Room 101: Ruairi Cushion – Plymouth Albion captain

1. Facebook
These days it seems that every time I scroll down my news feed on Facebook all that comes up is standard ‘selfies’ of people, holiday pictures of people you haven’t seen in 10 years and people telling me that they just finished a triathlon/cycle/  long run! It has gotten so boring on Facebook now that people have linked their twitter posts to come up on Facebook too! Davy McGregor, our hooker, loves to post about his businesses back home in Ireland. Sorry pal, but if I wanted to do a fitness camp in Monaghan while taking supplements you’ve provided I’d ask! Facebook has had its time; Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat have taken over and give more entertainment.
TRP verdict:  You’re in…despite exceeding the 140-character limit.
2. Footballers contracts
Do they actually mean anything anymore? I enjoy catching up on the odd bit of soccer here and there and support Aston Villa (mainly because of the big Irish contingent in the Nineties of Townsend, McGrath, Staunton and Houghton). Unfortunately these days it seems as soon as a player wants to leave he is suddenly bigger than the club and the contract he signed in the first place. Loyalty seems to be non-existent in the modern game: it’s all on the player’s terms. I can’t wait for a strong club to finally stand up to an overpaid, spoilt football player and actually make them stick to the contract they’ve signed! Sam Matavesi, our Fijian international flanker, fancies himself as a bit of a footballer (he’s about the 10th best player in our squad) and definitely has the ego! As a rugby player, though, no-one would get away with what footballers do.
TRP verdict: Keep right on to the end of the road (I know, wrong Birmingham club!) to Room 101.
 3. Plymouth weather on match days
I reckon at least 12 out of our 15 home matches were played in torrential rain last season. The weather is normally fine leading up to the weekend, and then ‘bam’, the heavens open just as Game Day arrives. This strange phenomenon has continued into pre-season. After weeks and weeks of wall to wall sunshine what happens when we get to our first run out? Yep, you guessed it – it hammered down with rain. I feel for our wingers on days like these, you see them (and myself sometimes) warming their hands on hot water bottles at half time. This year we are a new team playing a great brand of rugby, so, fingers crossed, our luck changes and the wet weather stays away.
TRP verdict:  Who are we to rain on your parade? That’s 3 out of 3.