Room 101: Joe Bedford – Dragons scrum-half

1. Severn Bridge toll charges
For an Englishman paying to get into Wales is quite annoying. I know the view is pretty good, but not good enough to have to fork out £6! A good friend of mine, the hooker Andy Kyriacou, is playing for Cardiff Blues but he actually is living in England, down near Bath. He commutes to the Vale of Cardiff every day and I know it’s costing him a fortune.
TRP verdict:  Luckily for you it’s not a bridge too far, Joe. You’re in!
2. Christmas comes early
If you think about it, we spend one third of our life thinking about Christmas, which is ridiculous. Don’t get me wrong…it’s not Christmas itself which winds me up, because I love it as much as anyone – especially with two young children – and I’m also a bit religious, but it’s the drawn out build up in the shops that gets to me. Even during September you can see Christmas cards on display, decorations up…it’s all way too early. To me, the Christmas feeling should only kick in when December comes.
TRP verdict:  Talk about inflation…but how did the 12 days of Christmas turn into 3 months? You’re in!
3. Night matches
I’ve picked night matches for two reasons: First, the inconvenience of having to hang around all day waiting to play. With two girls that are both under four  and who can be up as early as 6am, that can make for a long day! Our game against Wasps on Saturday kicked off at 8.10pm, which is just ridiculous. I’m normally in bed by then! There was an accident on the motorway on the way back from Wycombe and the boys didn’t get back to Newport until about 4am. I’m quite a traditionalist in that I like 3 o’clock kick offs on a Saturday afternoon, or even on a Sunday. For me the day leading up to an evening match is a bit of a waste. Whereas some people plan around it and use the time to do other things or even have a power nap on the way to the game, I can’t relax properly. The longer build-up does nothing for the nerves, either. Secondly, from a brand of rugby point of view I think day time games are much better spectacles. Quite often in evening games, especially in winter, the ball gets dewy and wet and it is much more difficult to get any continuity in the game. Also, the lights are not always the best. A lot of football grounds have the lights down the side of the stand, and it can be difficult to pick up the flight of the ball once it goes  above the stand.
TRP verdict:  You can say ‘good night’ to your chances of getting in on this one; there’s normally a special atmosphere at night games, so you’re out!