Modern rugby with all its complexities and the number of people involved with the game today can be compared to modern society in many ways.

Referees
They are similar to a mother in real life. They must monitor the kids at home, ensure that they stay within the rules agreed upon by the parents of the household. Ever wondered why so many referees have those squeaky voices?

Well it is because like mothers they easily lose control of a situation at home when the kids are misbehaving. Hysterical outbursts are par for the course, and then do not forget mothers have their favourites. To their credit they try not too, but in reality we all have seen our younger siblings get away with a lot more than we did. We often feel their rulings are unfair and they always believe the favourites aren’t capable of doing something wrong.

These “angels” aren’t always very popular amongst the rest of the siblings. Ever tried to talk to your mother when she lost all patience? She simply won’t listen.

The IRB
Well they are like the fathers, they have totally forgotten they were kids once, they have no idea of what kids do in the modern era. They don’t like the new age music and are often totally electronically retarded. They want to enforce rules they have no idea of how it works in modern society, they expect you to abide by rules their ancestors thought up.

They love to give out punishment, they favour the sibling who excels in sport. They must always be seen to take the side of mothers, mothers are never wrong in their eyes. Mothers are the holy grail of the family, put on a pedestal, not to be touched and demands respect even if they are abusive or unfit. Fathers are blinded by their “beauty”. They are oblivious to their flawes.

The Sponsors
They are akin to that rich uncle you have in the family, have no kids of their own and have often never been married. You see them with a different girl friend every other year. They love to show how much money they have, drive around in flashy cars and often have their names inscribed on their number plates or some old cliché. “I did it”, “I am the world”, Me, myself and I”. They have big corporate jobs and love to brag. If you disagree with them they will rather splash their money at your other siblings because you disappointed them.

The coach
Most likely your eldest sibling, been there, done that. But beware there are two types of older siblings. The one has really not done anything but acts as if he knows everything, has an attitude and often will say “It is my way or the highway”.

The preferred older sibling is the one that actually cares, has been there and done that. Will always have sound advice of how to handle mother, father and how to approach any problem.

The players
There are a number of different siblings in any household. Those that are the stars, the ones who turn anything they touch to gold. They usually get all the attention and are often the favourites. They tend to get away with murder.

Then there are the bullies, they don’t necessarily bully all the time, but once or twice are enough to have them being singled out every time there is a fight. They will be deemed guilty by virtue of being in close proximity.

You also have the instigators. They will often “challenge” you to do something you may not, they could also be the ones who will look for trouble with the neighbour’s kids and then run away, and let’s the bully get in trouble.

You can always see the emo kid from a distance. They would be broody and quiet. They often have a bit of an inferiority complex. You need to tell them how good they are every morning before school.

There is also the dependable kid. He will do the hard work. Clean the pool, mow the lawn, most likely have a paper rout to earn extra money.

Lastly, but not least. The intelligent one. The one that gives advice, makes decisions and generally will be the leader of the clan. Siblings will listen to him as he is a natural born leader.

Supporters
Usually the neighbour’s smaller kids. They will have a hero worship for the sibling who excels in sport. They often become irritatingly obsessed and refuse to see anything negative about their hero. They will defend their hero with vigor, even if he is wrong. They seldom become disillusioned about their hero and only when they grow up and mature a little, do they realise he was just another guy. Only then can they remember with fondness of the times they acted foolish in defending their hero.

So there you have it, modern society and the sport of rugby union.