WRITERS WANTED!

Do you have a passion for rugby, either as a player or a fan?

Do you feel like you have an opinion, view or story about rugby union?

Well then we want to hear from you!

ATU (Against the Uprights) currently has just 2 writers and as we finish up university we are struggling to find the time write material.

We are looking for aprox 3-5 new writers to publish on our blog and to get their voices heard.

If you are interested then please either comment on this post, tweet us @ATUBlog or message us on our Facebook page, Against The Uprights.

We're not looking for the next Shakespeare, just someone who can communicate well and put together a blog post.

We do this just for a laugh and to see if others agree with us or not.

We look forward to hearing from you!

ATU.

The man behind the Grand Slam.

Who'd a thought it at Christmas time that by mid-March England would have brushed off the huge disappointment from the World Cup and won their first grand slam 6 Nations title since 2003?

And what a feeling it is!

This year's tournament has by no means been the best to watch in terms of quality and big questions are being asked about whether the northern hemisphere can really compete with the big boys from Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.

But right now, we couldn't really care less.

Regardless of the quality of this year's tournament, a grand slam is a mighty big thing to win and extremely hard to do so. To be waking up and watching all the videos of the England team after the victory over France feels very nice indeed and it feels well overdue that England rugby fans can celebrate.

However, what's changed for this to all happen?

Mr. Eddie Jones.

He came into the coaching set-up after Stuart Lancaster was relieved of his duties after a disappointing 4 years in charge. What he's done in such a small amount of time is take the majority of Lancaster's squad and mould it into something rather brilliant.

There were a few eyebrows raised when the first squad announcement was made prior to the opening game versus Scotland and many were questioning why he had picked a very similar team. The media came out in voice and expressed their disappointment that after all the hype about the new man and the new dawn of English rugby, it all looked very much the same.

But what Jones has proven is that we had the team in the World Cup to do much better than we did and that if it had the right guidance would have not left an entire nation feeling deflated after 4 years of hope.

So, for me, Eddie Jones has got to be given the credit for our grand slam success because if it wasn't for him, there could might well have been very little to cheer about.

Don't get me wrong, the team played exceptionally well too and they deserve a lot of the credit.

I thought Billy Vunipola was outstanding and Maro Itoje lived well up to expectations. Anthony Watson continued his impressive score tally for the Red Rose and Mike Brown just did what Mike Brown does best; be a bloody good full-back.

Dylan Hartley as captain?

Well, I have to admit that though I thought he was the best man for the job when he was appointed, I did still have some doubts. Now, however, I can breath a sigh of relief and feel comfortable that he is the man for the job. His leadership was clear to see and it seems that the responsibility is keeping his head in the game and and yellow cards in the ref's pockets.

One player I think has been overlooked in this year's squad is Chris Robshaw.

It felt very odd seeing him in the team and not being the man to lead the team out.

I kept an eye out for Robshaw to see how he'd perform and whether he still had what it takes to be in the team.

He certainly does.

At 6 he's an exceptional player and the lessons he's learned from being captain could be seen throughout the tournament.

There were many times handbags were thrown and players went for each other, as is expected in rugby. Yet the one man I always saw in the mix was Robshaw, pulling players apart and keep everyone's heads cool.

For those who remember far back enough when Martin Corry was England captain, it was very much the same story. He was a quality back rower but as captain he seemed to not qutie fit the bill. When he was taken out of being captain though, he continued lead but was able to concentrate on his own game. The same thing can be said about Robshaw.

Overall, it's a great time to be an England fan and we have so much to look forward to when England travel to Australia this summer and go against the Wallabies.

There is still much to improve on in this team but with Eddie Jones at the helm, the only way is up.

No contact in school rugby would take more away from kids than the game itself.

Earlier this week it was reported that over 70 doctors and academics urged ministers to ban contact in rugby at UK and Irish schools. It was suggested that allowing children to play rugby with contact would put their health at risk in future years and that 'touch' rugby would be a far safer alternative. 

This report caught our eye and so we decided to put together a little post on why this report is completely ridiculous, massively stupid and for any rugby fan, infuriating.

I've had the pleasure of playing rugby since the age of 6. Back then (he says as if it were decades ago) we did not have the 'tag' rugby alternative which is played now by very young rugby players before they go onto contact at around 10 (I could be wrong on this age but it is around that). We played 'touch' rugby which means that instead of tackling someone to the ground you pat them on the hips with two hands and the tackle was made. 

I remember loving this form of the game, simply because I knew nothing different. 

I remember my last ever game of touch rugby and my dad saying to me, "next season's contact, that's much better". I didn't believe him. I could not comprehend anything being better than my beloved touch rugby. But how wrong I was...

The first training session of the following season we turned up all eager to see what all the fuss was about in contact rugby. We learnt how to tackle, how to fall and most importantly how not to tackle so that it could not risk the wellbeing of the opposition. 

It was tricky at first but we got the hang of it and by the time it came to game day we were rolling around in the mud, pulling players down and having the time of our lives. 

The feeling was incredible and all of a sudden I understood that my father had been so correct in his statement. 

And this is why it has irritated me so much that some imbeciles said contact should be banned from rugby at schools.

Most of my friends for whom I play rugby with now only learnt about the game at school. It was at school they learnt how to pass, how to score, where to run and how to tackle. 

It was only after the first game in PE that those who might have usually played football fell in love with the game and wished to give a club a go. Without these lessons I highly doubt rugby clubs would have half the players they do now. 

There's so much more to rugby than the contact and it's utterly bewildering to think that doctors know what rugby's about.

Discipline, teamwork, respect, enjoyment, leadership. 

These are words we take for granted when we talk about rugby but they are so true. Take away the contact and you take away the essence of rugby. 

Kids are not made of glass and paper. In fact they are usually made of glue, plastic and magic. They bend, they fall, they scrape their knees and hurt themselves all the time but they get back up with a huge smile on their faces and say "let's do that again!". Kid's might cry if they have to have an injection but fill them with adrenaline and put them on a grassy field and say "go", they will become much stronger than you give them credit for.

If you take away contact in school rugby you will not teach them how to fall when they get hit or where to put their heads when they want to make a hit. 

THAT is when injuries occur. 

It is only through ignorance of the sport that players get hurt in tackles. If they get a bump or a knock in a harder tackle it's not putting their lives at risk. It's simply teaching them to get back up even when you're hurt. That their team needs them and they can't roll around moaning. 

If a serious injury does happen, to which they do occasionally, they won't be in any life threatening position. In fact you will find that they will be itching to get back out on the field before they are even fit. 

Here's an example. 

The worst injury I witnessed on a rugby field was when we were around 11/12. A lad went into a tackle and somehow managed to break his collarbone. It was a serious injury and he was in qutie a bit of pain. He went to hospital and got the required treatment and we carried on as usual. The season later he was back with a grin on his face and big hello to everyone, ready for the first game.

I've seen more broken bones on people who don't play rugby than those who do, especially children! 

Children at that sort of age are still learning a lot. Take away the contact of rugby in schools and your taking away all the skills and attributes that make rugby players after a game meet up with the opposition, shake their hands and say "well played". 

Children are not precious artifacts that need to be preserved. They're little nutters that want to go out with their mates and play. Let them bloody do it!