Why I Think Capello Should Look To Rugby League for WAGS Protocol

Before the FIFA World Cup began I was undecided about whether Fabio Capello's WAGS (wives and girlfriends) ban for the tournament was a good idea. One part of me thought the partners of the players deserved to share in the event while another understood why it wasn't a positive thing for them to appear in the papers dancing on tables and buying up the stock of South Africa's premium shopping outlets.

But now that we have seen two substandard and grey performances form the English national team I have made a decision. I believe they should get the wives, girlfriends, children and extended families of Steven Gerrard and co. out there quick sharp.

To me (and I am no expert on football, but am an on supporting sportsmen) the camp has been turned into an office; the players into businessmen. It is ALL about football. Work, work, work.

I can only comment on the professional rugby league teams I have been involved with over the last 11 years, Huddersfield Giants, Leeds Rhinos and England, although I believe that the protocol is similar for all clubs in the Superleague. My husband has been into camp with all of these teams in the run-up to Challenge Cup matches, the Superleague Grand Final, the Northern Ford Premiership Promotion Grand Final (showing my age) and England's World Cup and Four Nations campaigns.

For all of these events the rules have been as follows: families are encouraged to share in the excitement, supports the team, enjoy the event, but at no time are they wanted at the team hotel, the players should only have time with their families when it is agreed in the schedule and at no time should they be showing themselves up. I can't think of a single rugby league WAG that I know who would even want to break with this arrangement. All we want is for our loved ones to achieve their dreams and win the match!

The families will often have a meal together before setting off to a big fixture, travel together, sit together and rejoice together in victory. If we lose there is no need for words, we just do a shruggy shouldered, miserable faced, defeated look at each other.

If the England 11 is bored, lacklustre on the pitch and disjointed looking perhaps I can offer a suggestion to at least give them passion and team spirit?

Let Wayne Rooney catch a glimpse of Coleen and Kai in the stand as the National Anthem plays and try and stop him dreaming of scoring that goal for his first son. Let Frank Lampard cross that ball knowing that Frank Snr, the driving force behind his career, is watching from the posh seats. Let the wives and the kids and the mums and the dads enjoy the tournament together and create their own camaraderie because it does rub off.

My WAG friends and I are off to Wimbledon for the day tomorrow. We've been looking forward to it for six months and have spent the last one of them FB-ing each other about dresses, bags and shoes for the occasion. We, Leeds Rhinos, are Superleague Champions and our camp is a happy one. Take a leaf?

The Nightmare of The World Cup 2008 - Heading For Disaster

As it is now pretty much nailed on that Jason will be off down under again this year, for England's Four Nations campaign, I think it is time I put down in writing the personal hell that was 'The World Cup' in 2008. Who knows? It may act as therapy. I may get some sort of closure on the whole nightmare.

When the team left for Australia, on October 13th, I was 28 and had a nine-month old baby. I was on my own at home for three weeks before I went to Australia. My daughter, Evangeline, woke up in the night, every night, for about three hours. It was horrible.

We got to grips with Skype especially for the trip so that was nice, although some of the places where the team was staying didn't have a very reliable internet connection! In Townsville the boys were warned about the crocodiles outside and the lizards inside their rooms. It was quite an eye opener I hear.

When the team went to the World Cup they really believed that they had the potential to win this competition. It was an exciting time. England won their first match against Papua New Guinea, but were getting criticised for the performance despite the result.

As I was going to be away from home for three and a half weeks I decided to have a new burglar alarm fitted. The day before we set off I popped out, set the alarm, did whatever, came home, did whatever... Do you see the problem here? Fifteen minutes after I returned home I realised I'd forgotten to turn the alarm off yet it wasn't going off! Shoot. The alarm is not working and I am heading to the other side of the world for nearly a month in about 20 hours.

The alarm people had to come and fix it while I was doing last minute packing the next day.

While that was going on I had to take, and make, a number of very long phone calls to do with a sensitive issue surrounding one of the players. The least said about that the better. All's well that ends well. But it certainly ate into my packing/panicking time.

We arrived at the airport on Nov 1st in good time for our flight and, as I had a baby and was with my mum who uses a wheelchair, we were bumped to the front of the check-in queue. Things seem to be looking up hey? No. Two of the four Visas we had applied for weeks before were invalid because my dad and me were careless. On the forms I had got my passport number wrong and my dad got my mum's date of birth wrong. We seriously thought for a second that our across the world trip was about to end in Manchester.

As it turned out a reasonably quick phone call to immigration in Australia sorted it. I wouldn't advise sorting your visas in this way though as it was quite nerve wracking for a while.

