Today I met up with Ellie Hope, a Physical Education teacher from Fairfield, in her hometown of Brecon, Wales. I got there without incident taking a beautiful drive up the A40 to the other side of the Brecon Beacons National Park. It was hard to resist sneaking peeks at the gorgeous views along this valley road, but alas, full concentration is needed when driving anywhere in this country.
When I arrived I met Ellie at our prearranged spot and then we found a spot to park my car for the afternoon. We walked through the town, another market town similar to Abergavenny, but a bit smaller. The streets are lined with small homes, village shops and there is also a cathedral in the town. We followed the streets down to the Promenade, which is a beautiful walkway running along the River Usk. This walk ultimately led us to the Rugby Pitch, which was the main point of my journey, and where Ellie's husband, Wayne, was waiting to meet us.
Ellie had invited me to attend the local Rugby game being played between the Brecon "seconds" team and another nearby village team, so it was a big rivalry game. While she was initially worried that the skill level would not give me a good basis for which to the judge game, her fears were allayed by the end. It indeed was an exciting game; with the hometown boys winning by one point in the last seconds of the game.
The game of rugby is played in the United States, in fact I think my own college had a team, but I have never seen this game played - so I was pleasantly surprised by my afternoon, spent in the sun, watching this very physical game which is the closest thing to American football in this country. The fans were passionate for their team, taunted the officials, yelled loudly over points scored and basically offered a great atmosphere where I felt just like being home watching a football game.
I am told the best competitive rugby takes place during the Six Nations Tournament which takes place here in Wales during February and March...another reason for having regrets that I will not be here for a full year.
Rugby is played on a pitch and there are 15 men on the field from each team. The ball can only be thrown backwards and laterally or can be kicked forwards. The ball is usually pitched out, not thrown overhand. The object is to move the ball down field over the line of the goal post and to push the ball down into the ground; so unlike American football the ball where the ball need only break the plane of the goal line. The goal line for rugby is also on the line of the goal post, not five yards in front of it. A team scores five points for a "try" and 2 points for a kick through the goal posts after a try is scored. During live play, attempts at kicking through the goal post can also earn three points.
Rugby is very physical, and shortly after the game began I was taunted by the cheeky Welshman standing beside me about the fact that American football players wear padding...in rugby there is no padding, helmets or anything. (This same cheeky Welshman wanted to know why men are cheerleaders in the US!) As I watched this game progress it did indeed appear as physical, if not more physical, than American football; but there was much less direct one on one hitting at the line of scrimmage like in American football, and the players were not as large. It is also against the rules to tackle any person who is not carrying the ball. It is also against the rules to hit above the shoulders...although, as I was informed...pretty much anything goes in this game as long as the official, of which there is only one on the field, does not see it happening. There is an offsides rule, although I was not too sure what comprises an offsides in rugby.
While often times in this game it appears as if the ball is not progressing forward, from out of nowhere it will appear and pop out from under a pile of 10 or more men and someone would pick it up, pitch out and run down field to keep the play going. The ball is only "dead" and play is only stopped when the official determines that there is no forward movement with the ball. The the players form a "circle" around the ball and the official drops the ball in the middle of this circle ...this is called a "scrim" and the object is for one team to get the ball and advance the forward motion. Rugby is played in two halfs and is a fast paced game where the level of emotional involvement from the spectators reaches high levels... just like football back home.
We followed the game with a quick cider at the local Rugby Club, which was a fairly close atmosphere to some of my favorite hangouts back home, like the Hawks Nest, Gray Barn and VFW. The place where all the players hang out after the game, televisions with sport on the walls, dart boards, inexpensive beer and cider on tap, and general small town camaraderie! I had a great day, it was a taste of home - so thank you to Ellie & Wayne for introducing me to the game of rugby! I can't wait to go to another game soon!
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