Rugby Football

One of the biggest differences, I think, between the US and the UK, is the choice of sport. In the US, for the most part, you've got the big four--football, baseball, basketbally, and hockey. Soccer is trying it's hardest to gain a foothold, but it is neither violent enough nor fast paced enough to capture the American fanbase (and who wants a sport that can end in a 0-0 draw?). Over here, you've got football (soccer), cricket (cooler than it looks), and two types of Rugby. I don't know much about Rugby League, but I'm finding I quite enjoy Rugby Union. I've watched some on the telly (TV), with Guy providing instructions on rules and strategy and such, and I'm picking it up, slowly but surely.

So I decided that I wanted to see a game live. Tricky as the season is about over, but we just managed it yesterday. It was a gorgeous day out (feeling more like June or July than April--thank you, global warming) and it was good fun to watch it in person. I will brag a bit here: we wound up standing next to a sideline official, keeping stats and doing I don't know what else (he had a clip board and an official blazer) and at halftime he said to Guy (and not me insterestingly enough), that I seemed to have picked up the rules faster than some of the players. I was quite impressed with myself. :-)