WHICH OF THESE IS THE GREATEST TRY IN MEN'S RUGBY ?
(picture is of Gareth Edwards' 1973 try which is in no way meant to influence your opinion)
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a. Jean-Luc Sadourny, 1994, New Zealand vs. France, Auckland
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CbiNdAgxwM

b. Gareth Edwards, 1973, Barbarians vs. New Zealand, Cardiff
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwCbG4I0QyA

c. Philippe Saint-Andre, 1991, England vs. France, Twickenham
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3PHyrbUNM4

d. Jonah Lomu, 1995, New Zealand vs. England, Cape Town
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLnyyQbgnHM

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In 1997 a touring party of 97( 63 players and 34 supporters) travelled to Cuba and played 5 games( won 4 and lost 1). A tour that will not soon be forgotten. The highlight of our tour was visiting the local schools and orphanages. Hence that Howlers ethos got started that "it's more than a game, it's a way of life"

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Since Egypt cancelled this month’s African rugby tournament over security concerns, Libyan rugby authorities have been anxious to step in and stage the tournament themselves in Tripoli and Benghazi. The only problem is that in Tripoli, there is no regular playing field.

Tarek Benrewin, who is general secretary of both the Libyan and Tripoli rugby committees told the Libya Herald this evening that if worse came to worst, pitches would be rented for the tournament, which will host teams from Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt, which like Libya, are relative newcomers to the game. Libya’s bid the take on the international tournament is still being considered by the African Rugby Confederation.

However Benrewin said that the real focus was on building the sport in Libya. Currently this was being done by encouraging private schools in both Tripoli and Benghazi to teach the sport and by staging demonstration games at universities. Earlier this year a display match was playing on a temporary pitch at Tripoli university. One rugby fan who watched the game recalled: “There was a good crowd of students there, including some girls. Maybe it was because of their presence that when players took a nasty fall, most didn’t stay on the ground very long, but got up quickly, to demonstrate that it had not really hurt”.

But a permanent home for Libyan rugby in the capital remains elusive. When a scratch Libyan 15 scored a convincing 43-17 victory over a British Royal Navy side from the survey ship HMS Echo this July, the game was played on a rented football pitch at Tripoli Sports City. For want of proper goal posts, plastic plumbing pipes had been pressed into use. Although the British navy has since delivered a proper set of rugby posts, there is currently nowhere to erect them.

This year the start of the season is being delayed because not all the teams from Tripoli Benghazi, Zawia and Misrata have yet re-registered, meaning no fixture list can be drawn up.

Benrewin said that a meeting in a fortnight ought to iron out the problem and that the season would begin before the new year. Last year the finals of the Libyan rugby league were played in April.

=======================
Name: 
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Julian Loveday

Nick Name:
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Jules

Born:
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Mandeville, Jamaica. March 26, 1963

Early rugby :
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Hampton Grammar School, England
McGill University Rugby Club, 1981-1984 (Captain 1983-1984)
Quebec Provincial Team (Juniors) 1982
Canada U19s vs Japan (Vancouver, 1982)

Later rugby ::
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Montreal Irish RFC, 1981 – 1984
Quebec Provincial Team (Seniors) 1982-1984
London Irish RFC, 1984-1988
Calgary Canadian Irish Athletic Club, 1988-2013
Alberta Provincial Team, 1988-1997
1997 - AFRICANADA RFC
Calgary Mavericks, 1998-1999
Canada 7s, 1989-1998 (Captain 1992-1996)
West Indies 7s, 2001
Wild Canadian Geese 7s, 2001-2003
North American Wolverines vs Australia, 1989
Canada, 1989-1999 (10 caps)
Canadian Classics, 2000-2012

Your Influences:
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Rugby coach at Hampton Grammar School, England – Mr. Watteson.
My dad – Martyn Loveday
Pat Parfrey

Most memorable rugby game(s)/experience(s)/memories:
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Canada U19s vs Japan U19s, 1982. Found out many years later that it was the first victory of a Canadian National Team over any other country except the USA.

First trip to Hong Kong 7s, 1989. The passion of the crowd was immense.

First cap vs England, 1993, which we won. Great feeling to beat the homeland.

