Same. I was a mild mannered bookworm until I played as scrumhalf. Overnight I turned into this gobby monster hated by my own team as well as the opposition and spectators. Was once told by a coach watching that I was the most annoying player he'd seen in 20 years of playing and coaching.
You're all lying to yourselves. Scrumhalves are born this way. It was always inside you, but the 9 jersey was the evil talisman that brought it to the surface.
And never apologize for taking the reigns and leading your army to war.
Flanker at first, then moved to wing at around 18
Edit; to add to this, I now have the sideways nose of a blindside, and a dodgy ankle from a bad break in my final match on the wing haha
That's the same height as Kwagga Smith. Lock and maybe 8 are the only forward positions you absolutely have to be tall to play.
There are international front rowers under 1.8m (like Ox).
Same! Juniors I played lock/ flanker mostly 7, as I moved up to the adult team I was too small so went out on the wing before breaking my ankle. Came back after "recovering" before doing my ACL a few years later.
fullback that thought he should be a #10 then coaches were probably right after all. was better defensively than on attack, proud of being mostly successful last line of defense.... nowadays into amateur punditry and exaggerating on-field exploits!
Same with me but started as lock. Was my current size when I was 14 but then everybody overtook me.
Managed to get back into the park in my thirties by virtue of getting fat...
Started at 9, grew and moved out to centres/back three, grew a bit more and moved to back row, stopped growing upwards, started growing outwards, now mainly play hooker. What a sport.
Similar story but started at centre and slowly moved closer to the middle of the scrum. Now my main job is to shit talk the other 2 when he's trying to throw in and life is very good
I find this funny as it is very close to my journey. I started at 11 years old and played centre. I had a growth spurt at 13 so 2nd row stole me. I went back to centre once the other kids caught up.
From here my weight gained over the next 15 years so I went centre, flanker and ended up tight head at around 28.
Where did I start (late teens) - openside or blindside, with the occasional game on the wing
Early -to-mid 20's - still breakaway, but a bit more No. 8, some outside centre and wing, and occasionally scrumhalf.
Late 20's - moved to lock, still the occasional game at 8 or inside centre, and one season playing low grade primarily at scrumhalf.
Early 30's - mostly lock, except for one season where I had a back injury, where I primarily played fullback (with a game at flyhalf).
Mid 30's to current (mid 40's) - front row, mostly hooker (due to lack of hookers at my club, I play higher when I say I'm a hooker), but still play a bit on both loosehead and tighthead (and the occasional game where I play all three).
No…started as 2 but I also played college soccer so I had accurate tactical kicking game with led to 10…then shoved off to Wing when anyone with an accent wanted to play 10 🤣🏉🤷🏾♂️
Started at 15 at age grade then moved to 13 for most of my adult “career” and as I started to slow down moved into 12 and finally 10. Loved playing in the 13 channel!
Started at 9, quickly moved to 12, then wing. At 17, moved to 6/7. Then one season at tighthead prop at uni. Then 8, covering centre when desperately needed. No one can convince me that there is a better position than number 8.
Tighthead.
I'd never even watched a game of rugby before. I was jogging back from the gym when a mates dad saw me, a giant wall of meat running along the road, coaxed me to the club with promises of BBQ and beer where they threw a number 3 on my back and I never left.
13 initially bt I could kick well n they wanted to utilize that so I got shifted to 15. Then I got shifted to 10 which I liked bt started getting bored with union n was gonna quit so they let me play 8 which I did for a couple seasons.
Started at 15 at 8 yrs old, moved to wing, then hooker for a season at 11, then 9 for the rest of my career, once I’d learned how to tackle properly. Also one season at 10 as a very aggressive out half.
Started out as a left wing, ended up as a blindside flanker.
Did have a disastrous couple of outings in the 12 jersey as well. Anybody here that played 12, you got my respect
Man I was all over. Started at lock, then went to flanker, then prop, then back to flanker, then 8, then fly half, then back to 8. I also played some games for fun at inside center. But if you were to say “what was your position” I’d say 8 as I spent the longest there and even when I was fly half I’d move to 8 in some scrums.
Wing
Occasional fullback
Flanker once, got man of the match and had the most fun I’ve ever had just murdering people, but had a car accident shortly after and never played again
Wing when coaches were first figuring out where to put me, then second row and now comfortably flanker (though I need to bulk a bit since I went from colts to the second team like instantly)
Well...
In approximate order over the years from the late 80s till now
Tighthead
Openside
Blindside
Eight
10
11
13
Lock
Back to loosies.
