home from training was less enjoyable as my body was screaming for a painkiller and a hot bath. This little comeback maybe wasn't the best idea - but at the time it felt worth it!

I'm very much looking forward to this saturday, and might even squeeze myself and the bump into the smart dresscode with dress, heels and all later in the eve. For all rookies that want a bit more understanding of the game AND a bit more socialising there's a chair down at the club house with your name on it!

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ps. The bet is STILL ON at the club - when will rugby baby Devine arrive? 20 sek for each date you want to guess on. Everyone that bets on the right date gets to share the pile of money!

Clenches

So I've temporarily stopped playing rugby and found another tuesday hobby... Instead of lying semi-paralysed in bed after every session, not being able to sleep because of the weird pains in my loosening pelvis, I'm now losing sleep because of italian grammar (or rather, because of my feeble grasp of it).

I have not yet gone so far as to sign up for a yoga course...which otherwise seems to be "the thing you do" to stay active and flexible in preparation for childbirth. I'm just not ready for the total lack of action and serene faces. I did experience something training-like today tho that was defo on the far end of the surreality scale - synchronised vagina clenches with six other strange women and a nurse. (No, we weren't naked and no, I don't think anyone enjoyed it much...but thank you for asking). Won't be going to any more of these group meetings me thinks...

Despite the bump

I have to say, you're still pretty fast - despite the bump someone told me last week. Bloody right I am. My legs are still fond of crashing into a defensive line, just like they used to. Let's not even mention the twitch in my shoulders every time I see the opportunity to ruck someone in half but have to hold back. It's just as well we had to withdraw from the league as I would've been unbearable on the sidelines...

So I can't tackle, but I can still run. When I lose that to this baby cracking up my pelvis, what do I do then?  

(Retorical question, my plan B is already in motion. Practical Italian 7.5 hp at the Department of Modern languages. Davvero!)

Shiver shiver

This might be the coldest I've even been. Like the very core of my body is made of Piggelin. I was so cold I couldn't even be properly happy after the final whistle when we'd won our first game of the season! It took hours of hot water, 5 layers, full blast car heating, microwaveable pillows and a fiancé to bring me back to life...
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Glad we didn't play Exiles away today - unofficial rules at Årstafältet apparently give the men's first team unlimited access to the only changing room with working showers. For listening to music and complimenting eachothers muscles BEFORE their game that is...despite any number of ladies teams waiting to clean up AFTER their battle.

Comeback

Ja jävlar. Ska det vara så svårt att göra comeback i sin egen blogg?

Tackles - no thanks!?

I felt great yesterday! Our Sävja session included both rucking and mauling - how I’ve been waiting for this! Managed to work myself up to proper rugby rage and eventually started bellowing instructions right, left and centre so as to get things happening (preferably my way).

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I wasn’t always this fond of contact training. In fact, I remember vividly my first ever tackle experience and how big a brain freeze I got just then. It was early spring 2007 and I’d been on the team for a few months during winter season, practicing ball handling and playing touch. I’d FINALLY realised what Bettan wanted when she was screaming DEEP, go DEEP for heaven’s sake! (and was pretty pleased with that too). In the middle of our touch session, coach Richard suddenly shouted OK, full contact now everyone!

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WHAT!?

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The killer faces on these people when they were suddenly allowed to take eachother down! God, that scared the shit out of me… For the next ten minutes I was skulking around in the background, pretending to be planning my next move but really just desperately hoping that no one would come up with the stupid idea to pass the ball to me. It wasn’t even tackling someone else that was my biggest fear – it was being tackled. After training I cried because I was so disappointed with myself. Why did I suddenly become such a bloody delicate flower when, a year earlier, I was perfectly happy to have people kick me in the face down at the dojo? (Well, at least happy to have them try…)

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My point is, even if you think you don’t have it in you to start with, even if you’re scared of hurting someone else or just reluctant to let five teammates pile up on top of you, you can start to love it. Just like I did.

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(By the way - I haven't seen the men's team do tackle training since...ever. Are ya' scared? No wonder that opponents slip through the defense!)

The launch of a new PR-era

I think 2012 seems to be the start of a new era. Once again the ladies team has found itself lacking numbers and experience (it's an every-other-year thing) and the club as a whole has lost both it's big sources of income (the bandy finals and the reggae festival). No money and no players - clearly, something needs to be done.

As a first step towards something else (wherever that might be) the club has decided to work harder to get noticed. So far we've seen public displays of lineouts and recruiting at a shopping center, flyers put up in town and this old blog of course. Two fairly new additions to our PR network is the registration on Sportwire, where we can put video clips up from training, games or the likes and hopefully get noticed, and our Facebook page - brand spanking new!

