Tag: Rugby

…all of them should learn from rugby

Needless to say, I agree with everything filmmaker Werner Herzog has to say about rugby in this excerpt from a Vulture interview. They were discussing Association Football (aka) and the dishonor of taking a dive:

No, that’s an awful disgrace. It’s a disgrace. And it shouldn’t be [allowed]. And all of them should learn from American football. And more so, all of them should learn from rugby. What a manly, decent sport that is. There is a great kind of honor to rugby. I really love rugby for that.

They’re less protected than in American football.
Yes, and [I love] the kind of dignified way they deal with one another. Even though sometimes they sort things out in a brief fistfight. The ref lets them sort it out very quickly and then be decent again.
–Werner Herzog interviewed by Steve Marsh (bold) for Vulture Transcript

*Hat tip to Michele Banks.

Breaking Bio

A few weeks ago, I talked with the crew at Breaking Bio for Episode 42, including The Finch & Pea‘s own Heidi Smith. We covered a lot of ground, including rugby and the oddity of regularly doing science with a black eye. The facts that I’m not exactly sure when they hit “record” and that it apparently required weeks of editing makes me a bit nervous to watch. But you should watch, and mock me in the comments.

D-U-K-E!

Photo by Scott Cara
Photo by Scott Cara

As you all probably know from my posts on NCAA basketball, in which I use fawning examples of Coach K‘s tactical and strategic genius, I went to Duke. You also probably know that I played rugby, a lot of rugby.

Though I will try, words cannot express how proud I am that Duke was the runner-up for the National Small College Rugby Organization* national championship this year, losing in the final to St. John’s University 31-16.

My first season (1997-1998), I don’t think we won a single game. In my senior season, after transitioning to Division 3 to play against comparably sized schools, we went undefeated in our regular season league play. As a former team captain and club president, I’ve watched from a distance with great pride as the club has continued to build upon its successes, culminating in this year’s achievement.

If you live in Hartsville, SC and think you might be hearing slightly off-key rugby songs drifting on the wind from the direction of my house tonight, you are right.

*Duke may be an NCAA Division I school for major sports, but the actual undergraduate student body size is only about 6500. For non-scholarship/club sports, this makes Duke comparable to smaller colleges.

Eagles at Rugby World Cup

Having played with and/or traded knocks with many of the players on the Eagles World Cup side, I could not be more pleased with their play so far. These guys are playing up to their potential. The quality of the play (as well as the improved TV coverage in the US) should make everyone hopeful for the future of rugby in the US. Also, coach Eddie O’Sullivan deserves high marks for his selection of talented and complementary players.

This is Good Rugby

Actually, this is GREAT rugby. On a weekend when a very committed Italy defeated a disinterested France in the Six Nations, the highlight was Chris Paterson‘s try saving tackle against Ben Foden (one of the most dangerous runner’s in the Northern Hemisphere) in the England v Scotland test. This is fabulous defense. Poor Dr. Mrs. Rugbyologist was forced to watch this at least seventeen times. You should watch at least once.

*Hat tip to RugbyDump.com

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