8:38 AM |
We don't know a thing about rugby. The national tournament is played in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Inquirer is running a series that tells us about rugby. If you watched the tournament on TV, you'd know that in the last 12 months, 250,000 American children UNDER 10 have signed up for rugby. For a while, Pee Wee soccer was the thing. Then lacrosse. Now rugby. Rugby is a real man's sport. The rugby players (I think they call them ruggers) beat the crap out of each other. It's like football with no pads. Unfortunately, there is now "sevens" with seven guys on a team (instead of 15, I think) and 7 minute halves. Almost all of it is running. We now have Pee Wee soccer where you can hurt each other. A uniquely American spin on European things. Before you know it, we'll add pads and call it... Pee Wee football.Also, there are 3,000 American high schools with rugby teams. Our part of the country is the hotbed of this stuff. According to the Inky, it is because we have a large Irish population.
Anyhow, this is what we are learning.
Monday, May 16:
Who wins?
How long do they play?
What positions do they play?
How do they advance the ball?
What is a scrum? (we are likely to wash scrum from our bathtubs)
Are there other ways to restart play?
How do they score points?
Thursday, June 2:
Here are some pointers for this weekend's championships
Scoring
Play
This tournament
Terms (scrum, lineout, ruck)
What we know is from the movie Invictus
Friday, June 3:
For a little nation, Fiji carries lot of weight in rugby
Sunday, June 5:
Five Ways Rugby Resembles Football
Five Ways Rugby Differs from Football
Five Slogans Seen on Rugby T-shirts
Of the latter, I like "Elegant Violence." Also "This ain't the NBA." When did rugby also encompass basketball? I guess since all our other sports are somehow superior to rugby, I guess basketball needs to be included. There are also NHL references about the penalty box and so on. "Baggy shorts haven't cracked rugby's traditions yet. As a result, with all the short-shorts and thighs on display, the games resemble Village People performances or the mosh-pit at a Debbie Gibson concert."
Monday, June 6:
Dartmouth downs Army, 32-10, for title. Also, "A rugby press box is far different than those you find in other sports. Watching a women's match early Sunday morning, for example, one writer yelled, 'Oh, c'mon! That was pedantic.'"We are now officially rugby literate.
And guess what? The Community Courier notes that our local rugby team wins some kind of tournament. I didn't know we had a rugby team. Need to get away from church barbecues more often.