I don’t believe in love at first sight, but I do believe in love at first touch – touch of the uniquely shaped rugby ball I mean. As a seven year old, my grandfather sat me down to watch the classic 1973 All Blacks versus Barbarians game, and he then put a rugby ball in my hand. The bond was instant and the love affair eternal. So, precisely what makes the game unique?
Rugby is a vehicle for developing a person both as an athlete but more importantly as a person. It is a game accepting of anyone from any background and of all shapes and sizes. The nature of the sport means you have to rely on your teammates for not only physical safety but also to have any chance of personal success in the sport.
Forgive me, for perhaps going over the top in my introduction there, but, truly without rugby I would not be half the person I am today. I was an incredibly quiet, and shy child, not particularly academic and a little directionless but rugby soon sorted all of that out and then some.
Let me unpackage what I think some of the most important aspects of rugby are and why they make the sport so unique.
7 Reasons Rugby Is Unique
1. A Game For All Shapes And Sizes
I know it’s a cliché but it is so true. The specialist nature of different positions simply mean that this is the case. What this does is level the playing field. It gives a place for people who could not necessarily find a sport suitable for their body type to have a go at.
And when I mean ‘have a go’ at the sport they can really find a position where they can use their physical attributes, whatever they maybe, to contribute to the team and be a valuable cog in the wheel. You can read about the average weight and height of players here.
2. Respect for the referee.
Everyone knows that without the ref there is no game. You frequently hear players referring to the ref as, ‘sir’ and there are no protests against decisions like there are in football. Well, sadly it has crept into the top end of the professional game somewhat, but anyone who does this is usually lambasted on social media thereafter. In the amteur game what the ref says is final.
3. Rugby people.
People who love rugby, love rugby and they understand why others love rugby too. This mutual understanding means that there is an immediate bond between ‘rugby people’ when they meet. They all know the game is so much more of a game and they know that the more they give the more they get from the game. This is why so many people stay involved in the game after they finish playing.
4. Bone on bone contact.
Few sports offer the opportunity to really smash into people with your entire body weight and full force. In rugby this is encouraged. Of course, it is encouraged with the right, safe, technique but nevertheless where else can you legally go and pile into other people and not get into trouble.
Whilst, this might seem a little aggressive and violent to some. Consider the fact that for others this release of aggression is essential for them to continue to stay on the straight and narrow in ‘real life’.
After all, a lot of big guys are left wondering why they were born with all of this size if they can’t put it to good use somehow! Read about where big guys should play in rugby here.
5. We mix together afterwards.
It is almost expected that a rugby player will mix down the club and have a bit of banter sociably with the rest of the lads/ladies on a fairly regular basis. It is just part of the game, and in fact it is more important than the game for many.
As I was growing up I assumed this was the norm in all sports but the more I spoke to the footballing fraternity the more I realised how different the sports were.
My football friends would often just shower, go home and meet their other friends and rarely did players go out together. I don’t really know why this is, I guess I put it down to the fact that in football you are less reliant on your teammate and are therefore not as close to them.
Or maybe, it is because of the fact that there is more money in football and so this tends to make people adopt a more ‘out for what they can get’ mentality, who knows?
6. The type and mix of fitness required.
In what other sport could you be required to use so many different types of fitness. There are many short bursts of activity but drawn out over 80 minutes. Each position needs certain types of fitness but all players have to be prepared to absorb a big hit and dish one out.
Check out: How far Does Rugby Player Run (Tables)
7. Mystique and magic.
Barry John, the 1973 try, the Dan Carter banana kick, the Jonny Wilkinson drop-goal, David Campese’s over head pass, Wasaile Serevi, Neil Back’s hand of god, Lomu, the 99 call, the broken Calcutta Cup, Stephen Donald fishing to final kick, Dawson’s dummy, Gregan’s greatest tackle of all time, Paul Thorburn’s original long range effort, John Kirwan v Italy, Waltzing O’Driscoll and the ’This is our Everest speech’.
If you say any of these to a rugby person they will immediately know what you are talking about and immediately go misty eyed as they reminisce about these past events that have become a part of folklore and the history of our sport.
These moments cannot be explained; they have to be experienced. Ideally first hand, beautiful you are knew to the spot go ahead and google them to really enter the world of rugby.
8. Rugby Traditions
Rugby has lots of tradition, players clap each other off the pitch, the haka, the drinking games, the drinking songs, rugby tours, the Barbarians, the British Lions. Each of these bring something to the game.
Of course, rugby is not the only sport with an abundance of history and tradition but the combination of all of the above points is what I think truly makes the game unique.
Be warned though, once you get involved, and you should, the game can pierce straight to your heart, if you ever have the time to stop and think about it, which you probably won’t as you will be far too busy actually being involved with rugby.
Rugby is different, it is unique. It is one of the few games where the players don’t know all of the laws. Where refs have to explain their decision as they go, where different countries play the game in a completely different manner, where self-control is vital but aggression essential, where an abridged form of the game (7s) is in the Olympics, where crowds can drink alcohol and opposing fans can mix together, where national teams combine into dream teams (The Lions) and where earlier forms of the sport broke away and became professional on their own.
Rugby Union is traditional, yet evolving, fast paced but static, professional yet still amateur, and like me, as hard as nails, but a true romantic. Play rugby, get involved!
You might also like: The Advantages of Playing Rugby
Photo Credit: Featured image Maree Reveley, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons. A scrum directed by the South African referee Jonathan Kaplan. Crusaders won 33-3.