This weekend our club house was full (yes, FULL) with people celebrating St Patrick's and watching the last round of 6 nations. I think it's a good omen.

Håckes Cup 2012

So a couple of Uppsala ladies went down to Växjö and Håckes Cup. Big deal.

But hang on a minute... Why are they dressed in black and white? And how the hell did they manage to pick up a southern accent in just two days!? Ok, it goes like this:

When Uppsala tried to sign up for this tournament they realised they were too late (by months). It was jam-packed with quicker thinking teams and those of us who'd hoped to play in blue stripes had to let that idea go. When we found out there was a window of opportunity to participate as guest players for the Trelleborg team some of us were tempted. As we're not holding a grudge against any penguins whatsoever we decided to go black and white for the weekend - and it turned out to be a good choice!

Apart from meeting a bunch of new gals and quickly getting relaxed around eachother (sorry I didn't lift you in the lineout, had to improvise because I was dying for a shit...) we experienced several memorable moments.

1) Realising that you can still have a try denied by the ref for unsportsmanlike conduct. Gothenburg, what were you thinking?

2) Being put in the scrum together, because the props in the first half claimed we needed some "bigger and stronger" girls in there. (None of us can boast more weight than 65 kg, incidentally only half the size of Scotlands no 4 Richie Gray)

3) Hearing yourself unintentionally scream in the worst imitation of a Skåne accent ever!

I expect we would also have heard a lot more screaming and swearing from the stands if this wasn't the case from time to time:

Lunchtime, sunday

Rugby men don't respect women

Rugby men don't respect women. In fact, the whole rugby culture is degrading to women. So I've been told. Interestingly enough, I've never been told this by a woman actually involved in rugby, neither have I had this epiphany myself. The men's team and the ladies' team seem to appreciate working together, training together, drinking together and watching eachother play games.

Honestly, yes, some of the guys might be way nicer to random flirts at a club than their actual spouses - but does this have anything to do with rugby? I'm convinced these people would be lying and cheating even if they were ballet dancers. And more importantly, these people aren't always men! Truth to be told, yes, there's also the type that seem to go through a constant stream of interchangeable partners, more interested in exploring the physical world than the rest. But again, does it have anything to do with rugby? And just to be clear, it isn't exclusively male behaviour - I'd have to say us ladies give as good as we get. Stay objective and don't confuse a respectless attitude towards monogamy with a respectless attitude towards women.

Rugby encourages women to be confident human beings, it's a sport that rewards strength, skill and speed. It demands aggression and it teaches leadership. Now that doesn't really contribute to the illusion of the weaker sex, does it?

Moi moi Oppsala

Now this was officially the WORST job for the club ever! I've been behind a bar heaving with drunks and with broken cash registers, I've carried the scrum machine into winter lodging, I've moved furniture up and down spiral cases and sold underwear to my grandparents...but none of those times was as bad as this!

To start with, none of the other jobs started at 5 in the morning... It might've snowed during the bandy bar shift, but at least there wasn't heavy traffic aiming to splatter you with sludge. The signs we were putting up today weren't heavy, but made up for it with being too small and requiring magic fingers to assemble. Cat stranglers: too short, map reading ability at early hours: not satisfactory.

Afterwards, as the Scotsman drove to work, I happened to drowse off for a few minutes. In the middle of this highly enjoyable activity, someone called my mobile and shouted They got the baby, they got the baby! Who? What? When? Yes, my sweet sambo (a royalist in secret?) decided I just could not wait any longer before finding out about Sweden's new princess... After hanging up, the info in this phonecall came back to me in my half-dreams, weirdly mixed with the work we'd just done, and I later had to message my friend Hawkeye, who's girlfriend is due in a couple of weeks: You know, I dreamt about you guys tonight. You suddenly got 15 babies in the back seat of your car on the hard shoulder of Bärbyleden! He seemed a bit frightened.

TOUR TIME

I hear people have yet to realise it's time to show an interest in this year's tour. If the unlikely should've happened, and you've simply forgotten all about Leipzig and it's events, have a look here:

NOW SIGN UP FOR AMSTERDAM 2012!

P.S. There might also have been some training involved. And a game. Maybe two.

Uppsala RFC på Gränby C

The day started with finding a text in my phone from one of the girls who'd enthusiastically signed up for working. It was sent after midnight and written in such a hypercorrect mode one couldn't think anything else than that the sender was drunk and eager to hide it. Unfortunately I will not be able to attend the PR-thing tomorrow... Bad form.

However, everyone else was true to their word, and so a small group of volonteers put their rugby kit on and started harassing strangers. Hello, we're doing some PR for our club... was a line that worked way better than You look like a rugby player! or the aggressive We need you! A few lineouts impressed a couple of kids so much they begged to be lifted - new recruits to the juniors me thinks!

