My rugby bonanza continued this week with an atmospheric charity match at the Rec in Bath in support of the Royal British Legion. Watching the Combined Services against the Barbarians on the day of remembrance reminded me just how sport can raise its head above political agendas and unite nations. We've all heard the spine tingling story from the First World War: the football match held in no mans land during the Christmas ceasefire that epitomises the power of sport. The match last week was another chance to watch a fantastic game of rugby whilst raising awareness of what happened one hundred years ago and how we owe our lives as we know them to those brave men.
It was probably wise that I had a full dose of rugby as I'm now in a country with no interest in the oval ball. I've been invited to Thailand for the Asian Beach Games. There are a huge variety of sports on offer here and unsurprisingly the only balls involved are round: basketball, volleyball, petanque (boules), sepaktakraw (I promise I haven't made that one up) and I could go on. You have probably guessed that I don't qualify for any of these sports, or in fact for the continent; I'm out here to add colour to the event in the form of commentary.
The fact I've not heard of some of these could sound worrying, however, I do know a lot about modern pentathlon and am a fan of the beach which should stand me in good stead for the Beach Modern Pentathlon. With a name like that I'm considering coming out of retirement although sadly it doesn't include my favourite event, horse riding. This is the first year "my" sport has been included in the Asian Beach Games - I'll let you know if it was a success next week.
