Thoughts In The Silly Season

By AlanQuin
May 31 2006

So the silly season is upon us again! In Rugby terms it is that period of time after the leagues have ended and only matters of little immediate moment remain.

Promotion and relegation, those twin impostors, are settled. The Heineken Cup is won and the red shirted hordes have retreated to Munster. The European Challenge Cup is won and lost. The curiously unexciting play-offs which seem to matter less each year are upon us. Each year it seems harder to justify the possibility that the team which has clearly won the league should be deposed by artificial means, possibly by the team which finished fourth. That Sale won the final despite the system is the proper result for the first time in four attempts.

The Barbarians are setting out on tour. The home nations are all off to the Southern Hemisphere. England, with an unproven and less than best squad, seem about to duplicate the former “tour from hell” in Australia. The new-minted Saxons are to defend the Churchill Cup in Canada.

We can start to contemplate the future with the pre-season matches only two months away. Next season’s fixtures for the Guinness Premiership have been published and it is clear that Harlequins are faced with a difficult return to the top flight. September brings London Irish, Gloucester, Wasps and Leicester in a tough battle for survival in the Premiership where a good start is vital.

The Powergen Anglo-Welsh Cup apparently leaves Harlequins in the Northern Group where they replace Leeds Tykes. The opponents in that pool will bring further visits to or from Newcastle, Sale and Cardiff. The European Challenge Cup draw is still awaited with the prospect of visits to France, Italy and possibly Rumania to salivate the palate.

Ten of the new signings are known already and the recruitment of Abbot, Luscombe, Spanghero, Care and others has made a statement of intent on the part of the management which gives hope for the future success of Harlequins. The faith continuing to be placed in the youngsters from the Academy adds to that hope.

There is so much to look forward to. In the meantime I must be content with the far less exciting watching on Sky TV the exploits of England, Saxons and Others, Wales and France and Ireland. These matches will not satisfy me though. Rather they will make the silly season even sillier because watching them brings a distinct lack of reality.

But it is another dose of reality that I need. Reality, in rugby terms, I can only find in that combination of misery and pleasure and subtle torture achieved in watching Quins.