9.6 million people can’t be wrong! Playing rugby union brings so many benefits and it continues to grow participation levels worldwide in both the 15 a side, 7 a side and women’s form of the game. Even Asia is getting involved now, with over 1 million registered players. So why is it so popular? What are the advantages of playing rugby?
Rugby is fun, pure and simple. It allows players to express themselves physically and provides a mental relief from daily life. It increases fitness levels, allround health and provides an incredible platform for making new friends and meeting new people.
Recently, I ran a simple survey of 95 rugby players of all ages and they gave their top 4 reasons for playing rugby. I categorised this information into the reasons for playing rugby shown below.
I guess it should come as no surprise that physical contact took the number one spot for reasons to play with the overlapping reasons of being part of a team and the social aspect being highly regarded also.
As well as all of the above advantages, you also become part of something very special, something not shown in the graph: the global rugby family.
You can rest assured that if you join a rugby club in any part of the world you will have a new second home. Rugby people, as I like to call them have a great way of removing the normal social barriers between different groups of people and this allows people to be warm, open and friendly.
Let’s now examine a few of my preferred advantages/benefits of playing rugby in greater detail.
The 7 Life Enhancing Benefits of Playing Rugby
Fitness
If you get involved with a rugby club you will immediately gain access to a support network of people that will encourage you, support you and provide you with new fitness goals.
So many people try to get fit working out alone or in a gym, now that’s a tough ask for most people but put those people in a social situation where they get to exercise in a group and with a team they become committed to then there are few missed workouts and exercising suddenly does not feel like a chore anymore, it is just something that you do.
Confidence
Learning how to tackle people bigger than you, learning how to absorb a hit from others, running around scoring tries, beating defenders and simply being part of a team helps increase a person’s confidence on the rugby pitch which can also produce knock on effect into other areas of a person’s life.
Have you ever seen the t-shirt ‘Rugby makes you 100% sexier’, well it’s true and I think that’s mainly down to increased confidence.
The Dark Side
Whilst not applicable to everyone the aggressive nature of the sport provides a great outlet for controlled aggression. It can teach an individual to control their aggression and it gives them an outlet for exercise energy which may otherwise get misplaced in the real world.
In other words it can keep people out of trouble providing them with a constructive focus when otherwise they might end up getting themselves in trouble. Current England international Kyle Sinckler certainly falls into the category of people who were ‘saved’ by rugby. Our guide to the best positions for big guys to play might interest you also.
“I feel like, for me, I’ve always been quite a frustrated guy. Rugby is my canvas. I’ve always expressed myself through it, like my outlet.”
Kyle Sinckler – England Front Row
A Creative Outlet
Some people paint, some people draw, some people take photos. Me? I catch a rugby ball, switch onto autopilot and let my instincts take control, what comes out is sometimes magical. A dummy, sidestep, burst of pace and a well timed hand off and I’m dotting the ball down under the posts.
I then resurface into consciousness and notice the crowd cheering and my teammates coming over to congratulate me. What happened in those split seconds I don’t know, I only know it felt good. Rugby is how I paint. It is my expression of who I am. It can be yours too.
Oh, yeah, sometimes I drop the ball, get smashed into the mud and we lose by 50, but experiencing those moments of magic keeps me going season on season, even if I have been reduced to vets (over 35s) rugby in recent years. Read more about why the game of rugby is so unique here.
The Opposition
On the field things can get tasty, blood can be spilled and tackles can be hard. However, at the end of the game, win, lose or draw it is all left on the pitch. Players shake hands, clap each other off the pitch through a tunnel, and even cheer for the referee. In the bar players buy drinks for their opposite number and enjoy a chat about the game and friendships begin.
I remember as an under 8, shaking hands with my opposition number and we did so in every age group right up to our first team level. Appearance as adults. He went on to play for Cambridge University and Cardiff Rugby Club but now he is knocking around his old club again and we still share laughs and memories decades on when our paths cross.
A Global Outlook
Rugby has a strong foothold all over the world which means if you find yourself having to or choosing to move abroad for a time or permanently you are likely to be able to plug yourself straight into the local rugby network which again will provide you with an immediate social circle of like minded people.
And when I say it is global I don’t just mean there are teams in other major western nations, I mean there are clubs everywhere in all sorts of strange places. I have played against the Yangon Dragons from Myanmar, Bangkok Bangers from Thailand and Tokyo Gaijin to name just a few of the more far flung clubs I have come up against over the years.
Rugby Tours
When talking about the advantages of playing rugby I couldn’t not mention rugby tours amongst these. Whether it is your team you go on tour with, or whether you follow a national team half-way around the world, you are almost guaranteed to have an awesome time!
Tours are where lasting memories are formed (and lost), friendships forged and livers broken. It would be wrong of me to say more right now, maybe in another post, but for now I must honour the old adage of: what goes on tour stays on tour.
Rugby Songs
Half the fun of an away match is the beers and the sing song on the way back. I’ll never forget the epic sing-songs we had/have. No words written down, just songs passed on from generation to generation and a bunch of half soaked rowdy young men singing at the top of their voices.
Years later the words of songs pop into my head and I can’t stop myself from smiling. Father Abraham, Yogi Bear, Zulu Warrior, The Lobster Song, Wild Rover, Running Bear are just a few I know by heart. In fact, I have just uploaded the ‘Chicago’ Rugby song and lyrics here – enjoy!
Not Just For Players
Rugby clubs are grand old places and cannot exist without the hard work of managers, coaches, cooks, cleaners, kit-men and a plethora of other usually voluntary roles. Everyone recognizes these volunteers being as vital to any on the pitch and they in return gain a lot of the similar benefits as the players outlined above, for life.
I could go on and on about the advantages of playing rugby, the fact that anyone, of any shape and size can get involved and that it is probably the greatest team game in the world but I think you get the idea by now. So, I encourage you to give rugby a go.
I have tried to unload a piece of my heart into this post so that others can enjoy the life enhancing, warming and enjoyment that a life in rugby can bring, but don’t take my word for it, go out there and give it a go! Tell them Rugby Roar sent you! You might also be interested in reading about the hardest position in rugby here.
Photo Credit:
Featured image: West Point rugby spends spring break touring Fort Hood. Photo by Master Sgt. Javier Garcia, Division West Public Affairs, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