So that's that. Checked in. Time to buy my P20 sunscreen and eat a ham and cheese croissant as I ALWAYS do at the duty free. Evangeline wore her hat that I made.

In the next installment I will write about why our flight was only slightly more chill-axed than that last one Samuel L Jackson caught. You know, the one with all the snakes on it.

My Husband Went to Catalans and All He Bought Me Was This...

My husband and I don't spend much time apart. So much so that the first time he went abroad to warm weather training I was absolutely distraught. He went to Portugal with Huddersfield Giants and a week seemed like all eternity. I told him that there was no way I wanted him to bring me a present back from the trip as I would never want reminding of the trauma.

He is very caring and thoughtful and bought me a present anyway, in case I was bluffing. I was not and five years later that gift is still in its airport carrier bag in a cupboard in our spare room. I have never opened it. (It is a pink watch;-))

This is the only time I have cut off my nose in such a spiteful manner towards my face!

Jason has always tried to bring me, our dog and now our daughter something nice back. If the poker on the trip has gone his way the gift gets an upgrade!

So here are the highlights:

The Good: The loveliest gift I've had was a Swarovski necklace brought back from the England v France friendly in Paris last year. I love it. It came off the back of a good week of poker for my husband, and possibly a bad one for Kris Radlinski. Sorry Mrs Radlinski. Oh but congrats as you've just had a baby boy.

The Bad: I guess I had been spoilt over the last couple of years with Leeds going to Florida for training camp. I've had a couple of nice Abercrombie bits from these trips. But this year they went to Whitehaven. Jason brought me back a bar of Kendal Mint Cake. He didn't realise it was just a mint flavoured sugar block favoured by stranded mountaineers.

The Ugly: Maybe ugly is a bit harsh. Not so much ugly but more unusual. From the England trip to France in 2008 I got a farmyard made out of luxury dark chocolate. The grass was green, the pig was pink and there was a delicate little fence around it! It tasted gorgeous and as I was still breastfeeding I felt no guilt about ramming the lot down.

Earlier you may have picked up on the fact that I mentioned gifts for the dog. She has had a leprechaun from Ireland, a Goofy from Florida and a monster from Loch Ness.

Our daughter has had some lovely gifts. She was seven days old when her daddy went to Florida for training camp. She got a Minnie Mouse toy and half a case full of dirt cheap clothes.

At the time of going to press (or clicking 'post') it seems Jason will be going away next week with England. Unfortunately this year's England v France tie takes place in Leigh. I wonder what souvenirs you can pick up there? You'll be the first to know!

Sky Sports Can Ruin Your Social Life

Sky Sports can ruin your social life. Well maybe that's a bit harsh, but I bet if you're a rugby league fan they've tinkered with yours before. This probably extends to many sports, but RL is my area of expertise.

I got a notification via Twitter earlier that Leeds Rhinos kick off time against Harlequins at the Twickenham Stoop has been moved back to 5pm. They did the same last year, but with less notice. We had already accepted a wedding invitation for that night. I ended up going with my baby and my mum and dad. Saddo! People kept asking where my husband was. I bet those who didn't were thinking they'd been right all along and our marriage had met with an untimely end. Only joking. We are, of course, a match made in heaven for all to see.

But the worst case of this last minute fixture changing for the Sky cameras came in 2006.

It was announced with four days to go that one of the biggest games of the season against St Helens, due to be played on Friday, 8th September, was to be put back to the day after for Sky TV scheduling. Nightmare! Four or five of the players and staff had hard-to-come-by tickets to see Robbie Williams at Roundhay Park, Leeds on Saturday. I was one of the persons affected and I bet there were loads of supporters in the same boat. We spent the next couple of days stuck to eBay buying and selling and crossing our fingers that we could get new, genuine tickets in time. I think I sold my Friday ones to Disko's wife and Francis Cummins was one of the others affected.

It all worked out in the end. Robbie was fantabulous and so were Orson and Basement Jaxx in support. I think the weather was better on the Friday too so I probably should be thanking Eddie and Stevo (who obviously make all the big executive scheduling decisions).

At the end of the day though, we know that Sky gives the game great coverage and promotion, and we're quick to whinge if we've not been on for a while. But next time a corker of a match gets put on Sky at the last minute, as you settle down with your pizza and your can of Bulmers Pear ready to enjoy, spare a thought for the poor season ticket holder who was meant to be on his best mates stag and the girl who booked Gaga six months ago!

.

