Wales’s Louis Rees-Zammit is the latest player to win the Mike Pyke Nonchalant Try Scoring Award from The East Terrace. The youngster responded to a critical try for his country, his first ever in the Six Nations, by simply getting up and jogging back for the kick off. Have we mentioned this guy is 20? ? A ???????? finish in the corner from @LouisReesZammit ? ? ???????#GuinnessSixNations #WALvIRE pic.twitter.com/zoMwXdTBnQ —…
Shades of Gray – a look at the winning record of all international Welsh rugby coaches
Who are the most successful head coaches in Welsh international history, and why is Tony Gray’s record consistently misreported? There are few things so addictive to the sports fans as statistics. And there are few things so consistently misleading or open to flawed interpretation as statistics. But sports people love lists. A list detailing the success rate of head Welsh coaches is about as open to misuse as any set of…
East Terrace launches ‘The 1988 Range’ of rugby tshirts and other goodies
To celebrate the launch of ‘An Illustrated History of Welsh Rugby: Fun, Facts and Stories from 140 Years of International Rugby‘, The East Terrace is proud to launch ‘The 1988 Range‘. Inspired by the artwork of Raluca Moldovan, our Redbubble shop will sell a range of t-shirts and other items. Working on very special range of tshirts for @theeastterrace to coincide with launch of my Welsh #rugbyhistory book from @Polaris_Books….
Release date confirmed for ‘An Illustrated History of Welsh Rugby’ by James Stafford
‘An Illustrated History of Welsh Rugby: Fun, Facts and Stories from 140 years of International Rugby‘ from East Terrace editor James Stafford and illustrator Raluca Moldovan will be published on 11th February by Polaris Publishing. The book was extensively featured on the Welsh Rugby Union website recently and has already attracted a lot of interest on social media. Officially released on the 11th February, 2021, it is already available for…
A fresh viewpoint on rugby from a neglected East Terrace
The East Terrace is back. But for those that have come to revisit an old haunt, the view is going to be a bit different. When the original website was launched back in 2004, there was very little irreverent rugby writing on the interweb. What sprinkle of rugby humour that did litter the net tended to be of the tired ‘hookers’ and ‘odd shaped balls’ type. The East Terrace was a…
East Terrace editor to publish history of Welsh national rugby team
The founder and editor of The East Terrace, James Stafford, is set to publish his first rugby book. In February 2021, Polaris Publishers will release “An Illustrated History of Welsh Rugby: Fun Facts and Stories from 140 Years of International Rugby“. It will be the first in a series and followed by the history of the English national side. The book is packed with original illustrations by Raluca Moldovan. The…
FROM THE ARCHIVES: Chris Ashton wins disciplinary ‘Triple Crown’ award after biting ban
OIRGINALLY PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 2016. Saracens and England winger Chris Ashton has completed a spectacular career treble in an English premiership game against Northampton last weekend. Ashton’s citing and subsequent 13 week ban for biting now means the loveable show-boater has been banned for biting, gouging and hair pulling during his union career! In light of this stunning accomplishment – which is possibly unique in the annuals of not just rugby…
FROM THE ARCHIVES: Pro12 taken out the back and ‘put out of its misery’
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN AUGUST 2016. Officials from the Irish, Scottish, Welsh and Italian rugby unions have dramatically announced there will be no Pro12 league for the 2016/17 season. After a full twenty minutes of “passionate debate” and “soul searching”, tournament organisers agreed on Monday it was time to put the league to rest. At a hastily assembled press conference, league spokesperson Patrick Connor revealed the the much maligned league was…
East Terrace editor gets picked in second row for ‘Rugby’ – new prestige magazine
James Stafford, editor and founder of the The East Terrace, has penned a piece for Rugby – a new journal ‘capturing the spirit of the greatest game’. Stafford’s article looks at Nyrsko Rugby Club, a newly formed side in a small town in the Czech Republic. For anyone with an interest in quality sports writing, beautiful photography and content that goes beyond the banal cliches and platitudes of most rugby magazines, Rugby…
BBC rugby directors continue with avant-garde, replay heavy, Greengrass style camera work
We’ve written on the brilliance of BBC’s live rugby direction before. It was one of the most popular articles we’ve ever run. With a filming philosophy that blends Paul Greengrass, French Avant Garde and the freestyling attitude of a 90-year-old using an iPhone for the first time, BBC rugby directors can always be relied upon to give you an ‘immersive’ experience to endure. Fiercely committed to showing viewers at least 65%…
Observations on the Six Nations: Auntie just a little too much on the ball
UPDATE: (23/02/17) We contacted the BBC team for comment on this piece and provided a few questions for the broadcast team to try and get insight into the decision making process and reasoning behind the directing of the match broadcast feed. Sadly we were informed they were too busy ahead of the weekend’s rugby to get involved on this occasion. Until around the 1960s there was little doubt watching a…
FROM THE ARCHIVES: Wales release findings of New Zealand tour report
ORGINALLY PUBLISHED JULY 2016. After a grim summer tour to New Zealand, where Wales lost all four of its matches, the Welsh Rugby Union has released the findings of its post tour analysis report. Wales faced the All Blacks three times along with what was effectively a Chiefs ‘A/B’ team and lost by an aggregate score of 161-56. Speaking at a press conference where the report was released, Welsh coach…
FROM THE ARCHIVES: Wilkinson awarded Lifetime ‘Mike Pyke Nonchalant Try Scoring Award’
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED DECEMBER 2011: Long time readers of The East Terrace will remember the highly valued Mike Pyke Nonchalant Try Scoring Award. It is awarded to those players who refuse to go all vulgar and hysterical after grounding the ball for a five point score, and simply trot back to their allocated field position to receive the forthcoming kick off. For these noble warriors there are no vulgar acts of…
FROM THE ARCHIVES: Animal welfare groups outrage at ‘canary’ Welsh rugby jersey
NOTE: When this article was originally syndicated on scrum.com from the old East Terrace site, the WRU actually got in contact with the scrum.com editorial team and wanted it made clear the article was a spoof. Yes, this actually happened. The Welsh Rugby Union is under intense fire from animal rights group after being accused of animal cruelty. Just days after the WRU revealed its new bright yellow ‘change’ playing…