How did rugby effect/influence your life:
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Realization that rugby really is a passion. Only when you are so passionate about something do your put your body through such abuse without getting compensated for it.

It is amazing to think about the many parts of the world that I have seen that I would not have the opportunity to have seen without rugby. 

The friends that I have made and kept over the years is something that has made my life so much more interesting.

The camaraderie that rugby exhibits throughout the world is second to no sport and makes you realize how we can overcome all differences through such friendships.

Current involvement in rugby:
------------------------
Just moved to Denver and have got involved with the Denver Barbarians and the Misfits Rugby Club, recently playing in the Aspen Ruggerfest.

Still involved with the Canadian Classics and the World Rugby Classic in Bermuda.

What are you doing now (residence, work, family etc):
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The company that I work for, Long View Systems, moved me (and my wife) to Denver, Colorado this year to run our US Head Office as Branch Manager.

My son, Tavis, is 27 years old and works for an oil and gas services company in Calgary, Canrig.

My daughter, Siobhan, is 24 years old and works in the health care industry at a doctor’s private clinic, The Allan Centre for Women.

Input/suggestions for Canadian rugby and or young players:
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Do it for the love of the game. Work hard and play hard.

Other comments:
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It is best summed up with his Howlers motto: “It’s more than a game, it’s a way of life.”

(picture is of Bath captain Michael Lipman being taken off with a head injury)
================================
Scientists researching the effect of concussion on the brain claim that rugby’s authorities are in a state of denial about the ‘almost incontrovertible’ evidence of a link between repeated concussion and the development of degenerative conditions.

In a pioneering study, Dr Michael J Grey, reader in Motor Neuroscience at the University of Birmingham’s School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences, and Tony Belli, a consultant neurosurgeon at the city’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital, are investigating the state of the brain after a concussion using cutting-edge technology funded by the British Medical Association and the National Institute for Health Research. 

Having already undertaken research into the effects of traumatic brain injuries in sportsmen and women, they are alarmed by rugby’s refusal to admit that repeated concussion can lead to long-term brain damage.

In last week’s Mail on Sunday, the RFU’s head of medicine, Dr Simon Kemp, said: ‘It is going to take some time to definitively answer this question.’

But Kemp’s view is not shared by Belli. ‘There is clear evidence of a link between concussion and dementia, but rugby is in denial about that,’ said Belli. ‘It was the same argument used by the cigarette companies many years ago to deny that smoking caused cancer. 

‘We already know that people who have developed a large number of concussions over time are at risk of developing neurodegenerative conditions and that evidence is now pretty clear. 

‘We have a large body of evidence. Most of that has come from the United States, and if you are looking for clear evidence in rugby then it might not be there, but that’s only because no one has looked for it. 

‘But the overall evidence for repeated concussion in sport [being linked to brain damage] is almost incontrovertible.’

Rugby’s authorities have also repeatedly attempted to differentiate it from American sports, especially from the research that led to the NFL paying out $765million after a lawsuit by 4,500 former players suffering from concussion-related brain injuries.

In August the International Rugby Board released a statement saying that ‘rugby is not American Football’, which again rankles with Belli.

‘I can’t really think of any logical explanation for that claim,’ Belli said. ‘I can’t see how you can produce an argument that rugby players are not at risk of developing neurological conditions, because in any sports where you do get a concussion or repeated concussion [the players] are at risk.’

Grey agrees with his colleague. ‘American sports may have protective gear, but the fact is that you have a brain encased in a skull that does not move,’ he said. 

‘If you decelerate that structure quickly enough, then the brain is going to shake. It does not matter if you are wearing a helmet or not; the brain is shaking inside the cranium that does not move which causes the damage.’

Grey and Belli’s research is focusing particularly on how long the brain remains in a parlous state after an initial concussion and the terrible damage that can be caused by a second impact during that timeframe. 

Yet, as Michael Lipman reveals below, rugby’s safeguard against concussed players returning to action too soon — the CogSport Test — is routinely abused. 

‘The timing is crucial because the brain becomes vulnerable after the initial injury,’ Belli added. ‘If there is another event, even a mild blow, within that window then you are very likely to have effects comparable to a severe head injury. 

