ALL that is good about club rugby was on show at Rat Park on Saturday. There was on-field talent, with 10 Super 14 players - including seven Wallabies - running around, and ratbaggery off it, with the terraces , as usual, dominated by mug lairs.

There were dancing girls, bell ringing to get the kids off the field at the end of half-time, meat tray raffles, spirited trade at the bar and plenty of cheek either side of the fence.

Sadly, the only missing element was the famous rat pie, which appears to be no more. Now, sausages and fried onions are the favoured fare.

For so long Rat Park has been the place to go for a rollicking time. For a football club that has thrived on sweat and community spirit, a Warringah home match remained the perfect example of how the volunteer brigade works so brilliantly. The Rats have survived because those devoted to the club have rolled up their sleeves and got into it.

The likes of Bill Simpson and Elley Bennett would ensure everything ran smoothly. In the grandstand, devoted officials such as Ron Curry and John Heffernan, and sponsors such as Dilip Kumar made everyone welcome.

And it was here as Tony "Slaggy" Miller prowled the sideline, the impassioned club men such as Steve Temple, Steve Lidbury, Rick Black, Rod Macqueen, Grant Andrews and company turned the Green Rats into a fearsome beast. Yes, they've had their fair share of knucklemen.

And with it, hilarious moments. For years, the Rats had a ground announcer who would spend the bulk of the afternoon on the microphone, yelling out to the scoreboard attendant to get the score right. When that happened, the agitated attendant constantly getting off his seat to change the score, he gave the announcer the finger.

The crowd loved it.

One time, the legendary and now sadly departed Eric Spilsted took over the microphone. On his way to the mic, Spilsted had been distracted by the drinks on offer in the president's box and by the time he was on the airwaves, Spilsted was well primed.