Twin Towers or Blackpool Tower? The Middlesbrough Question

Ok, ok, I know. Wembley doesn't have twin towers anymore but it was a convenient comparison. We could also ask, a stroll along the Golden Mile or a strut up Wembley Way?

It's a few hours now since the Challenge Cup draw. My Leeds Rhinos got Wigan at our place. Not the best draw ever but not the worst.

I recently read about a football WAG who had expresses a desire for her fella's team to fail to make the play offs. Middlesbrough it was. The reason behind this apparent lack of support? She wanted to get off on holiday a bit earlier. This is surely the sentiment of a one half of a couple with way too much money coming in. There is also the chance that she made this comment with her tongue firmly in cheek.

In rugby league we all most definitely want to progress as far as we can in all cups and competitions. Firstly, because ambition and pride are at stake. Secondly because in some cases we can't afford much of a holiday unless we win summat.

So what so we do if we get ousted from the competitions early; Challenge Cup, Northern Rail, Grand Final Play Offs? We certainly don't get all the weekends off when subsequent rounds are played. They players are often brought in for training to make sure that they're not having too much fun. But usually we'll get one weekend to have a break and feel sorry for ourselves at missing out on a big event.

One year there was a BBQ at Keith Senior's house. Me and another wife who shall remain nameless decided to have a nosy round his house. We got our just desserts when his massive rottweiler bounded out of one room to protect his territory from the sticky beak intruders. Busted! I have rarely been so embarrassed.

Last year we went out of the Carnegie Challenge Cup rather early, thanks to Saint Helens. Quite a few of us ended up booking a weekend at Center Parcs. Is seems other Superleague teams were like-minded. We bumped into Richard Agar and the Huddersfield Giants' doctor among others. It was like a losers convention in the subtropical swimming paradise.

I have watched the Challenge Cup Final in various dreary B&B lounges on the west and east coasts and would always have much rather been watching the spectacle in the shadow of Wembley's two towers (or arch thing as it is these days) than the Blackpool Tower.

This year, as I click on 'publish post', this is still a possibility for me and my Leeds Rhinos. Here's hoping for zero chance of a holiday til November.

I wonder if Coleen has to keep warm in the car outside Old Trafford?

This weekend is a Challenge Cup weekend. Leeds Rhinos played Blackpool Panthers and won. I thought I'd take this chance to give you a bit of an insight into what the players families get up to on a matchday because in rugby league it's not all VIP seating and private boxes.

The players have to be at the match a few hours before kick off. Some of the partners and kids have to go at the same time because they might not have two cars and because the parking at the ground is not good. Last night Keith Senior's girlfriend had to sit in the car with the heating on for ages because it was a cold one.

For an 8pm kick off I have to start organising at about 4pm. For my two year old I have to take toys, changing stuff, DVD player for the hour's drive, food, pyjamas and a bottle.

Yesterday Kylie Leuluai's wive gave birth to their second child. They haven't got family here at the moment so the girls rallied round to look after their three year-old son at the game while his mum was still in hospital. He was missing her but seemed to be having lots of fun with the other kids too.

We don't have a private box or anything to watch the match in. There is a room we can go to at half time for coffees. Last night that was crazy. We have a lot of young children between us. Game of the night last night? To play 'pile on' with Willie Poaching's oldest boy, who is some sort of saint for putting up with being squished by about 10 preschoolers at a time.

My daughter LOVES Ronnie Rhino. He came to her birthday party! She waved at him loads last night and kept giving him the two thumbs up. This is something she has learnt this week. She also likes to dance along with the cheerleaders. We had mega tears last night on one occasion because she forgot to dance and only realised when they were running off. Fortunately we clocked up a big score so there were lots more opportunities to dance.

After the final whistle most of the families go in the bar. We then wait up to an hour for the boys to finish getting their post match physio and ice baths. My husband is the last out because he's Lord of Ice Bathing. Then I change my daughter ready for bed before leaving at about 11pm. We don't get home til midnight. Until this season my daughter used to fall asleep in the car on the way home but now she sticks it out.

Grandparents are a Godsend for the partners who're from the UK. The girls who're from Australia and New Zealand? I don't know how they do it. But you can usually tell when their families are over for a trip as they have a spring in their step, a twinkle in their eye, and can actually have a 'date night' with the hubbies.

So during the football World Cup this summer, when you see the WAGS spending their days in the designer boutiques and their nights in A-list cocktail bars spare a thought for us keeping warm with the car heater, walking a mile from the car park and only getting a night out twice a year when we can get the child care to pop over from the other side of the world!

Don't forget though - we wouldn't change it for a second.