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Jun 2020
6:31pm, 4 Jun 2020
12,676 posts
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Cerrertonia
Did he have a previous association with either of the Fords? I guess George Ford was also in Bradford's academy in his teens, but Sam Burgess is five years older, so I'm not sure they would have had any interaction.
He had an offer from Russell Crowe that made him one of the best paid players in the world, plus the far greater media/ commercial opportunities back in Sydney, where his wife was a well-known tv presenter and where his mum & his brothers were living. I seriously doubt his agent was bothering to talk to clubs in Europe.
He's a tv pundit now, so maybe stirring a bit of controversy is part of his role, although I can't imagine anyone in Australia is taking much notice of this.
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Jun 2020
7:40pm, 4 Jun 2020
14,112 posts
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richmac
I read, a couple of years ago about Ford/Burgess at Bradford. It was Burgess who persuaded the younger George to sign for Bradford instead of Wigan (I think) I've just spent half an hour trying to find out but can't.
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Jun 2020
7:58pm, 4 Jun 2020
12,677 posts
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Cerrertonia
Sounds very possible. Sam made his first team debut at 17, and was in the England team not long after and got a lot of publicity, so it would've made sense for the Bradford coach to involve him in trying to sign a younger teenager into their academy.
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Jun 2020
9:12am, 15 Jun 2020
45 posts
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ftrobbie
Gave me a chuckle this morning
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Jun 2020
10:17am, 15 Jun 2020
7,407 posts
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Too Much Water
I saw this which cracked me up.
1. Loosehead prop
Moderately tall fat lad, often aggressive when something obstructs the way to the bar, pie shop and occasionally a ruck. Does weights, no one knows why.
2. Hooker
Short fat lad with an endless capacity for cheap booze and fascinated by women miles out of his league. Believes he has rugby nous and is an athlete.
3. Tighthead prop
Fat lad who believes he’s technically a good player with good hands. Everyone else thinks he just gets in the way. Does weights, no one notices.
4. Lock
Big hard lad who thinks he’s the enforcer. Police describe him as a hooligan. Wears shorts and flip flops all year round. Lives with his mum.
5. Lock
Giraffe. Looks funny when he runs. Long arms useful in the bar. Takes up too much space. Often very fit and yet last to arrive at the breakdown.
6. Openside flank
Glory boy, often with psychotic tendencies. Will spend a lot of time in A&E (accident and emergency) but when present can carry a team. Often unpopular or young. Or both.
7. Blindside flank
A proper hard man. Can disappear for 80 minutes but emerge holding someone’s scrotum. Never buys a round.
8. Eighthman
Big bastard. Talks a good game and describes himself as a footballer. Often vain, sometimes scruffy, generally can’t hold his drink and has weird hobbies or jobs. Handy in a scuffle but best avoided socially.
9. Scrumhalf
Gobby midget who can get himself into trouble marginally faster than he can run away from it. Nothing is his fault. Good drinker.
10. Flyhalf
There are two sorts - running or kicking. Generally, they don’t know which one they are until it’s too late. Unusually nice hair and overconfident in every situation until it’s too late.
11. Left wing
Lanky speed merchant. Can’t catch. Live in a world of their own and always forget one item of kit, often boots.
12. Inside centre
Often the best player on the pitch as well as the fittest. Limited social skills and terrified of women until the beer kicks in.
13. Outside centre
Does everything the 12 doesn’t. Socially active and often juggling multiple women. Has a nice car, good job and demanding fitness regime as well as extensive debts and an improbably large porn collection.
14. Right wing
The only reason he doesn’t score 10 tries in every game is because no one can pass. Often a big lad who really looks the part and yet never quite has the impact you hope for. Doesn’t drink.
15. Fullback
Ninety-percent of them should be shot at dawn for cowardice. Last line of defence, my arse. Secretly want to play at 10 and buys the skipper lots of pints. Too many hair products but useful source of spare socks and toiletries at away games.
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Jun 2020
10:21am, 15 Jun 2020
19,199 posts
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flanker
Funny, and close to the mark!
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Jun 2020
4:17pm, 15 Jun 2020
670 posts
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Albert O Balsam
Very good - I like these !
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Jun 2020
9:01pm, 16 Jun 2020
55 posts
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ftrobbie
We've got our U14s soon to be U15s at the club on Sunday seeing how phase B small group training goes. The amount of bleach, paper towels, hand sanitizers etc we have got together to follow RFU guidance is just ridiculous. Will post how it went next week if you're interested.
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Jun 2020
11:45pm, 16 Jun 2020
19,207 posts
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flanker
Is it possible to do any worthwhile training is maintaining distancing.
Apart from the wings and hookers, of course, as they spend the whole match hugging the touchline waiting for a bit of glory.
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Jun 2020
7:28am, 17 Jun 2020
57 posts
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ftrobbie
"Apart from the wings and hookers, of course, as they spend the whole match hugging the touchline waiting for a bit of glory." 
With the clubhouse closed the vanity squad will also be lacking something to do. At least the fullback/ wingers won't have an excuse for people getting in their way under a high ball
Without trying to sound defensive I honestly don't know but I do know doing nothing isn't helping, they are still developing skill sets. A fortnightly touch point for 60 minutes might encourage them to do some work on gathering loose balls, hand eye coordination or even just improve their stamina. Genuinely Sunday might be a complete waste of time. As a coaching group we have spent a fair amount of time looking at how we get the boys engaged in staying fit for rugby and what to do on Sunday. With a squad of 22 we have 20 coming down for the session. A lot of Sunday will be like pre season for adults, basic fitness testing and tracking. The danger we see is that we have a group of kids who have basically not been together for over 6 months when (if) the season starts in September. They will find other things to do and we could lose them to the game completely. One of the things we want them to do is to decide how they can train and maintain social distancing. We have a set of basic ideas but want the boys to develop and own them so it becomes their pre season training not ours.
Thank you for the challenge
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