‘The players are professionals and they want to play. They learn how to manipulate those tests very quickly and deliberately underperform in the baseline test so when they do have a concussion there’s no significant difference.

‘It goes back to the denial culture. But by allowing players who have experienced a serious event to go back and play they are putting lives at risk.’

Grey and Belli fully endorse The Mail on Sunday’s Concussion Campaign and hope their research, which will be conducted over three years at Birmingham University, will lead to a more objective test than CogSport being developed. But Belli says that rugby urgently needs to take its head out of the sand. 

‘They say they take players’ welfare seriously, but then at the same time they’re saying there’s no problem concussions,’ Belli said. ‘They are contradictory statements to say we are taking the welfare of players to heart but then in the same breath to state that concussions are not a real problem in rugby. 

‘The last thing we want to do is create paranoia about the sport — we just want to make it safer. Rugby is a wonderful sport with huge benefits, but at the moment there’s a culture of denial.’


---------------------------------------
ENGLAND STAR REVEALS HOW PLAYERS BEAT THE TESTS

Michael Lipman used to view it as a badge of honour that he was prepared to put his head in places where most people would not place their boots.

Now the former England and Bath flanker fears he could be a ‘vegetable’ by the time he is 65 after suffering more than 30 incidents of concussion in his career.

A final blow to the head while playing for Melbourne Rebels last year forced Lipman to retire. But with more research suggesting a strong link between repeated concussions and the onset of neuro-degenerative problems, the 33-year-old is afraid of what the future holds. 

‘It concerns me massively,’ Lipman told The Mail on Sunday. ‘In 10, 20, 30 years’ time, I could have Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s because of it. 

‘I don’t know if by the time I’m 65 I won’t be a vegetable. It’s hugely worrying. As a player, you don’t tend to think about these things, but now you can’t help but be concerned.’

While the number of concussions that Lipman suffered in his playing days is staggering, very few of them prevented him being back on the field the following week because of what he describes as institutionalized cheating of the CogSport Test — the main tool rugby uses to determine when a player is ready to return to play after a concussion. 

Lipman confirmed fears voiced by leading scientist Dr Jon Patricios that players routinely manipulate their baseline CogSport Test score in pre-season so future concussion symptoms go undetected. 

‘I used to think those tests were a bit of a laugh,’ said Lipman. ‘I’d try to do as badly as I could because I knew that I was going to get concussed. 

‘That’s exactly what a lot of players still do because when they get a knock, they want to be back playing. They have careers and reputations and, at the end of the day, they just want to get out there and play rugby.’

Lipman blames no one but himself for his actions. In 2009, after a run of five concussions in five months, two neurosurgeons told him to retire when he was still at Bath — advice he ignored and hid from the Premiership club and the Rebels. 

Slowly but surely, the consequences caught up with Lipman. Friends would sit next to him and he would forget their names; and his whole world became a constant haze.

‘I thought, “There’s no point in this”,’ he said. ‘The more you get knocked out, the longer it takes to recover. Initially, it can take a week or even two or three days. 

‘In the past few years it took me a lot longer, which is why I retired. The more concussions I had, the easier it was to get knocked out and the little knocks used to be the worse. 

‘I’d play with blurred vision all the time, but you kept playing through because you didn’t want to let your mates down.

====================================
Thanks to the below listed Howlers for their support of this most worthy endeavour -https://donate.rugbycanada.ca/e/judahcampbell

I'm sure many more Howlers will follow suite in due course to again support that "IT'S MORE THAN A GAME , IT'S A WAY OF LIFE"

1. Tim Young (board member) - $2,500
2. Dog River Howlers Rugby Club - $1,000
3. Karl Fix (board member) - $300
4. Dave Poettcker (player alumni)- $200
5. Michael Oketch (player alumni) - $50

==============================
Shawnigan's Headmaster David Robertson a founding member of the Dog River Howlers Rugby Club sends this message - "Shawnigan Lake School will join with the Howlers and commit to raise $5000 for Judah, a young member of our larger rugby community - "It isn't just a game........." . 

The Howlers also committed $1,000 towards this endeavour.
------------------------------------------

On October 5th 2013, Judah broke his C4 & C5 vertebrae while playing rugby for the Kelowna Crows Rugby Club, damaging the spinal cord and leaving him mostly paralyzed from the neck down.

