Do you, or did you play?

[Vespula Vulgaris]

I feel like we have a pretty high proportion of current or ex players here.  I seem to remember we even put together a Once a Wasps 1st XV a while ago.  But I thought it might be nice to do a poll to see where we played.

I don't really care what level you played at, but probably should limit it to after leaving school.

So did you play?  I did and was a forward.  I gradually made my way forward in the scrum as I got older, mainly because 30 years ago I was TALL, now I am decidedly average (how did kids get so tall these days?)

[mike909]

Played (LH) prop from age 13 and all through Uni and other adventures on the rugby field with clubs - was able to do a decent imitation of being a blind side flanker when I got a wee bit fitter!

[Raggs]

Desperately need a Forwards+Backs option.

Scrum half for school up until 17. Then back to rugby at 34 and tighthead.

[WaspsUpNorth]

I was a hooker for school, county & uni until back problems forced me to look to other sports - far too many concertinaed scrums in my younger days, thankfully almost a thing of the past.

[BG]

Predominantly a 9 but sometimes filled in as a blindside flanker. Started when I was 6yrs old, in my teens I played for school on Sat's and club on Sunday's.

I left school with a back injury so didn't play at Uni (and TBH enjoyed the break from playing). When I moved back to Warwickshire I played for Old Warwickians for a few years.

I did make a guest appearance for Marlow 4ths who couldn't get a full team out (ah. . the heady heights) and took the field with my brother, who is 10 yrs older (not NWW but another brother), which was slightly surreal as I had grown up as a 5/6yr old watching him and NWW play school rugby.

[Chunky24]

Played rugby union in Cov at a couple of clubs up to midlands 1 at hooker and loosehead and also Rugby League for Coventry Bears and once for Wales amateur RL. Still just about going back with my original union club, generally when it is wet and muddy or the fixture is nearer the Welsh border than the home ground.

[Vespula Vulgaris]

Desperately need a Forwards+Backs option.

Scrum half for school up until 17. Then back to rugby at 34 and tighthead.

Edited!

[Bloke in North Dorset]

Learnt to play at the Army Apprentice College, Harrogate, and coached by our Squadron Cpl who was involved in the Wales setup. Continued after I graduated but wasn’t really big or fast enough, although my tackling technique was sound, and after a year at Squadron level stopped playing when I was posted to Cyprus.

I ran the Regimental Rugby Club bar for a while if that also counts 🍺?

Outside centre or wing. 

[backdoc]

Mostly hooker in later school years. Front row at University and occasional turnout for the 'Overdraft Club' in the 80's [a mixed bag of Nottingham/London players of varying ability, with 2 England age group Internationals in the team, and me at the other end of the spectrum].

[Rifleman Harris]

I did a pretty poor imitation of a full back at school and then filled in at full back or centre for my hall at Loughborough Uni if they were really really desperate.

Sent from my LYA-L29 using Tapatalk

[Heathen]

Played at High Wycombe for 5 years after leaving school, then moved to Marlow for a further 22 years, until at 45 yo, the wear and tear caught up with me.

Most of my time was spent in the pack, although did play in the backs on rare occasions. Prefered position was loosehead, but did hook and play at TH if required.

At Marlow, skippered the 4ths for several years and then the Vets.

Half decent goalkicker (which was unusual for a prop!)

[welsh wasp]

Mostly wing - in the olden day’s  when I threw in at line-outs. Occasional flanker when I got bored on the wing with nothing to do. I think I might be picked as ball boy these days.

Agree with VV re size these days. I remember the days when props were 14 st in old money & second rows were 6ft 4.

[RogerE]

Although I had supported Wasps since the age of 10, I never played until the captain of Wales and London Welsh started teaching at our school. He introduced me to London Welsh where I played until I left school and then played for Wasps. My first match I remember well because we had a surfeit of centres but no scrum half, so I ended-up playing in that position - so well that one of the props informed me I had to put the ball into the scrum on the "other f***ing side".

Eventually moved out to South Bucks and ended up playing for Chiltern.

Playing ended when one I also took up stock car racing, and ended up with 32 fractures in my right lower limb. Now I have CMT which makes running an impossibility and walking painful.

[Skippy]

Started out in the front row when I was at school. I was much bigger than everyone else, so myself and the other big lad in the year got engine room duties. That was ages 13, then pretty much every year after that I got smaller. Second row the following year, then back row. By the time I went to uni,
I was only large enough to play in the backs, but was somewhat hobbled by retaining the speed and sidestepping abilities for a traditional prop. Crash ball centre it was.  Then the injuries started. Busted ankle about two weeks into the season when I was doing my masters. That took ages to get right and running was pretty painful in the mean time. Took about three seasons and two operations to get it good enough to start playing again. Joined the Civil Service Club and then, midway through Jan had my leg broken. At that point I decided to hang up my boots (from the contact stuff anyway).

And, if I’m honest, none of it was played at a particularly high standard. But I very much enjoyed the camaraderie and social side of things.

I also had a crack at the touch stuff in the last 5 years I was in Abu Dhabi (returned to the U.K. at the start of 2018).

[wasps]

Got into the game late. I didn't pay until I was about 19.
A friend and I went down to our local club to see if they'd let us train with them.

I realise now that with me being 6'4 and about 17 stone and him being 6'1 and 18 stone they were never gonna let us slip through their fingers.
Even so, I was over joyed when they let us join and we even both played that weekend (10 minutes or so on the wing)




After that, it was 2nd row for me, tight head for him.
Eventually I ended up playing loose head because every club typically has a shortage of props and I was stupid enough to volunteer.

I think I was a half decent lock, but was more useful to most teams as a prop.
When I became Captain I picked myself at 8, but as players dropped out during the week, I generally moved further forwards and ended up playing prop.

I had 2 games at fly half after returning extremely early from a broken knee cap and the captain was too scared to put me in the pack.
There was a lot of crash ball for those 2 games and then an extended period out of the game when I realised I couldn't actually run