Room 101: Brett Davey – Doncaster head coach

1. Ignorant drivers
People failing to acknowledge the fact you’ve given them the right of way is something that really winds me up when I’m driving. Driving in Britain, full stop, is not a pleasant experience nowadays. If you were shopping you wouldn’t jump in front of someone in a queue, unless you’re really bad mannered, but when you’re driving it happens all of the time. I find it quite sad that people hide behind the size of their car, when, in normal life, they wouldn’t dream of confronting you. Call me old school but I was brought up to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ and to open doors for people. Sadly, these little acts of courtesy appear to be a dying art.
TRP verdict:  Ignorance is not bliss, you’re in
2. Winter rugby
Wet weather rugby kills everything. You can never judge where you are in terms of your side’s development at this time of the year, unless you look specifically at the set-piece and the contact area, because the playing conditions have to be factored into everything you do. And this goes on for a good four months – or, roughly, half the season. There is no reliable reference point whatsoever in these dark and dreary winter months. People might say that, as professionals, players should be able to deal with a wet ball regardless, but it makes a massive difference, I can tell you. When you are handling a wet ball you don’t get the same amount of purchase on it, which means catching it cleanly becomes the first thought in your mind – not how you’re going to put a man away into space. In wet weather you have to stand deeper as a fly-half because you know it is going to take that fraction longer to catch it, and that isn’t conducive to playing attacking rugby. As a coach you’re more inclined to pick ball carriers over skillful players, which then has a detrimental knock-on effect down the line in terms of player development. Too much emphasis is placed on the collision in the Northern Hemisphere, not skills, yet we wonder why our passing skills, even at the highest level, are not as good as those of the ‘Big 3′.
TRP verdict:  Sorry to rain on your parade, but you’re out
3. Queues
All forms of queuing should be abolished, that’s non-negotiable in my book. Whether it is waiting 45 minutes to cancel a direct debit on the phone or standing in a line in a shop, the whole business drives me bonkers. I go along with it, as a well-mannered person should, but inside I am a seething mass. What makes it worse is that I always seem to pick the wrong queue!
TRP verdict:  The only worthwhile queue is a barbecue. You’re in.