Players from a dozen golden oldies rugby clubs descended on Tathra for the annual CRABs carnival hosted by the local rugby club, the Blue Veins.
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Not every club provided a full team, but organisers said it didn’t matter as all the players involved just get together to form a side.
The Terrey Hills Stillbillies travelled the furthest and they were joined by the Wollongong Vikings Longhorns, Vincentia Van Gones, Shoalhaven Heads Aged Gentlemen (SHAGs), Bateman’s Bay Grande Olde Boars, Braidwood Red Backs, ACT Vets, Tuggeranong Vikings Thorheads, Jindabyne Soreboars, Cooma Knackered Brumbies and the Bombala Bruised Tongues.
Before play got underway on Saturday, all the players gathered on the field to toast Tathra’s Kevin “Shep” Shepherdson and Cooma’s Bede Nichols. Organisers said a few words with all players having a shot of port to honour their mates.
Officials said the breeze on the grounds was “[expletive] cold, but the rugby was hot” with plenty of skills on show.
“It was very obvious that some of the players on the two fields would have been very handy when they were playing club rugby,” event director Rex Kermode said.
As players from all clubs just hussle together to fill out the numbers, Kermode said it was always interesting to see how teams balanced up – and how people playing against their own team-mates are treated.
“Tathra’s John McKee plays for the Stillbillies when he is in Sydney and joined with them to play his home side of the Blue Veins,” Kermode said.
“To say John was paid extra attention when in possession of the ball is an understatement,” he added with a laugh.
The Blue Veins had some classy sweeping plays throughout the day, but Kermode gave credit to the Wollongong Longhorns, who provided a benchmark for the competition. “Their game against the Blue Veins was a cracker.” he said.
Kermode joked that the “only downer for the day was the inept refereeing by Nigel Owens,” but said the day was a resounding success.
Kermode said the atmosphere was great throughout, but the boots had been hung up again until the Jindabyne carnival next year.