“Saturday is a rugby day!” is what you will hear from most people who play the sport. It refers to the most common day around the world on which the game is played. I say that pretty much every time I see a sticker, jersey or anything else that’s remotely rugby related. I can still remember walking into practice one day and the coach said, “You’re with the Forwards today, Miley.” I thought to myself ‘why is he calling me Miley?’ It turned out that I got the name because of my phenomenal performance of the Miley Cyrus song ‘Party In The USA’ at a club event the night before. It’s always fun to hear how one gets the rugby name from her.
Now that you know a bit about me, let’s see how rugby changed my life for the better. “In the beginning, God created rugby”, is what I want to say. He probably did a few other things first. He did; yet he creates the sport that millions of people around the world know and love. Disclaimer, all my experiences with rugby were not good, especially when I almost broke a few bones.
1. Rugby has allowed me to connect with people from all over the world. I have met French, Ecuadorian, Cuban, Chinese, Polynesian, English and even African rugby players. I think there was a clown there too. At the start of this read I mentioned how I scream every time I see anything remotely rugby related. Even if I see someone going for an afternoon run, I’ll say, “Saturday is a rugby day!” It’s like we are a family and we automatically feel connected to those who also enjoy the sport. From Miami Beach to Hong Kong I constantly meet guys who play rugby. They’ll invite me out for a drink, to their kids’ birthday party, one guy even designed our current club logo for FREE!
2. It’s a great way to keep the pounds off too. Imagine running a 5K and every 1/2 mile having to deal with a 215 pound guy bringing groceries to your house. This is more or less rugby. To play the sport effectively, you need to be in good shape because it involves a lot of cardiovascular exercise. Run. Unlike soccer, but similar to soccer, the game is continuous and there are no breaks between drives. The field is 100 meters long and you will run the full distance at least 10 times in a game. As I write this, I was motivated to do 50 squats, so please give me a second…
3. There is no better feeling than scoring a Try! A try is scored by grounding the ball in the opponents’ in-goal area. Imagine a touchdown in football, but you have to press the ball into the ground. Getting a Try is fantastic because of all the hard work that goes into getting there. Imagine a soccer player scoring a goal. That kind of excitement!
So I hope I have converted you to the rugby nation and that one day you will take the field. Most cities have a Men’s League and most universities have a University League. I’ve played against UM, LSU, UF, FSU, Auburn and even Duke University. There is rugby everywhere. You just have to go out and find it.