5 June 2026

I went to a school with less than two hundred boys. Amazingly, we were able to field eleven rugby teams. I was always in the B teams and eventually in the Extras.  165 boys playing rugby on a Saturday. If not playing, you dished out the oranges at half time.

I am a great fan of team sports and the lessons which are gained from playing in a team – discerning your part, integrating your skill into the team,  coping with those two impostors, success and failure.

Last week, the people of Manchester were  out on the street to celebrate mens’, womens’ and young peoples’ football. It has caught the corporate imagination. There is a sense of belonging, being a part of something bigger, celebrating the moment with joy!

There are obvious analogies with the Church – the one body, the sense of belonging, discerning our distinctive part, living in harmony with others, rejoicing in our love for one another. St. Paul, who was not much of an athlete, listed the characteristics of love.

Eric Liddell, who was a runner and international rugby player,  wrote down all the things which St. Paul said about love in his own words - patience, kindness, generosity, humility, courtesy, unselfishness, good-temper, guilelessness and sincerity.

‘By a multitude of small things and ordinary virtues, the supreme good is made up.’ he said. It’s these small things and ordinary virtues which make us fit enough to love others. It’s the discipline of taking these little steps which bears fruit in a mature, contented and faithful Christian life.