Reality bites: time for club rugby to wake up and stop dreaming

IT WAS a tricky proposition. With my rugby career firmly consigned to history, I needed an activity that would provide me with some form of (gentle) exercise and pose no threat to my physical well-being.

I tried five-a-side soccer, the traditional route for over-30s wishing to stay in shape, but found the gravelly nature of all-weather surfaces really painful on the knees.

Plus, I was unable to master that peculiar abbreviated language of five-a-side, all that “man-on” and “house” stuff is very confusing.