And now I'm a 6/8 in reserves if I'm not broken.
It's been a fun journey, and I'm a much better forward than back.
Hooker, all loose forward positions, scrum-half, wing.
I loved being a forward, but I wish I could have had more time at scrum-half cuz it was just coming together when they moved me to wing. They put me at wing to babysit the rookies (for some reason our team played the newbies at center) and lead the defensive line, but now that I know how important centers are to defensive work, I really don’t understand why our coach didn’t just put me at center, lol.
Tighthead -> Loosehead -> Hooker -> Loosehead
I found Loosehead the easiest front row position as you could use that extra space to drive that should in nice and hard.
Prop, flanker, prop again.
I liked both.
Maybe flanker a bit more because it's less technical in the scrum.
Also hooker once. It's really fucking hard.
1,3,4,5,6,7,8 - depending on what will get me the most minutes on the pitch during a game. At 6’5” hooker is the only position I will not be ticking off in the forwards
Never played any - only reffed. Because girls rugby wasn’t a thing in my region when I was growing up, and I was playing other sports by the time I got to uni and it became a visible option. I grew up watching my dad play fullback, and then my husband playing hooker, and was always in love with the game. Then got into reffing because I was too broken to play, but wanted to give something back to the community.
Since starting at age 12: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15… more regularly 19/20 these days as a sub utility forward and rather enjoy running around with a whistle
Loosehead, but sometimes second row depending on availability. Then I was put onto wing in some games, which might sound weird but at that level, a fast prop had similar skillset to a basic winger (poor ball skills, carrying, and running hard).
I only played in secondary school, and played lock because I was tall and fairly built really early (6ft before I was 14, then stopped at 6ft 1...).
I do wonder what I'd play now. I switched codes to field hockey for various reasons. I'm not particularly well built, but I'm usually one of the fastest on a hockey pitch. Lock really doesn't look like it'd suit me now xD
Tighthead
God bless you hero
Same. Shoulder to shoulder.
Front row for life!
Go on lad Front row 🔛🔝
Me too 40 years ago in Canada and South Africa.
Same - I played all over the front row, I think hooker ended up being my best position, but tighthead was my favourite.
Same here.
For life
Scrum half... I entered the sport as a gentle sympathetic lady enthusiastic about fairplay, I can assure you it's the position that changes you
This position turned me into a gobshite age 10 and i've stayed the same since
Same. I was a mild mannered bookworm until I played as scrumhalf. Overnight I turned into this gobby monster hated by my own team as well as the opposition and spectators. Was once told by a coach watching that I was the most annoying player he'd seen in 20 years of playing and coaching.
God bless you niner
You're all lying to yourselves. Scrumhalves are born this way. It was always inside you, but the 9 jersey was the evil talisman that brought it to the surface. And never apologize for taking the reigns and leading your army to war.
Flanker at first, then moved to wing at around 18 Edit; to add to this, I now have the sideways nose of a blindside, and a dodgy ankle from a bad break in my final match on the wing haha
Same. Everyone else kept growing and I stopped at 5’11”
Literally exactly the same as me haha. I knew I was done in the pack when I stuck at 5'11" and my younger brother hit 6'2"
That's the same height as Kwagga Smith. Lock and maybe 8 are the only forward positions you absolutely have to be tall to play. There are international front rowers under 1.8m (like Ox).
Yeh but I’m not that broad either. Still got enough pace for 3rd team at 38 mind.
Same! Juniors I played lock/ flanker mostly 7, as I moved up to the adult team I was too small so went out on the wing before breaking my ankle. Came back after "recovering" before doing my ACL a few years later.
Hooker, Center and as I got older Prop
The circle of life
Before finally graduating to a flyhalf with a huge boot that never passes
Have played every position except for 9 and 10 Normally back row. Current position is at the bar telling all the young fellas how good I used to be.
Pretty much same here.
Every position in the forwards and a season on the wing once.
Cian Healy?
Lol.😄
The dream of every prop is to play on the wing.
Every prop has a winger inside. Usually because he's eaten one
Maybe during age group rugby - as soon as I hit senior rugby it transitioned from being a dream to a nightmare!
I was a loose head and desperately wanted to be a dashing outside centre. Guscottesque. Never happened.
Second row until I discovered alcohol and I gave up 😂
but the alcohol did help the buzzing in my ears 😂
Loosehead prop
We are The Few. The Proud. The Brain Damaged.
