On
the road with the Press Gang - A personal journey through the season
By
Dick Struaghan
Each rugby season holds different
reminiscences for each individual supporter. Here, journalist, Press Gang member
and Cornish Pirates fan Dick Straughan looks back at a season spent travelling
on the supporters coach.
Regardless of your preferred
method of travel to away games there is no doubting that a day on the Press Gang
bus is a rugby experience worthy of merit.
Until this season
I must confess to rarely using anything other than my own car for away trips having
consigned memories of travel by coach to the compartment in my brain marked "Student
life". But back in late August I decided to break with convention and spend
the season on the road with the Press Gang. I am glad I did.
As
the National Division One season commenced in early September 2007 the Press Gang
themselves were sailing into uncharted waters as they began their first full season
back on the road following their rebirth earlier that year.
With
a new Committee at the helm and the welcome short haul up the A30 to Polson Bridge
for the season curtain raiser against the Cornish All Blacks, excitement and expectations
were high.
Two coaches were chartered on a day when one
ended up unexpectedly sightseeing along the north coast, whilst the other came
perilously close to giving the team bus a Volvo-sized enema as they neared the
ground together.
The choreography was however perfect,
with the team and the supporters arriving in perfect synchronised harmony. The
Pirates won and everyone returned back west afterwards happy and fulfilled, if
not a tad concerned by a lacklustre team performance. Marshy and Curnow were mentioned
in dispatches for their services to the British cider industry.
The
day spent trekking east to Monks Lane, Newbury will be remembered for events at
the back of the bus. (Got your attention now, haven`t I?!) With the toilet suddenly
blocked, fresh water supplies exhausted and an unwanted amphibious visitor refusing
to go away drastic action was called for.
Dotcom sacrificed
a quantity of beer to evict the miscreant and after the drivers bravely rectified
the blockage in a lonely lay-by just off the M4 there would have been barely a
blocked sinus within a three mile radius.
If you ever watched
the Dambusters movie just visualise the special effects at the end as the Mohne
Dam explodes and you will get the picture. Marshy promptly woke up and sang a
rendition of "Wee Willy`s lost his Marly" in celebration of the event
(the fixing of the loo, not the Dambusters raid) before shutting his eyes and
returning to blissful unconsciousness.
Continued >>>>
