Is rugby worth watching?

[Dinner]

I ask because they're having some sort of World Rugby Tournament in town this weekend which I'm thinking about going to.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20060823/news_1s23rugby.html

[Cort Haus]

It is a matter of taste. Personally, chasing egg-shaped balls and groping other men's bollocks has never appealed to me. I hate the game.

[KrazyHorse]

Rugby is an awesome game. Played it in high school. It's rough as hell.

[Cort Haus]

It's kind of a mixture of repressed homosexuality and mud.

[KrazyHorse]

You p*ssy.

[Drogue]

Imagine football without passing forward. It removes a lot of the tactical and stats-based play American's are so fond of, but replaces it with more fluidity and more teamwork - plays involve most of the team. If you like football, you won't be bored stiff, and may see the light and realise how amazing the game is. Well worth a visit.

It is brutal too - if played properly no player will walk off the pitch without being caked in mud and cuts are normal (there's actually rules for the "blood bin" if people get cut enough that it's dangerous). Incidentally when it comes to tackling is one of the main differences when playing. It's not about being big and getting in the way, nor does it hurt when you hit someone - people tackle by pulling your legs away, and it hurts when you hit the ground.

If you want to watch rugby at its best, I'm sure there's highlights of Australia vs England at the World Cup Final 2003. That was an amazing game, both skill-wise and atmosphere-wise. *loves that Joe Roff now plays for Oxford* (for uninitiated USians, this is the equivilent of Michael Jordan going back to college and playing for the college team).

Edit: Ooooh, it's sevens! Sevens is a bit different - same size pitch, less than half the players. Hence it involves lots of quick people, very fluid play, short, high scoring matches and a lot of flair. A great spectator sport. Especially when you get an England/Australia/NZ vs Fijior Samoa match. One of the technically gifted teams vs one with so much flair and passion (and raw speed/strength) makes for a great match. Sevens also does away withmost of the formations and positions that the normal (15 a side) game has.

[Cort Haus]

It's a bit like the battle of Passchendale, but with a ball.

[Asher]

I'm sure it has to be more exciting than football or anything else in such a drab down as San Diego.

[Snotty]

I was never groped in the bollocks while playing rugby, only kicked in them, and the guy got sent off too.

Rugby is great, time to get back into it, its essentially an amateur sport, and johny wilkinson has 2 years on me and wont peak for another 7 so i have time to catch up

[Bkeela]

I agree wholeheartedly with Cort Haus.

Rugby is worth watching if you like watching muscular sweaty brutes wage a tedious war on a sport oval. If you enjoy the sight of men scratching their nuts and giving supportive pats on each other's bottoms, then you will derive great erotic pleasure from the game.

I guess you might also derive satisfaction from the game if you are one of life's losers, and need the victory of a sport team to provide you with a sense of vicarious triumph (like the majority of men on the planet).

[Tuberski]

As opposed to American Football, it's also makers - takers.

ACK!

[Dinner]

Originally posted by Asher
I'm sure it has to be more exciting than football or anything else in such a drab down as San Diego.

Millions of people come here each year as tourists because the town is interesting, exciting, and has great climate. There is much, much, much more interesting stuff to do here then in a boring town like Calgary.

[Drake Tungsten]

Calgary has had the Olympics. Biggest thing San Diego's ever had is the Super Bowl. Calgary wins...

[LDiCesare]

I love and play rugby so I'm probably biased.
Still, this is sevens, so you should not miss it.
Sevens rugby tournaments are a series of short games (usually 2x7minutes, up to 2x10 for finals) in which many tries (touchdowns) are scored. It is very spectacular and tactical.
Especially if you can see the Fijians. New Zealanders are also very good.
XV-rugby is great too but different in the sense that scrums and mauls (lots of people pushing one another in a big melee) take much more time and there are less openings since the field is a bit crowded.

[Ãskallin]

Rugby is a great sport, both to watch and to play. It took me a while to learn all the rules since I had no idea about the sport 6 months ago.
The sevens are a great spectator sport and beeing in the stands is truly a great thing. tens of thousands of people inibriated and wearing costumes in perfect happiness.

The first practise was quite uncomfortable since me being a soft soccer player to get used to the feeling of being chased by a huge gay who literally would kill me if he cought me. I was put on the wing since that is the "safest" and easiest posistion. It is very simple, when you get the ball run like hell and do not let the huge maori guy chasing you catch you.