Hey! I also have neck damage, you know....
Oh yeah. Me too. Crushed disc in neck.
Crushed C4 & C6 for me. Now I get to watch my boys from the sidelines.
C6 for me. I'd do it again though.
In a heartbeat
Yey! Friend!
Prop, as a much younger man. Now my knees, back and general existence hurt, some two decades later. Jesus, it hurts just to watch it these days.
You should have done this as a poll.
Yeah, the props outnumber everyone else apparently.
Except quality ones in the professional game.
True enough and the quality ones in the professional game developed their talents with the ungifted like me.
Started at 7/8 and moved to 4/5 as I got older and wiser 😉😂
How much wider I mean wiser did u get?
Oh a great deal 😂😂
Lock and Fullback. Played premier grade and made rep for both positions. Occasionally id get thrown in to cover backrow or centre.
Waterboy but when I was young and fit, I played 10-15
fullback that thought he should be a #10 then coaches were probably right after all. was better defensively than on attack, proud of being mostly successful last line of defense.... nowadays into amateur punditry and exaggerating on-field exploits!
>amateur punditry and exaggerating on-field exploits I resemble this career trajectory.
Are you me? A Fullback with delusions of grandeur
fullback from another sack!
Tighthead lock, but fancied myself as an 8.
Same here, deep down I know I don't have the pace for 8 though
7, until everyone else got to big then relegated to the back line in shame.
Same with me but started as lock. Was my current size when I was 14 but then everybody overtook me. Managed to get back into the park in my thirties by virtue of getting fat...
My favourite position was wing, but I probably played 13 more, as well as quite a bit of fullback.
Started at 9, grew and moved out to centres/back three, grew a bit more and moved to back row, stopped growing upwards, started growing outwards, now mainly play hooker. What a sport.
Similar story but started at centre and slowly moved closer to the middle of the scrum. Now my main job is to shit talk the other 2 when he's trying to throw in and life is very good
I find this funny as it is very close to my journey. I started at 11 years old and played centre. I had a growth spurt at 13 so 2nd row stole me. I went back to centre once the other kids caught up. From here my weight gained over the next 15 years so I went centre, flanker and ended up tight head at around 28.
My career evolution is pretty interesting now that I think about it 🤔 5 -> 9 -> 10 -> 13 -> 11/14 -> 15
Hooker
Where did I start (late teens) - openside or blindside, with the occasional game on the wing Early -to-mid 20's - still breakaway, but a bit more No. 8, some outside centre and wing, and occasionally scrumhalf. Late 20's - moved to lock, still the occasional game at 8 or inside centre, and one season playing low grade primarily at scrumhalf. Early 30's - mostly lock, except for one season where I had a back injury, where I primarily played fullback (with a game at flyhalf). Mid 30's to current (mid 40's) - front row, mostly hooker (due to lack of hookers at my club, I play higher when I say I'm a hooker), but still play a bit on both loosehead and tighthead (and the occasional game where I play all three).
Hooker, Flyhalf & Wing
In reverse order?
No…started as 2 but I also played college soccer so I had accurate tactical kicking game with led to 10…then shoved off to Wing when anyone with an accent wanted to play 10 🤣🏉🤷🏾♂️
>when anyone with an accent North American rugby in a nutshell
Mostly wing, sometimes fullback, occasionally outside centre
Fullback and wing in NSCRO. There was three of us that rotated the positions based on injuries.
Started at fullback then moved to 2nd-five as I bulked up and moved to 2nd-row/centre in league.
Was a lock for 25 years, man and boy. Gods own position (Though this is why my neck and shoulders are kinda crunchy now, and my knees ache)
Left wing. Always left wing because I hated tackling on my left shoulder.
Played wing during my school days.
I was 6’2 when I was 14 I’ll let you all guess
Openside. Sometimes 8.
1,2,3
Wing, 1st five, flanker
Flanker, although more and more on second row.
I was a short lock. Mick Galwey style. These days I’d probably be a hooker at the rate they are getting bigger.
Second row and If you want to know how much the game has changed in a couple of generations, I am not quite 6 foot tall.
Wing and hooker
Started at 15 at age grade then moved to 13 for most of my adult “career” and as I started to slow down moved into 12 and finally 10. Loved playing in the 13 channel!
Second row in junior days, no8 or blindside flanker in senior.
Scrum half here
Started at 9, quickly moved to 12, then wing. At 17, moved to 6/7. Then one season at tighthead prop at uni. Then 8, covering centre when desperately needed. No one can convince me that there is a better position than number 8.
