A Rugby Celebration

S and I have taken time this quarantine, and even in the months before, to appreciate rugby.

It all started last year, when we attended Ruggerfest in Forest Park, just for the fun of it.  It was a beautiful day, we took camp chairs and drinks, ate at the food trucks, took in some sport, and generally enjoyed the day out in the world in a way that we haven't been able to in a while.  It was all capped off by an invitation to join the teams for a post-tourney party at the Sunday Morning Rugby Club's clubhouse.  (And a dead alternator at 11 p.m., but that's a story for another day.)

That was followed by a trip to Lindenwood to see the St. Louis Sabres crush the Lindenwood Lions.  It was chilly, but nevertheless fun.  And holy cow do they get to play in a nice stadium!  Lights, announcer, the whole bit.

S then stumbled upon the movie Invictus, when searching for movies for me to watch starting Matt Damon.  That led him to Murderball, which I had seen many years ago -- perhaps even before I started this here blog (the only reference I can find to it is here, not coincidentally referenced in my post about Invictus).

That was followed by Pacific Warriors, a documentary about the teams from Tonga, Fiji, and Samoa, and the rivalry between them.  It wasn't stunningly good, but I did get some interesting insights into these teams from the tiny islands, who are so often outplayed and overshadowed by their Maori companions, the All Blacks.


Speaking of the All Blacks, we did watch a lot of rugby on YouTube, including the All Blacks' women's side, called the Black Ferns.  Some great stuff there.

Many, many moons ago, Dad gave me a book called Muddied Oafs: The Last Days of Rugger, which S picked up.  The editing is admittedly terrible, so he didn't make it far, but there's some good background there.  Fun fact: the first rugby World Cup wasn't until 1987.

The book led to the viewing of The Story of Rugby, a six-part look-back at the history of the sport, released in anticipation of the 2019 World Cup tournament.  It's a look at how rugby has grown over time, what it means to the countries which field teams, and generally is a tribute to the sport and some of its best players.  This, of course, includes my favorite English vet, Jonny Wilkinson -- although I have to say he looks terrible in the film.  For some of his playing highlights, check out this (some great kicking, great passing, and a fantastic dump tackle at 9:30) and try this for a retirement tribute from his teammates and coaches, as well as selected clips as they are talking.  And just for good measure, here is the second-extra-time kick that gave England the 2003 World Cup win.


[It's not about rugby, but since we're talking sports history, I have to give a shout-out to the Netflix show The English Game, which is a retelling of the rivalry between the the teams at the heart of football's (or soccer's, if you prefer) shift from a purely amateur (read: aristocratic) leisure activity to a professional sport.  Very well made and fun to watch.]