The Weather

Just when I should be eagerly packing my boots into my bag, I receive a call saying my rugby match is postponed. Again. For the third time in three weeks.

Training has been disjointed over the three weeks. We normally do Tuesdays and Thursdays, but I don't think there's been a week this year where we've managed both nights yet. When we have got out the conditions have been terrible and really inhibited what we can do. We played on the 5th of January, but we've had games cancelled on the 12th, the 19th, and the 26th.

The thing that annoys me is that games one of these games have been cancelled on a Friday and two of them on a Saturday. This gives me no time to plan anything else for my weekend. Whereas any plans I have made for the "free" weekends later in the season will now have to be cancelled - or I'll have to miss a match.

This isn't exclusive to this season either. I have been back from uni for 3 years (where games are postponed all the time for a variety of reasons) and in my first two seasons back we had two games postponed in each, to go with the 3 (so far) this year. Last season a cup match got bumped in favour of a rescheduled league match, and the knock-on effect of that is we had to pull out of the cup, as it would have been unfeasible to play the game.

You watch the professional game as well and we are supposed to have the climax of the Heineken Cup pool stages, and you see conditions as we saw in Biarritz and Leicester and it almost comes down to who can make the least mistakes, not who can play the best rugby.

And I find myself asking, as I seem to be every year, why do we keep doing it? Why do we keep playing in the winter - where there is a serious effect on the quality of rugby that can be played and indeed the weeks we can play? Why do we not just play in the summer?

We do not have prohibitively hot summers, and if the heat is an issue (thinking in July/August) kick-offs could even be pushed back to 4pm or 5pm, depending on how far the away team had to travel and what time they'd be likely to get back. We certainly have the light to be finishing a game at 7pm in these months. The ground is no harder in the summer than it is when it's frozen, and you can allow the grass (remember grass?) to grow longer which gives a softening effect when you get tackled.

Supporters won't have to "brave the elements" to come out and watch their teams play, they will also be treated to a better quality of rugby. It's okay at the top level with covered stands, but what about "park" rugby? Our club is held together by bar sales, and the more people we can get watching the game, the more people we can get buying drinks (and none of this coffee rubbish) and the more money we can get.

Training wouldn't be disrupted, there would be less fixture cancellation and therefore teams and players can plan their season better. I can see no downside.

Start pre-season in January (when everyone is trying to get fit anyway - at the lower levels you can therefore pick up new players who are looking for a more fun way to get fit than jogging), play a few preseason games in February and then start the season in March. Play through to October (my current season lasts 8 months), take November and December off and then go again the next year.

I am 100% behind any move for summer rugby. What does everyone else think?

Its hard to say, mate. Clearly from a fan and player comfort perspective, spring, summer, autumn Rugby is better.

But we are not necessarily a logical species, are we? Playing during poor weather is part of our DNA, as are holiday derby matches, for example. Everyone who ever laced up a pair of boots remembers those matches where we were so cold our testicles ran up and hid behind our kidneys. It has always been that sport which gets me through short days and long nights of our cold, miserable winters. If we move to summer Rugby, we would have long days and short nights with cold miserable weather. Except if we all sign for Toulon.

Maybe there is a balance with the pro game in the cold months and the club game in the slightly warmer months?

I agree with summer rugby for the same reasons as robbo, better quality, less disruption, a more or less unified worldwide playing calender at the professional levels and less competition with Wendyball (especially for the Welshies ). The only reason I can see for keeping it would be tradition but for me that's not a good enough argument and although I don't mind the old up your jumper kick-fest I do on the whole prefer fast rugby where the ball is chucked around a bit and risks are taken. Injuries are sometimes mentioned but I seem to remember reading that there was no increase in Rugby League when they swapped to a summer fixture schedule.

Here it is a summer season anyway. The Redneck Canadians here in Alberta like to think they are tough but they won't play rugby in temperatures of -30'c with a 4' permafrost from November to March. Talk about big girls blouses.

When I was at school they cancelled a match at the start of the season (early September) as the ground could be too hard and they were worried we'd injure ourselves. 1987 or 1988 I think. Weird...

Remind me again, how was the weather this "summer"?

Better than this 'winter'.

I like the bad weather days.
As the name suggests I'm a front row forward. Damp, sodden muddy pitches is what I like. It slows the game down, and means that I have a higher chance of snaring a winger or 2.

I'm just saying that - the N.Hemisphere season allows for all conditions.
But it generally starts and finishes with firmer ground and good playing conditions.

I agree with the switch to summer Rugby as well and for the NH season to fall in line with the SH.

Even with our summers in the UK you will have the odd game which is damp and muddy. The amount of games called off in the last 3 months has been ridiculous.

If the rugby season starts in mid-Feb along with Super Rugby and ends with the Autumn internationals in November this would prevent a lot more games being called off - especially local games.

Also agree with the bar sales, gate receipts holding clubs together. A lot of clubs in South Wales are dependent on these and summer rugby would attract a lot more people out to watch and support local teams.

I am a front row forward and do enjoy a wet, muddy game as propdavid says, but a summer switch would surely need all players to increase fitness levels and this would only higher the standard of rugby played at lower levels