As the hours went by we became less and less picky - no person was too old or too weak to be informed about the best sport in the world. Astrid proved to be the Sunday shopper's favourite, and she claimed afterwards that all credit was to be given her innocent plaits.

Thank you everyone that came down, whether you actually spoke to people or just flexed your muscles in a tight top... Let's hope it made a difference!

Crossfit Uppsala

Yesterday was a big day for the ladies. We met up at Uppsala Crossfit for a 90 minute session where technique was the main focus - some instructions to enable everyone to do heavier weightlifting correctly. The target of the evening was the so called Hang Clean. Our instructor broke it down to smaller excercises before it was time to try the whole movement, and by that time our legs was already wobbly (although noone complained loudly).

The last 10 minutes was spent doing weighted sit-ups and burpies in teams, myself and B1 panting frantically in the left hand corner, eager to win. Sadly, we did not and had to be content with lifting the heaviest load (Crossfit veterans aside)... 

(THIS is a big day for the blog - first video appearence ever!)

Over and out!

So this is it? Retired from the inner circle of Uppsala Rugby at the modest age of...let's say 29. No more board meetings. No more signing emails with 'ladies representative'. Hm. Does this mean I don't get to decide everything anymore? (Probably not, the club is still just as desperate for more people to take responsibility for stuff.)

The next task I've given myself is to find new players. Since half the starting lineup is gone from the ladies team something needs to be done! For example: come see us at Gränby C on Sunday around lunch - we'll be doing some lineouts and handing out flyers to everyone that seems capable of chucking a rugby ball.

Short update

Coach Devine made me cry during the weekend! Although I think it was because of pure relief, as the hill I'd run up like a stubborn ass FINALLY ended and I could try to breathe again.

What will tuesday bring? Grubber kick football? Rugby basketball? New moves? Just got a text from a couple of girls who wants to come and try it out, so everyone - be at your best behaviour!

2012 - a brutal awakening

Yesterdays pre-season meeting was held to survey the troops and set our common goals for this year. It quickly became clear that a gold medal for the ladies would be a fata morgana like no other, and it would be futile to even attempt reaching it. I have counted 18 players in total, half our squad lost to the army, motherhood, work abroad, old age, injuries or even (dare I say it?) ANOTHER TEAM! More than one person shed a few tears down at the club last night.

So, this year is all about recruitment. Any ideas are welcome. We'll repeat the success from 2010, when the recruitment competition brought in 30 new girls to try rugby! At the end of that season Lisa proved most skillful in the art of persuasion. Are you the winner this year?

How you know pre-season is upon you

Back is still a bit sore after some manly dead lifts on monday

Yesterday you chose fruit salad instead of popcorn!

Your fleece training top is smelly

A royal pain in the arse

I can't help looking back at all the past seasons I've played for this club, one could call it being sentimental I guess... Throughout the years I've had sort of a mentor - not in the sense that she volonteered for it or even knew about it, but I had someone I looked up to in every way possible concerning rugby. She's basically stopped playing for Uppsala and frankly, I think it sucks!

First of all, she's an outstanding player. She will talk to you and tell you what to do, she will keep going when everyone else has weakened, she will tackle like a fucking gladiator and she will always, always be there in support. (If you're lying about in a ruck, she will pick you up and throw you out in defense - honestly, you wouldn't think someone so skinny could be so strong!) She will catch any lineout and outrun most other players. She makes it look easy too (which is well annoying).

Second: she has the attitude. The stoney winner-face on the pitch only radiates determination, no matter if we're in the lead or really struggling - but off the pitch she's the first one to tell her teammates what they did well, while being very modest about her own skills. All of the above has secured her place as Sweden flanker for several years, and as a royal pain in the arse for all teams playing Uppsala.

I guess my point is, I miss her. Come back and teach me how to own the flank like you do!

Gimme back my fat!

Getting into shape for 2012. Unfortunately, there's no shortcuts to this and my interest in strength and stamina during christmas has been scaringly close to an all time low (in fact, my goal has been to put ON some fat again. My clothes are too big and I'm always cold. Gimme back my fat!).

This attitude to workout hasn't been appreciated by other members of the household (clearly jealous) so yesterday I was dragged into a car and driven out in the woods with my running tights and flowery sweatband. Reluctantly realising that pre-season is right around the corner I was taken for a few kilometres of warm up running, then it was time for some romantic hill sprints before doing weights under a starry sky. Actually, not too bad (for a training session, I've been on better dates).

Back home, coach Devine decided I'd been good and deserved ice cream. Now that's what I call pedagogic!