[RUGBYLIST] Oltre il cucchiaio

[Paolo Ricci Bitti]

Oltre a ringraziare l'autorevole professor Mario Diani (e, dopo le sue dotte conclusioni, non è male anche il suo consiglio finale) allego un articolo di Gerald Davies (basta la parola) apparso sul Times alla vigilia di Irlanda-Inghilterra. Non temete, non riguarda l'orrenda stoviglia, ma gli altri trofei virtuali del Torneo: mi pare esprima assai egregiamente il valore dello "spirito" dell'ultrasecolare competizione rispetto a qualsiasi calcolo aritmetico di recentissima  introduzione. In brutale sintesi, almeno per le anglosassoni, alzare la nuova Coppa concreta introdotta dal 1993 consolerà sempre ben poco rispetto a stringere il "nulla" così appagante della Triple Crown (il piattone argenteo c'è solo dal 2006) o del Grand Slam.  Scusate, infine, se non l'ho tradotto.
Ciao
Paolo    

  a.. 
  b.. Fulfilment of grand ambition is England's inspiration
Gerald Davies Commentary 
Last updated March 18 2011 
Once more the RBS Six Nations Championship comes down to the final Saturday for the issues to be determined. In addition it is a bonus that in such circumstances the grand prize of a clean sweep is in the offing. Dublin lies at the core of this year's championship as England seek their thirteenth grand slam. 

That England have not achieved a greater number is indicative of how difficult it has proved to accomplish the feat. In the seasons between 1999 and 2002, for example, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and France in turn foiled England's grand-slam attempts. England were a formidable force during this period. 

Furthermore, it is a surprise to find that Wales, latecomers (by ten years, in 1881) to the contests between the home nations - France started towards the end of the first decade of the last century - had won it three times before England did so for the first time in 1913. Wales have won ten in all, including two since England last achieved the feat in 2003. 

France were not to win their first grand slam until 1968 and, playing a quick game of catch-up, they have now succeeded on eight further occasions. Ireland, mystifyingly, have done so only twice, with Scotland on three. 

France were a developing rugby nation and were forced not to participate between 1931 and 1947 - with the federation in disarray, much foul play and the suspicion that money changed hands - when they were ostracised. 

Two other matters are worth taking into account. There was once the curious attitude of the various unions who refused, until the 1980s, to recognise officially that the championship existed and would admit only that there were individual contests to be played between each country and that each fixture was unrelated to the others. 

It was feared that to think otherwise and to believe in awarding points to create a table listing the championship winners and losers would encourage the game to move away from its amateur roots. 

That there was a championship table was a figment of the media's fevered imagination. It was instigated by the print press and credited initially in the 1920s to France, who referred to it as the Tournoi des Cinq Nations. Having encouraged this vision, France were soon to be left out. 

France were considered to be on the periphery, so much so that the "real" contests were between the other four nations. In other words, up until the late Sixties, it was the winning of the triple crown that mattered. 

The grand slam is the pinnacle that provides northern-hemisphere rugby with its infinite appeal. This is the prize that lies in wait, as it has done all season, for those who proved themselves not only gifted but also to have been forged of stern and unbending stuff. And, in the uneasy structure of rugby, to have found also that luck is a necessary companion to fulfilling the dream. 

Try as any management team might to cast the thought of a grand slam to the back of their team's minds, for calm's sake, they are merely spinning an unconvincing yarn. It is phoney to pretend. The dressing room is a place for honesty. 

The players know what is at stake and doubtless the prospect of what lies ahead is enticing. They are keen competitors. It is their raison d'être: to be allowed the chance to pit their wits, to accept the physical challenge and to prove themselves to be the best and to win prizes. This is the inspiration. 

It is no place for the faint-hearted, nor is it a place for cotton-wool thinking. It is no place to feel comfortable. Seeking to be so is a fool's errand. If the players are to be at their best, they need to be living close to the edge; to feel the racing pulse and the restless twitch. They will come to terms with the exhilaration and will understand the impatience. They would not have it any other way. 

How much better it is, and how proud it must feel, to be on the big stage, where great and valiant deeds are expected, rather than to languish indifferently in the middle or to suffer at the bottom. It is all part of the sportsman's trade and often sullen art. 

For England it is all to play for. Of the past 11 championship fixtures played in Dublin, England have won on six occasions. If there is any comfort to find anywhere, England may well find it there. They are aware that to miss the grand slam but win the championship will still leave a feeling of achievement, but not of fulfilment. 
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