Looking Back While Moving Forward

When Martin Luther posted his quintessential 95 theses on the doors of the Wittenberg church in 1517, he had placed a piece of writing into the public sphere with no idea what would become of it. He knew that everyone in the town would have access his writing but he had no way of seeing the tremendous effect his writing would have. Effectively he was doing something anyone was able to do, yet the response he received was so powerful it entered the world into a new era: the Reformation.

Blogging has in some ways come to resemble what Martin Luther did in 1517. Writers compose messages they think are important and post, hoping at least someone will read them. I have found through my experiences in writing for The Rugby Pitch, however, that blogging can be as soothing for the writer as informational to the reader. Perhaps this is one reason Luther decided to post his theses on the doors of the church that fateful day.

Through writing for the Pitch I have had the opportunity to learn about myself and my own place in rugby, as well as cover the Rugby World Cup, teach the basics of the game, and interact with some local Durham Rugby clubs. I have also had the time and space to think about how rugby can be portrayed via an interface such as a blog. I hope that this site has also functioned as a useful compass, guiding you to many different resources like the World Rugby Shop and USArugby.

There have been difficulties in blogging. First and foremost was the problem of coming up with biweekly updates. When there was no current event to cover and nothing particularly inspiring, it was difficult to write about a topic readers would be interested in. Also, blogs as a medium make it very difficult to search for information about a particular topic, because they are so linear in nature. This also leads into the idea that particular posts become outdated.

Oddly enough, the most annoying aspect of blogging is also its strongest feature. With constant updates readers often feel compelled to return to see what is "new" and "current". I hope you have returned to find fresh information and new insight about rugby.

Also, I have found that blogging has forced me to DO things in the rugby community, whether attending a game, playing in a tournament, or studying up on the rules. In short, blogs work best when the writer actively engages the topic in the form of amateur journalism or through frequent participation in events. Blogging has increased my overall awareness of the game and appreciation for its different aspects because of this participation.

As I conclude this segment of The Rugby Pitch, I realize that this project is not completely finished. There will be more games to cover, people to interview, and topics to write about in the future. For at least a few weeks, this site will remain dormant. Never fear though, because if rugby has taught me anything it is that once a player, always a player. Perhaps I'll see you on The Pitch.

Rugby Workouts

A substantial part of rugby is fitness. With new substitution laws, players must be able to play a full 80 minute game with only a 10 minute half-time. While this takes what many players refer to as "heart" or "passion", it also takes a little bit of plain fitness. Dedication is paramount to the rugby ethos. As AlexBlum commented aptly on one of my posts, "Rugby is a game where strength of body, mind and team shows you the way to victory." In training for rugby over the years I have developed a few very effective work-outs which I will now share with you. The rugby section of athletes.com also has some good workouts.

Rowing: Row in the gym as a prelude to lifting weights. This is a good full-body exercise that warms muscles for more strenuous exercises and also gives a brief cardiovascular workout. Try to do at least 625 meters every 2 minutes and 30 seconds and increase this until you get to 2500 meters in under 10:00min. Don't try to do too much more because this is only a warm up.

Weight Lifting: Typically, try to do 3 sets of 10-15 repetitions.
-Bench press
-Shoulder press
-Triceps lift
-Biceps curl
-Seated leg-extensions
-Prone leg extensions
-Sit-ups. Lots and lots of sit-ups.

Running: Run during off-days. I typically start out at about 2 miles every day I'm not lifting weights or playing rugby, and eventually work up to around 5 miles.

Playing: Whenever you can, play rugby, because it combines the different muscular and cardiovascular aspects of the training.

Feel free to modify this workout schedule to fit your needs, but whatever you do, remain consistent. Good rugby can only come through good fitness. A balanced diet, lots of water, and possibly some multivitamins or whey protein are also good for training. If you train well it will make all the difference come game-time, and allow you to have more fun at things like the after-parties...

What Does Rugby Mean to You?

