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Ending the worst year ever on the best possible note - Andy Goode

By Andy Goode
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It may have been the worst year for rugby in living memory but it’s ended on the most positive note possible that should give us all hope for 2021.

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It has been an awfully long time coming and is massively overdue but we can now add OBE to the end of Matt Hampson’s name after he was finally recognised in the Queen’s New Year Honours list.

I was joking with him yesterday that he’s so big time that he’s skipped the MBE and gone straight to an OBE but you couldn’t find a more deserving recipient in any sphere, not just rugby.

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Full documentary: Matt Hampson – Exceptional Stories

RugbyPass has followed the incredible story of ex-professional rugby player Matt Hampson, who was paralysed from the neck down following a scrummaging accident while training with the England U21s in March 2005. 
In the latest documentary in our Exceptional Stories series, we learn about the 35-year-old prop’s incredible journey since his devastating injury 15 years ago at Franklin’s Gardens.
Featuring contributions from a host of rugby legends such as Jonny Wilkinson and Jason Robinson, as well as actor James Corden, the compelling narrative culminates in a behind-the-scenes visit to the Matt Hampson Foundation’s Get Busy Living Centre in Melton Mowbray where the ex-Leicester Tigers front row now helps others who suffer life-changing injuries in sport.

Video Spacer

Full documentary: Matt Hampson – Exceptional Stories

RugbyPass has followed the incredible story of ex-professional rugby player Matt Hampson, who was paralysed from the neck down following a scrummaging accident while training with the England U21s in March 2005. 
In the latest documentary in our Exceptional Stories series, we learn about the 35-year-old prop’s incredible journey since his devastating injury 15 years ago at Franklin’s Gardens.
Featuring contributions from a host of rugby legends such as Jonny Wilkinson and Jason Robinson, as well as actor James Corden, the compelling narrative culminates in a behind-the-scenes visit to the Matt Hampson Foundation’s Get Busy Living Centre in Melton Mowbray where the ex-Leicester Tigers front row now helps others who suffer life-changing injuries in sport.

The word ‘legend’ gets banded about a lot nowadays but when you look at the difference he’s made to people’s lives, there’s no doubt it’s one that can be used to describe him.

If you haven’t read or seen his full story, then do so and it’ll fill you with positivity ahead of 2021. It’s been amazing to watch the progress he’s made over the past 15 years and the work he’s done with the Get Busy Living centre in particular recently.

He’s an absolute inspiration and his story is the complete antidote to a lot of the other negativity we’ve seen throughout the past 12 months.

If you’d told us what was going to unfold in the rest of the year in the relatively run of the mill months of January and February 2020, nobody would have believed it and the drama in rugby this year has been more than enough to fill a decade.

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It kicked off with Joe Marler grabbing Alun Wyn Jones by the balls in March and it hasn’t got any less bizarre ever since really.

Marler <a href=
England Challenge Cup” width=”1024″ height=”576″ /> (Photo by Charlotte Wilson/Offside via Getty Images)

A host of people from chefs and kit men to chief executives and administrators deserve a lot of credit for adapting to the circumstances thrown up by Covid-19 and getting the Premiership and European seasons finished for 2019/20.

In truth, we should all be thankful that we’re heading into 2021 with the sport relatively intact and all of the English top flight clubs still in existence because the financial situation has been dire.

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There was the saga of the pay cuts, how they were handled and how some players reacted to them and we obviously had five months with no rugby at all this year and fans have been absent from stadiums for most of the year.

On the field, Owen Farrell’s tackle on Charlie Atkinson in September was another lowlight and one of the worst tackles I’ve ever seen and then we’ve ended the year by discussing the issue of concussion and early onset dementia.

Andy Goode
Andy Goode and Steve Thompson in an England training session /Getty

It was horrible to hear what some of my former team-mates in Steve Thompson, Alix Popham and Michael Lipman are going through and you hope that the support will be there for them and others in future even if there are question marks over whether litigation is the right route to go down.

It’s an obvious line being used by many to say good riddance to 2020, and it does have to be the worst year in living memory for rugby, but we’re ending it on a positive note by raising a glass to Hambo.

It might look unlikely right now but here’s hoping to a Lions tour in 2021 to look forward to and the ability to share a pint of Guinness or two together in full stadiums again.

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A
Adrian 46 minutes ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

6 Go to comments
T
Trevor 3 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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B
Bull Shark 7 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

29 Go to comments
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