Substitutes

“Smith, you are on the bench” the words I never wanted to hear in my rugby days. The words that confirmed to me at that point in time I was not good enough, I was not one of the best 15. I was a substitute, I would only be used if one of the other players got injured or ran out of steam. Hard to take at times but understandable, we always had to put out the best 15.

Substitutes in the current era are viewed differently. People have been commended for removing certain parts of food and replacing them with (probably a cheaper) synthetic ingredient.

Finding a substitute that saves a company costs is in some cases a full time job for people.

But the concept remains. The substitute 9 times out of 10 is not as good as the original, as the starting line up. But we increasingly accept them.

Our standards in sport may not have slipped but when it comes to the things we put into our body they have and the by products are not good.

Accept the “OG’ or nothing at all.