After a week of headlines of multi-millionaire footballers diving, spitting at one another, harassing referees and generally behaving like the cheating, spoilt brats that so many of them are it was refreshing to welcome back international rugby over the weekend.

I’m currently reading the autobiography of former England rugby captain Will Carling in which he describes how, the evening before an important rugby international against Ireland in 1991, the England players relaxed by watching the Arnold Schwarzenegger action movie, Predator.

During the following day’s match England forward  Mike Teague took a nasty hit and lay motionless on the pitch with blood pouring from his head.

Carling, full of concern for one of his team’s star performers, ran over to see how serious the injury was whereupon Teague, according to Carling, “looked up, blinked twice” and, staggering to his feet, quoted a Schwarzenegger line from the previous evening’s film,  “Aint got time to bleed!”. He was now fully focussed and, staring at his opponents, muttered another line from the film “Pay-back time!” England went on to win the match.

A bit of a contrast to the so-called elite players of the round ball game, I think you’ll agree.