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.

Other Rugby Cups

In the wake of the enthralling and exhilarating World Cup, you may feel slightly depressed, bored, and downright sore (that is, if you played in it). The apathy that follows a momentous event, whether in sporting or in another arena often leaves people depressed, looking for something else to which they may dedicate their time. For instance, the new release of the Backstreet Boys album "Unbreakable" has left me with many of these feelings.

But on to more relevant things.

While the World Cup may be over, there are still many tournaments to look forward to in the coming months. Indeed, things can only get better for rugby, a sport that now garners over 3 billion viewers. So here are a few of the largest tournaments and their breakdowns for you and other your friends.

The Tri-Nations Tournament is a competitive series of games including Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. The games are held every summer, and have been since around 1996. Recently, countries like Fiji, Tonga, and Argentina have been trying to join the fray. The cup is exciting and traditionally New Zealand has taken home the title.

The Six-Nations is another very aggressive rugby tournament, with teams coming from England, France, Ireland, Wales, Italy, and Scotland. The tournament is held every spring so as not to conflict with the Tri-Nations. The tournament was previously called the Five Nations, until Italy joined in 2000, which begs the question as to why the governing rugby bodies keep titling their tournaments after such transient numbers.

Look for more tournaments on Wikipedia's list.

If you're really itching to see some rugby, don't lose hope! There are plenty of places you can find rugby on television. In fact, for many of these games you can watch online. If you go to my Rugby World Cup post and follow the instructions you may watch these games over the web for free. But don't forget, rugby is always much better live. Go to my post on Rugby in Durham, North Carolina, or check out USA Rugby. The world awaits.

International Rugby

In speaking with several rugby players and people associated with the game, I have found that nearly everyone involved with rugby has a few of their favorite "rugby moments", whether a great tackle witnessed in a game, a particular story about a rugby social, or a great tournament they were involved in. These stories often surface during bragging contests, when a simple tackle becomes a "massive hit" and beating two players for a breakaway turns into "beating the whole team". I once had a coach who would always, always, speak of one impossible conversion he scored 30 meters away from the try-line at an steep angle to tie the game (on a side note, I was there, and while the kick was impressive, our team ended up losing the game because of a series of tackles he later missed). Rugby's ability to create meaningful memories is a powerful force in the gravity the sport generates.

One of my most-prized rugby memories is of traveling to Taiwan in late 2006 to compete in the Under 19 (U19) Asian Championships. I have had the privilage of spending several years in the Philippines, learning the game of rugby from some outstanding coaches. These coaches have been integral not only in my own understanding of the game, but also in spreading rugby throughout the Philippines. During my time there I was offered a position on the newly formed U19 National team, since the Philippines is still developing the sport and non-native players are eligible to play. Several other Philippine nationals from the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Philippines were also added to the team, making a strong pool of seasoded players. In 2006 this team, lead by our coach, made its way from all over the globe to Taiwan to play in the Asian Championships.

During the course of the tournament we played a total of three hard-fought, games. We faced several obsticales including injuries and breakdown of play, but despite only playing together for a few weeks our team managed to work extremely well together and win all three games, earning us the Division II Championship! The final match was particularly rewarding, as we beat the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a team that had traveled to the Philippines in 2004 and ousted us 55-7. Still a "developing" rugby country, with this win the Philippines stands a very high liklihood of being promoted to "developed" status and being entered in Division I.

I will always remember the players, games, and events that occured during this tournament, as well as the experiences I gained through it. If you want to read the rest of the story or view the results of the tournament, go to The Philippines Rugby Football Union web-site. Also, for information on the US national teams go to USA Rugby. Go make some memories of your own.

Notable Rugby Blogs

Recently I've been looking at other rugby blogs for inspiration and have found a few notable writers and web-sites. The set of links titled "Other Rugby Blogs" in the right-hand column showcases a few of these sites. I encourage you to look at them if you are interested in learning more about the game. About: Rugby, The Rugby Blog, and both the World Cup blogs are particularly good for World Cup commentary while USA Rugby Blog offers some an analysis on the future of rugby in the United States. One of the most interesting blog I have come across so far has been the Rugby Tips blog, written by Scott Donaldson.

Rugby Tips blends several aspects of rugby and blogging that highlight some powerful elements of both activities. Although some things about the site are not user-friendly, overall the blog is informative and provocative for the reader.

Donaldson does a very good job of making his posts meaningful in that they ask questions to the reader and the greater rugby world while simultaneously offering forth suggestions about the game and its implementation. For instance, the recent post titled Lets Raise the Stakes Between Tournaments asks why teams like England and France don't "play the way they did last night, all the time?" Donaldson then suggests that international matches during the regular year should be deciding factors in determining which pools teams are divided into for the World Cup. This, he reasons, would increase competitiveness and interest in the game through rivalry because the matches would actually have an effect on World Cup pool placement.

Rugby Tips is also humorous in a non-biting way, which truly reflects the rugby ethos. When describing New Zealand's recent loss to the French national team, Donaldson imagines the Kiwis (Residents of New Zealand) "searching for both answers and new hobbies with cross stitch, poetry and playing bridge as the safest options" since they no longer have a team in the World Cup for which they may cheer. At first this may seem scathing, but for Donaldson, who currently resides in Wellington NZ, it can be seen as nothing more than a chide to his neighbors (I too am guilty of chiding a few of my Kiwi friends).

The blog also exhibits some largely unexplored uses of blogs in its use of audio commentary on rugby. Readers can learn about the New Zealand national team, the All Blacks, while perusing the articles.

Some flaws in the blog do exist in the poor formatting of the page. The initial view of the blog is somewhat uninviting to readers, probably turning at least a few prospectives away.

Once again, I encourage you all to explore the vast world of rugby by using the links to the right. If you would like to share your favorite rugby web-site or blog, post a comment.