Rugby
In a strange twist of fate, we ended up getting a mini rugby lesson from a professional player this week (more to come on that!) We know next to nothing abut this sport that is super, super popular in New Zealand. You may have heard of a little team called the All Blacks that absolutely dominates the World Rugby League and begins games with an intimidating haka, like this one against France last year:
To give you an idea of how great the All Blacks are, their website says “The All Blacks are the most successful international men's rugby side of all-time with a winning percentage of 77.41% over 580 Tests (1903-2019). Since playing their first Test match in 1903, the All Blacks have amassed numerous accolades and are considered one of the most prolific teams across any sport.” Can you imagine if your NFL team had a win rate of 77%? The local pride in that team would be immense. Well take that pride and multiply it by five million, and that’s the support the All Blacks have in New Zealand. People are crazy about rugby!
While there are a lot of similarities to American football (not to be confused with soccer….) there are lots of differences that make this game a doozy to understand. So here’s my rugby primer after a one hour lesson and a visit to our first rugby line-up between the Auckland Blues vs. Dunedin Highlanders.
There’s no protective gear in rugby. In some ways, this is a good thing. The audience can see the players’ expressions, and no helmets means a much lower concussion rate that in football. (For a lovely breakdown of the injuries in rugby vs. football, check out this article from the Atlantic.) My mom also likes to comment on the quality of the players’ legs and, um, backsides. I can’t disagree.
Rugby union games are faster paced. They are divided into two quarters, and the whole game lasts 80 minutes. The clock doesn’t stop for resetting after downs, so there’s constant action and movement. In my opinion, this is great. Football games are tedious after a few innings because there isn’t much flow. Also, the clock counts up to 80 minutes, as opposed to down each quarter.
Scoring is similar, but different. A touchdown is equivalent to a “try,” but a try is worth 5 points. After scoring a try - by physically placing the ball on or over the try line, as opposed to just running into the end-zone - the scoring team can try for a conversion, which is like kicking an extra point, except the team gets 2 points. Field goals are rare in rugby and only worth 1 point. However, in rugby, teams have the options for a penalty kick worth 2 points after (duh) a penalty is called.
Passing the ball forward is illegal in rugby. Passes can only be lateral or backwards and can happen anywhere on the field during play. However, a team can kick the ball forward and keep possession of the ball.
A tackle doesn’t end the play. Players are incentivized to get the ball out from under a tackle quickly and return to play. The clock keeps ticking! Often this looks like a bunch of players wiggling around in a pile on the ground, and then suddenly a ball comes shooting out, and the players on the periphery scramble to grab it and have possession.
To make this even more confusing, there are different leagues with rule variations. Our Blues vs. Highlanders game is in the rugby union, which is different from the rugby league. I’m not sure I’ll ever quite get the differences, but it was an entertaining cultural study.
The gentleman behind us, from South Africa, was our impromptu in-game tutor. He was nice enough to give us minute-by-minute updates on what was going on.
So am I going to become a die-hard rugby fan? Probably not. I will, however, try to score tickets to an upcoming All Blacks game because I think that will be an incredible event just for the fanfare and people watching.