Throughout the past few weeks I have spent some time talking with teammates and friends about the aspects of rugby they most enjoy. I asked a few people to write these reasons down and send them to me to be included in this blog. I present one such excerpt to you now:

"Even though rugby bears only marginal similarities to American football, it was my passion for football that got me initially interested in rugby. Ever since the end of high school football, I was looking for a sport with the similar physicality and rugged intensity that football brings out in athletes. I was able to find those elements in rugby, but I also found a very unique sport that
was interesting in its own right. The distinctive combination of endurance, strength, speed and intelligence required to excel at rugby was intriguing and I was quickly hooked. I enjoyed being committed to an athletic endeavor with a group of outstanding athletes that previously only IM sports had closely approximated in college. Off of the pitch, I also enjoyed learning about the
rich history and lore of the sport. There was much to learn and luckily, my growing interest in rugby coincided with the 2007 Rugby World Cup so I was quickly able to observe some world class rugby. Hence with only one short semester of rugby under my belt, I’m very excited that I still have a lot more rugby to look forward to in the coming semesters."
-Adam Nelson

TIPS! Offense and Defense

I was thinking about writing a detailed play-by-play description of how you should play offense and defense, but then I thought better of it. As you play rugby, you learn rugby. played rugby for about two years before I really knew what was "going on"! So instead I think I'll just give you some tips that I learned from some of the best rugby players I've ever met.

For offense, some important things to note are to always run straight, run into tackles hard, and to hang onto the ball.

Always run straight. If you run sideways you carry with you the risk of not giving your teammates outside of you enough room. For instance if you run all the way to the right sideline you will effectively negate the presence of your teammates on your right. This does not utilize your whole team, and as rugby can only be won with an entire team in unison, you will disadvantage your side.

You should do your best to run into tackles as hard as you can. A coach once told me that if I took a hop step and then put all my weight into the tackler, unless they were very good tacklers they would be knocked down. This works most of the time.

"You're dropping the ball with your (insert noun here)". This phrase really does have a valuable meaning in rugby. As a national coach once instructed my team before our championship match, "the ball is gold" (meant to be spoken in a guttural Scottish accent). The worst thing you can do on offense is to drop the ball because this mocks the performance of every other player on your teams that got you the ball.

On defense, a few techniques I have been taught and employed have never let me down, including field position in defense and tackling.

In defense, stand a meter outside the player you are guarding. Also, let them know you are there by yelling and pointing. No foul language, but feel free to get into their psyche. Pointing at a player and yelling, "This is my man!" or "I've got him" really gets players scared of you, which is good when that person is twice your size.

In a tackle the two most important things to do are to hang on and get low. This will give you a significantly lower center of gravity and the ability to tackle effectively. In addition, hanging on ensures the other player isn't going anywhere.

Also, playing as a team is paramount in rugby. In a very good team all players will get an equal share of the ball because only then can the team win. It is very difficult for one player to score all the points in a game. Most of the time the fastest runner sets a play up, but does not complete it
because they must pass the ball away to score.

Lastly, remember, rugby is a thinking game. As I discussed in the past, it is sometimes even in a teams' advantage to give penalties. But once again, the only way you will know how to think about rugby is to experience it through watching and playing.

Historiy and Rugby

Like every great sport, Rugby Union brings with it its own history, legends, and heroes. One such legend relates to the sports very founding in 1823.

William Webb Ellis, a school boy (predictably) attending Rugby School, is first accredited to playing rugby while at recess. As so many historical sites proclaim, a witness states that the young Ellis “took the ball in his arms and ran with it”, separating “Rugby” from sports like soccer, that mainly utilize feet. The International Rugby Board (IRB) now recognizes the World Cup champions with the William Webb Ellis Trophy.

From there, rugby was quickly adopted by many different schools as well as groups of men looking to form clubs. National teams began to play against each other in the 1860’s, developing now well-known rivalries, such as those between England and France and Australia and New Zealand.

For someone just entering the sport, it may seem as if rugby lacks the conventional histories and rivalries of a traditionally American sport such as baseball or basketball. In reality, however, these currents reside just beneath the surface of American rugby. Americans in particular should be both proud of their rugby heritage.

Did you know that the USA won the Rugby Union event at the Olympics in both 1920 and 1924?

This fact in particular should spark your interest in the history of rugby. When the Olympics later ceased to recognize the sport as “Olympic” (a point of frequent controversy), American teams ceased their development of the sport. Now though, with renewed interest in the game, many Americans have the opportunity to engage in this legacy and bring American rugby back to par with the rest of the world.

Once again, my post ends with some suggestions: I encourage you all to read the more detailed versions of rugby history at the MSN Encarta site or at RugbyFootballHistory.com. Become familiar with rugby’s great players, games, and events. And of course, go make some history of your own.

Note: Most references for this post were taken from the aforementioned web-sites, as well as usarugby.org.