Rugby Violence

(Montpellier is in red. We are the Red Devils.)

Today, Dawn and I had the great opportunity to see a real live French Montpellier professional Rugby match. I have been dying to see a rugby match since living in Europe. A long while ago, while doing our city tour, Dawn and I met another American girl, 2 Norwegians and an Australian guy. It turned out that the Australian guy actually moved to Montpellier to play on their rugby team and then got a real day job as well with a computer company. We had exchanged numbers and had seen them all since then a few times. Luck would have it that the Australian guy invited us to see the match and even offered us free tickets today since they were playing a home game. So, not only did I get to see rugby, but I got to see it for free!

Knowing very little about rugby (except for its reputation for violence), I soon learned a lot after this match. There are 2 periods that are about 45 minutes long. I can't be sure exactly how long the period is because there was no clock at the stadium. The field is as big as an American football field, I am guessing. Each goal scored is worth 4 points and 2 extra points are awarded if they kick the field goal. Rugby balls are bigger than American footballs and bounce a ton more. It's a super violent sport. I would equate it with American football without pads or helmets. People just grab each other and pull them down and tackle them if someone has the ball. I loved it! I like rugby a lot more than football (soccer) because if someone gets knocked down, they don't roll around on the ground hoping to get a penalty. They just get right back up and keep playing. It's such a fluid sport with very little stopping except when a goal is scored. The guys just kept going and going. I was so amazed. Since they weren't big babies like many football players are, it was actually a little scary if someone was on the ground and didn't get up. We did see someone on our team get injured and he was carried off the field. We couldn't tell if it was a sprain or a broken leg but he certainly wasn't walking. Ah! The violence. It's almost as great as hockey. The guys were all dirty by the end and I was so impressed with their pure athleticism.

Unfortunately, we lost 26-28 but it was a great match anyway and it came down to the last 5 minutes so we only barely lost and I certainly cannot wait to see another game.