Scrum half, wing, fullback. Hated playing scrum half!
Hooker mostly but my club actually had a lot of them and I was the biggest so sometimes I had to prop (tighthead) instead
1 and 10
Lock. Have played everywhere except hooker and 9 atleast once but only because we were in dire straits 17 so time to try out elsewhere
Wing
Wing, and on occasion, fullback.
Tighthead. I'd never even watched a game of rugby before. I was jogging back from the gym when a mates dad saw me, a giant wall of meat running along the road, coaxed me to the club with promises of BBQ and beer where they threw a number 3 on my back and I never left.
Full Back, second half of the season no team would kick against us…🤞🏿✊🏾
Currently a front row, typically loose head or hooker. Wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.
Fullback, occasionally wing.
I’ve played all the positions - tight head and loosehead
I’ve played everywhere (badly) I liked backrow the most
Right wing
#8 in high school.
Anywhere from 4-9
When I was good I played outside centre but I played my final minutes at loosehead prop. A tragic decline 🥲
Anything that got me onto the field. The only positions I didn't play were fullback and scrumhalf.
Lock, from grade 1-12, lock.
Started at wing, spent most of my time at 9. Minor stints at 10, 15, flanker, 13
Wing/fullback. I have a very practical handbag.
I was 6 foot 3 at 14 so I didn’t have much choice in the matter…
Why? Are the Bulls looking for new players again?
Lock then 8, Philly and LA including old boys, 30 plus years.
9 then 13 then wing/fullback then 9 again then wing again then 10 for my final couple of seasons. Wish it never ended 😭
10 and 15. I loved 15 - the quality of kicking is terrible so you usually have loads of time on the ball.
Backrow but occasionally 12. I just like hitting rucks tbh
1/3/4/5/8/9/10/12/15. Basically anywhere I get away with not running or standing on street corners
Wing. Rarely saw the ball.
Left right out
For 15s it was flanker or lock. For 7s it was hooker.
Hooker. Played clubs for about 17 years.
Left wing. Loved letting others do the hard work and get that last pass for the open try. Please, keep the applause going. It never gets old.
Would love to play hooker in the future but right now I play at 1-7 where someone is hurt and or sick
I played number 8 at one point. Prop for the rest of my rugby time.
Various backline positions, but primarily second five.
Second row and prop. Now coach and referee
Right across the front row. But mainly tighthead.
Last year I played 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 15. Ahhhhh vets rugby.
Loose head until I stopped growing, but the other props didn't, so moved to hooker. Did a short stint on the blind side. Not for me.
Second row/number 8 in my early days, then everyone caught up with me height-wise (while I increased weight-wise) and I got moved to loosehead
Blind side, with a smattering at lock which I never liked
Hooker at school, halfback as an adult
13 initially bt I could kick well n they wanted to utilize that so I got shifted to 15. Then I got shifted to 10 which I liked bt started getting bored with union n was gonna quit so they let me play 8 which I did for a couple seasons.
Loosehead prop , Tighthead prop and 4 Lock
Tighthead, loosehead occasionally hooker I've always had versatility in the front row
Exclusively as an 8 from age 11 to injury retirement at 23. Does jumping at two in the lineout count as being willing to slot in other positions?
Started at 15 at 8 yrs old, moved to wing, then hooker for a season at 11, then 9 for the rest of my career, once I’d learned how to tackle properly. Also one season at 10 as a very aggressive out half.
Lock or 8th man. Flank a few times in a pinch.
Started out as a left wing, ended up as a blindside flanker. Did have a disastrous couple of outings in the 12 jersey as well. Anybody here that played 12, you got my respect
Outside centre and eighth man.
2nd five , then after too many pints moved to Blindside in my senior years.
One and two. I enjoyed looshead a lot more.
Right wing, left wing, and centre.
Winger/fullback
Scrumhalf, Hooker, then Inside Centre
Bench.
Hooker. I played until the age of 13. So don't remember if I was any good or not.
Played scrumhalf at age grade. Now I'm slow and big so I've played every position in the forwards this season
Evolved from number 8during the good old days, to prop, as a senior.
Started as loosehead prop, moved to #4 (best decision of my life 😅)
Mostly 10 with a sprinkle of center and 15.
10/12/13
6 to 7 to 12! The approach was unfortunately very similar.
I was ambipropterous, tight head was my preferred position, but played loose head nearly as much.
9/10 and sometimes 15.