Up until the day of the injury, Judah was self-employed. He has no work disability insurance. He cannot collect Employment Insurance. The Rugby Insurance he thought he was protected by only covers full paralysis as a paraplegic or quadriplegic. Despite the fact that Judah cannot use his hands, walk, or move his body unassisted in a coordinated manner, he has very limited movement in his legs and arms and therefore does not fit into their definition of a ‘Paraplegic’ or ‘Quadriplegic’. This former UBC Okanagan Varsity Rugby Player is unable to hold a pencil, or a glass of water to take a drink, and he’s not covered. 

The Judah Campbell fund is aiming to raise $100,000 to help with the medical costs in the treatment and rehabilitation of Judah, help provide the constant care giving he currently requires, and assist with the future costs given his current state of paralysis along with adjustment to life outside the hospital. 

Your donation and support is greatly appreciated.
https://donate.rugbycanada.ca/e/judahcampbell

=============================
(picture is of Afghan 7's team in Mumbai for Asian 7's Rugbby Series)

maa ke liye jigar de diya, dusri maa ke liye jaan dene ko bhi tayyar hu (I’ve given my liver to my mother, I’m ready to give my life for my country,” says Sadat, as his teammates lift his T-shirt to show the long stitches around his stomach. 

Afghanistan rugny captain Sayed Mustafa Sadat, 31, donated 70 per cent of his liver to his mother in Delhi about six months ago. He’s back in India, this time to lead his country in the Asian Rugby Sevens Series to be played in Mumbai from today. Sadat says he’s fit to play now after a brief stint away from the game, and can’t wait to get back on the field. His mother, too, is recovering well and will undergo check-up three months from now.

Sadat’s spirit is not an exception for the Afghans, who ooze confidence and optimism despite living in a war-torn country. Ask the 10-member squad if they ever fear for the future of the sport if things get worse and pat comes the unanimous reply: “It will never get worse.” Javid Rahmani breaks a few moments of silence. “If the Taliban does take over our country, the sport — and sports in general — will be dead. But that will never happen.”

His teammates nod in approval, but the silence gets longer. This time it’s 32-year-old Hamid Basheri who opens up. 

“Violence was there before, but now things have improved. There is a lot of difference between what you see on TV and the reality,” Basheri says, backed by another round of approval.

The Afghans started playing rugby only three years ago, after Sadat and Javid saw a couple of international matches on television and wanted to play the sport themselves. They managed to convince boxers, weight-lifters, volleyball players and a few others in various villages to switch their choice of sport, and about 10 of them gladly did. They now have a full-fledged Afghanistan Rugby Federation (ARF) and participate in various Asian and world tournaments.

“The sport is developing slowly,” Steve Brookling, technical advisor of ARF, says. “There’s no place to play. That’s been the problem in spreading the game. There’s no money for travelling. It’s a new sport for the Afghans, which fascinates them and there are little kids playing the sport.”

It is precisely this that keeps the current crop going. “Rugby will become a popular sport. We have three to four junior teams playing right now. We train them and are trying to make them strong. When they see us on TV, they want to join too,” says Sadat, adding that rugby will touch the same heights in the future that cricket and football have risen to at present in their country. “One day it will. Afghans are very interested in rugby. Unke jasbe mein hai.”

The team gets their regular dose of competitive matches at home thanks to the forces of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). “We have a match against them in two weeks,” says Rahmani. “Yes, the goraas (foreigners) do help us with the game, but there’s nothing in terms of sponsorship.”

Far from cricket’s million dollars, rugby does not give these men enough money to make ends meet. Abdul Bari Gazang, 22, runs a shop during the day and practises after his daily work. The rest too, either work or study alongside. Do they fear for their families when they’re out on tours, or even, vice-versa?

“Rugby is a very dangerous sport. But when we go out, our families only hope that we come back with medals and trophies for Afghanistan. They say you don’t worry about things here, just win and come,” says Sadat.

Afghanistan had got the wooden spoon in last year’s edition. So are they hopeful of a change this time around?

“We’ve come only to win. And we will win. We’ve worked harder this time. Aur hum India ko bhi zaroor jitwayenge,” Sadat says.

The odd moments of silence turn into laughter.