Player Profile - Francis "Das Boot" Booth
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Bio - Das Boot's renowned pedantry and love of organised fun, order and regulation may fool you into thinking he is German. In fact, the fairer half of his gene pool hails from Switzerland, which in part explains his love of all things linguistique. Cheating at any drinking games, particularly pretending to drink whilst thinking, is a sure way to rile this otherwise reasonable chap. Throwing 50/50 passes in touch, and giving away penalties through back chat are two others. Along with the rest of OH, Booth loves a game of Fives, although his enthusiasm for this great sport is sadly not matched by his bolting ability. Instead, he relies on his high-concentration, studious approach to keep himself out of trouble. Position - Despite the best efforts of the OH hierarchy to play him at prop, it is at hooker where Booth has played his entire career. Recent attempts at weight loss should see him still wearing the number 2 jersey for 2009/10. Though he would dearly love to play a more free-running position, his lack of pace ruled that out from an early age, and he has had to make do with the occasional appearance in the centres further along the phases. His distinctive hitch-kick before he takes contact and the crunch when he puts the shoulder in makes Booth, like an axe-wielding clown, a comical and dangerous character on and off the pitch. AKA - "Das Boot", "Boothie" and "Boothage" |
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Long and Rambling Bio Booth was first introduced to the great game (rugby, not Kerrplunk) aged 11 at MCS Oxford. It was here he met Beast, whose stubble, chest hair and deep voice was altogether more intimidating at 12 than it is now. Being short, slow, slightly overweight and having an older brother at the school who played hooker, Booth dutifully fulfilled his legacy by stepping in at 2, and a lack of anything that could be described as ability meant he stayed there throughout school and ever since. Weighing a measly 11 stone at 18, Booth decided he had had enough of people kicking sand in his face and got into the gym. The hard work brought about a spot in his university squad (which Booth squandered, waking up after a few too many shandies one evening with a broken leg), and culminated in selection for the Edelweiss (12 caps and counting). Booth's appearances for the Swiss include three defeats against a Sweden team including one S. F. E. Taylor, and a hard-fought relegation dog-fight against neighbours Austria which the world will remember as 'Das Crunch'. Stints in the German Bundesliga and Singaporean Premiership make him something of a minor-nation rugby journeyman, but this season sees him back at Fortress Croxdale, proudly wearing the blue, white and magenta. Booth enjoys - protein powder, line-out practice, drinking games with well-observed rules, singing in tune with correctly counted rests, sleep. Favorite song: Edelweiss (The Sound of Music) and his favourite gym exercise is Das Bench. | |||
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