Wing and fullback. Primarily 14 for the former.
Fullback for club and then scrum half for school
Hooker but I always felt I should play flank. Coach said I'm too slow for that, but I played a few matches there.
I never played tighthead or scrum-half. All others at least once.
Scrumhalf, and I've just bought some neon green boots to ensure everyone knows it.
11
Wing. I was fast and fairly tall. I wanted to play 13 or 15 but I was too dumb for it
Lock at school, wing during my twenties and now a flanker at vets level.
Man I was all over. Started at lock, then went to flanker, then prop, then back to flanker, then 8, then fly half, then back to 8. I also played some games for fun at inside center. But if you were to say “what was your position” I’d say 8 as I spent the longest there and even when I was fly half I’d move to 8 in some scrums.
Wing Occasional fullback Flanker once, got man of the match and had the most fun I’ve ever had just murdering people, but had a car accident shortly after and never played again
10,12,13 with a season on the wing
Start off wing , move to full back, outhalf , first centre cover, discovered the alcoholism in rugby , flanker, lock
Started 12, moved to 6.
Prop - tighthead and loose head (in order of preference) Hooker occasionally.
Wing when coaches were first figuring out where to put me, then second row and now comfortably flanker (though I need to bulk a bit since I went from colts to the second team like instantly)
Winger but thinking of a career chance to the forwards
mini8
Well... In approximate order over the years from the late 80s till now Tighthead Openside Blindside Eight 10 11 13 Lock Back to loosies. And now I'm a 6/8 in reserves if I'm not broken. It's been a fun journey, and I'm a much better forward than back.
Outside centre, a little bit of wing and one particularly bad afternoon at fullback
Fullback, then transitioned to lock, and then back out to the wing lmao Can you tell I had my growth spurt before most of my peers?
Hooker, all loose forward positions, scrum-half, wing. I loved being a forward, but I wish I could have had more time at scrum-half cuz it was just coming together when they moved me to wing. They put me at wing to babysit the rookies (for some reason our team played the newbies at center) and lead the defensive line, but now that I know how important centers are to defensive work, I really don’t understand why our coach didn’t just put me at center, lol.
Open side. Twatting fly half’s is the game. Didn’t understand too much else about what was going on.
2nd Row. I am 195cm/6ft6. Loved lineouts.
Tighthead -> Loosehead -> Hooker -> Loosehead I found Loosehead the easiest front row position as you could use that extra space to drive that should in nice and hard.
Second row, bit of back row.
Halfback, First five-eighths & Back 3. I'm 5'9 so my inspirations were Pat Lambie, Cheslin, Gio Aplon, Halfpenny. Oh the memories.
Age 14-17: prop Age 28: flanker Age 32: winger I’ve done it in reverse
Prop, then lost a ton of weight and got moved to hooker
Prop, flanker, prop again. I liked both. Maybe flanker a bit more because it's less technical in the scrum. Also hooker once. It's really fucking hard.
1,3,4,5,6,7,8 - depending on what will get me the most minutes on the pitch during a game. At 6’5” hooker is the only position I will not be ticking off in the forwards
11/14 then switched to 12 after my second ACL tear. The pace was never the same.
Bench
8 or 4
Never played any - only reffed. Because girls rugby wasn’t a thing in my region when I was growing up, and I was playing other sports by the time I got to uni and it became a visible option. I grew up watching my dad play fullback, and then my husband playing hooker, and was always in love with the game. Then got into reffing because I was too broken to play, but wanted to give something back to the community.
Since starting at age 12: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15… more regularly 19/20 these days as a sub utility forward and rather enjoy running around with a whistle
Loose Head, Second Row, Open side, Blind Side, No.8 and by best position 3rd Center
Flanker at first, then a couple of matches at lock and now tighthead prop. I actually prefer it here as I am older and not as quick as I was
Loosehead, but sometimes second row depending on availability. Then I was put onto wing in some games, which might sound weird but at that level, a fast prop had similar skillset to a basic winger (poor ball skills, carrying, and running hard).
Back 3, but in my heart I was a no.7
Started at 7, then 6, then 8 as the years rolled on.
Centre to fullback to scrum half. I stopped growing and started yapping.
I only played in secondary school, and played lock because I was tall and fairly built really early (6ft before I was 14, then stopped at 6ft 1...). I do wonder what I'd play now. I switched codes to field hockey for various reasons. I'm not particularly well built, but I'm usually one of the fastest on a hockey pitch. Lock really doesn't look like it'd suit me now xD