So much has happened since I last wrote.

My first instinct was to use this month’s column as a forum for writing about Brett (or Brettieboy01 as he prefers to be called), because I have so much material about him, its almost obscene. But then I thought that if I did that it would be an abuse of my position and it would also appeal to his monstrous narcissism and feed his gargantuan, if somewhat misplaced, ego, for having an entire column dedicated to him. So, I decided to leave that one (for the time being at least).

Then, there’s the tour of course. So many stories came out of our weekend to butlins, that I could write an essay about it. But, I’m prevented from doing so by the rugby code of ‘what goes on tour stays on tour.’ So that was a dead end.

Also, there was the AGM. But I can’t offer any opinions on that because I didn’t go, so I currently don’t know who got what. If Brettieboy01 has clung to power as chairman, then I will warn you all, that this is only the beginning. He once told me, without the slightest sense of irony, that he has aspirations of becoming a councillor. He even outlined his policies to me. However, that aside, congratulations to all of the people who got voted in.

So, finally, there’s the dinner/dance to write about. This was a very successful evening, although in my humble opinion, the function room was too big to create any atmosphere. May I also say, quite genuinely, that Lee Watkins was the deserving winner of three awards, including the prestigious players player. Lee gets his fair share of abuse from the boys (well, me and Greg at least), but he’s a good lad to have around, both on and off the field. Despite putting my body on the line week in week out, I won a golden tyrannosaurus rex. Absolute liberty. Greg, bless him, won the managers award and the bravery award. Greg’s a hero in his own little way. He turns up every week, never gets a game, but he’s good for morale. Keep up the good work Greg, you’re a good kid.

Last Season's Musings...

Here we are at the end of the 2006/2007 season and I’ve got my own column for the website! It came about because Brett said I’m opinionated and that my own slot would make for interesting reading. Incidentally, being called ‘opinionated’ by Brett is rather like being called ‘a bit gay’ by Graham Norton, but I digress.

So, what shall we talk about? I guess the best place to start would be to quickly look back at last season, before making some predictions for next season. Overall, of course, last season was a disappointment (the tens tournament aside). In my opinion, there are two reasons for our collective failure. The first one being that we were over-confident and expected to destroy everything in sight after some of the performances we put in during the previous season. The second being that people’s commitment and confidence evaporated by mid January when it became clear that we weren’t going to win anything. This was dramatically emphasised with the away leg against Uttoxeter when we received the biggest good hiding of our history, despite beating them at home fairly comfortably. It was the last away game of the season at a place that was in the middle of nowhere and we were going to finish third from bottom, no matter what the result. So, what happened? People suddenly developed injuries and niggles and we went to Uttoxeter with a desperately under strength side and got absolutely destroyed. The point I am making is that would these injuries have existed if we were competing for honours or playing Ashfield? I know what I think…

Anyway, that aside, I’m optimistic for the new season. We finished last season winning the tens tournament and convincingly beating Tupton, which convinces me that we have the players. All we need now is the collective commitment.

The people who I’m predicting that will shine next season are as follows… Dean Freestone will ignite the front row with his pure nastiness and physical presence. Dan Tompkinson will build on his fantastic form from the tens tournament and will be our first choice scrum half. Finally, my prediction for next year’s player of the year is… ‘The Problem Solver.’ I love his pure aggression and his never say die attitude. If he can smoothen out his rough edges, the Spartans will unlock his awesome potential that will devastate many sides for years to come.

There are a lot questions, which will be answered next season. Who’s going to be the first choice back row? Who’s going to be the surprise package? Who will be the regular fly half? Will Fish get a haircut? Will Greg bravely battle through his calf niggle? Will Shaun’s body reject his new liver? Will Brett ever admit he’s wrong? Who knows? But I can’t wait to find out! See you in a month.

McGarry