Rugby gets better and better
WHAT rugby! The Sharks’ 36-30 win over Edinburgh at the weekend was itself a classic of great rugby, the lead constantly switching – rugby at its best. This was a real thriller.
Next hurdle: French side Clement Auvergne in the semi-final of the European Rugby Challenge early in May, to be played in London at The Stoop, home of Harlequins.
The damsels of the Pub With No Name are, of course, ecstatic. They’ve surrendered their knicker elastic for a fashioning of catapults for the time-honoured feu de joie in which the street lights are shot out. Rugby takes over.
’Erewego, ’erewego, ’erewego!
Tough lady
YOU wouldn’t want to get into an arm wrestling contest with this lady. A French gal has broken the world rope climbing record after reaching the second floor of the Eiffel Tower, according to the London Guardian.
Anouk Garnier, 34, climbed 110m in 18 minutes to set a new record and raise money for cancer prevention and support.
“My dream has come true. It’s magical,” Garnier said, after scaling the free-hanging rope to reach the record two minutes quicker than expected. “If there was one thing I never doubted, it was that I was going to do it.
“There were many ups and downs on the way to this record. The weather wasn’t always my ally and we had to co-ordinate the agendas of all those involved in this monumental project.
But I never stopped believing in it. The satisfaction and joy I derive from it today are all the greater. It’s a crazy dream come true.”
The previous world record was held by South African Thomas van Tonder, who climbed 90m up a rope between the Soweto Towers in Johannesburg in 2020. Danish athlete Mathilde Steensgaard held the female record after climbing 26m up a rope at the Copenhagen Opera House in 2022.
Garnier now holds the record for the highest climb and the highest climb for a woman. She began rope climbing in 2022 after winning the World Obstacle Course Championship for her age category and was looking for a new challenge. She said she was inspired by Steensgaard’s success.
“I said to myself: ‘26m isn’t that far, what monument could I climb?’”
She says she prepared for a year for the challenge and was happy to see her family as she descended.
“It was so beautiful to see them so proud. They’re the ones who instilled in me this discipline of sport, of always giving your best, of always striving for excellence. It’s thanks to them I’m able to do extraordinary things today.”
Somebody should bring her out here. The heroes of the Pub With No Name could do with some humbling in the arm-druk encounters.
Tailpiece
SOMEONE suggested playing a game of rugby in outer space. But it was turned down. There just wouldn’t be any atmosphere.
Last word
Take the diplomacy out of war and the thing would fall flat in a week. – Will Rogers