The Rugby Outsider

Go out and rent Invictus , the movie about the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa. Starring Matt Damon as Springbok Francois Pienaar and Morgan Freeman as then-President Nelson Mandela. It is an inspirational movie along the lines of what Miracle did to magnify the accomplishments of the US Olympic Ice Hockey team in 1980. However, as Pienaar points out in this Times UK article , the Springbok team portrayed in the movie was quite different than in real life. That South African side was very capable of winning a World Cup, and though a surprise, it was not as earth shattering as the US hockey team gold medal in Lake Placid. However, politically, the Springbok victory was enormous for the emerging nation. Clint Eastwood's film does an outstanding job of highlighting Mandela's 27-year imprisonment on Robben Island, and Freeman, who always seems to play the wise man in a room of fools, expertly charts the course of unity by testing his relationship with his cabinet and ...

The Tri-Nations series really is the best time of year for rugby fans. Since 1996, the rugby-playing nations of South Africa , New Zealand and Australia have played against each other in what I believe is not only the premiere rugby tournament in the Southern Hemisphere, it is the finest annual rugby tournament in the world. It may become a truly "Southern Hemisphere" tournament as Argentina has been conditionally invited to join in 2012. Club rugby, like club football (soccer) and other team sports are thing. An annual tournament involving national team draws much bigger crowds and has much more interest. The three Southern Hemisphere nations are rugby hotbeds. Of six Rugby World Cups , five have been won by Tri-Nations national teams. New Zealand is the clear leader with nine victories, South Africa has three and Australia two. The fierce competition, and the fact that rugby enjoys a substantial following in those countries, make these three teams among the best in t...

A brief introduction to rugby, brought to you, I believe, by EA Sports Rugby 05.

Neil Jenkins of Wales, one of the best kickers in the history of the game.

One of the first things to know about the sport of rugby in the world is that there are several different types: Rugby Union vs. Rugby League and Rugby XV's (15 players a side) vs. Rugby Sevens (7 a side). We'll deal with Sevens vs. 15's later. For now, let's talk about Rugby Union and League. Wikipedia does have a good comprehensive overview of the differences between Union and League. Stuart Duncan of suite101.com has some good stories and history of the game. His description of the difference in the two codes is a must-read. For fans of either sport, mistakenly referring to one as the other is a definite no-no. It might even lead to an argument. Best to know which one you're talking about before you speak. The governing body for Rugby Union is the International Rugby Board (IRB) and it is based out of Dublin, Ireland. For Rugby League, the Rugby League International Federation is headquartered in Sydney, Australia. Again, read the background information...

As I work through this blog, there are many things to understand about the game of rugby. For my own benefit, and yours as well I hope, I want to go through the types of rugby, the differences between them, and the major countries and competitions in the sport. I will give what I believe to be credible links, and you can decide what to think. Sound OK?

Rugby is not even a blip on the radar screen as a sport in the USA. That's not to say that people here aren't trying to introduce the sport to the masses--and have been playing it for quite some time. We have a domestic rugby league, the Rugby Super League , and College Rugby , and the sport is played in probably thousands of small parks across the nation, including this one less than a mile from my house (as the crow flies.) Where does that leave us? Well, seemingly with a long way to go towards respectability for us fans of the sport. I have to admit that I have never played or watched a rugby game in person. I have seen a few books, read a few articles, and generally keep up with the game through the Internet and, as I have found out, through iPhone apps . OK, I am too cheap to buy the "official" USA app--I have a bunch of freebies. But you can, if you wish in the information age, keep up with the sport in general terms in a way that was never possible 20 ...

Under construction 7/10/2010