coothie row
syne rangle’d rout
sock-eyed thick’it
aye – on tae victory
see the crush’it gimmer red
feel the star puls’d trummel’d head
yon lone ranger gallopin’ ahead
ball tucked firmly under –
quick stride one! two!
round waist arms threw
torso sprawlin’, squirmin’, rollin’
bodies pilling o’wer –
thump the turf wi’ puckle’d hard rubber
grasp and spin it, send it lower
down the rank and file
finding streaky, rabid runner
swervin’ past a geet big skunner
to fly it over line –
one handed down it hits the ground
aye – on tae victory
we have no bows, nor guns nor arrows
we wear not armour nor face canon barrels
warrior is not a term we’d use
in the gentleman’s game that leaves you bruised
‘but all in all it’s ’bout the fight
the will to win and win it right
to thunder on until the end
rush and scramble for fellow men
a pack’s a pack long after whistle blows
and those fairly thumped are never foes –
Ah rugby! The game for mighty men!
Six Nations you’re back and thanks for that
midst tightened days and nights
this waiting game pandemic –
but you’ve been let loose
to wreck havoc on studded boots
release the angst we all do feel
roaring full pelt at digital reel
lively pictures bringing it home to us –
the classic coothie row
syne rangle’d rout
sock-eyed thick’it
aye – on tae victory
