So instead, we had a chalk talk. Although it seemed a little amateur and I think it would have been way more beneficial for new players, it did honestly provoke some thought in me. Like the big rugby practice I went to a few weeks ago, it covered a ton of things I already knew but sometimes unconsciously don't remember in a game situation. So I think these things are good to remember and review on a regular basis, so they stick during game time. I want to answer some of the questions on my own, so I can really give a more elaborate and personal answer than the one worded responses we were giving at the chalk talk:
What is Rugby?
Rugby is a family (some people laughed at me when I said that even though I was completely serious). It is a sport that brings out the inner personal strength, leader, and team player in everyone. It's a sport that makes everyone who plays it feel special and important because every person involved in a rugby team on and off the field matters. There are no egos in (good) rugby, and everyone looks out for one another (hence, one reason why it's like a family). It's also a culture and a lifestyle; once you get engulfed and into the ways of rugby you can never leave it. The people and the sport are incredibly addicting. It welcomes every single individual with open arms. Unlike other sports that require specific body types or a cookie cutter requirement of a human being to enjoy and be involved in the sport, rugby takes any individual with a huge heart and a huge amount of effort. It's a sport that pushes your every limit for the entire 80 minutes of play in a game. It can cause you to realize the true potential of physical and mental strength you never even knew you could possibly have. And in rugby, you're never alone :)
Why is rugby in Europe so much better than rugby in the United States?
....is it necessarily better? My friend is actually studying abroad in Ireland right now and playing rugby for their women's team, and they apparently LOVE her and think she is phenomenal at rugby (which isn't a shocker, but she's from the United States and wasn't necessarily worse than them...or I wouldn't imagine her being worse because she's so good!). I guess I'm not one to fully answer this question because I have unfortunately not watched much professional rugby around the world nor learned much about the history of rugby around the world. But if I were to make an educated guess I would think that at least one reason why rugby seems to be better (or is better) in Europe is simply because it is more popular in those countries. I would think that in those countries where it is so popular, they probably have more athletes who play the sport, live it, and absolutely love it. And this has also been occurring in these countries for years and years, a milestone more than the United States where rugby is still relatively new. Not to say that the players who play in the United States don't play, live, and love rugby (I'm sure myself and many others here in the States are prime examples of them), but I'm guessing that there are countries who have a much larger population of these players and begin developing these players at an extremely young age. This leads into another general reason why rugby in the United States might not be as good as the rugby in Europe; it is certainly not a generally played sport at a young age. There are hardly any high school teams (until college not only did I barely know what rugby was, but I had no idea it existed for women) and virtually no training or playing for any age younger than that. A major component of being good at rugby is having experience in playing the game. That is why the younger you start the better. I wish every day that I was able to begin playing rugby at a younger age because I already feel like I have an incredible amount to catch up on!
How do you win a rugby game?
I think the number one way to win a rugby game is to perform every single play and act in the sport as a team. No one should ever be doing anything by themselves, whether it is running the ball, rucking, firing on defense, etc. Also, a major component of winning games is ball possession. This includes good rucking, good defense, and continuous play when on offense. As the team I play on has learned the hard way, you can play good defense all day but if you don't maintain ball possession in the end then it doesn't even mean anything. We would hold a team at the tri line forever, but because we could never seem to get our own ball possession it didn't even matter. Communication in a team is also vital. It's connected to the idea that you win games by doing things as a team, but that cannot occur without communication. Every single person on the field has to be consistently talking with one other through giving direction and assisting one another. I think the more connected a team is in every little thing that happens on a field, the more things are going to turn out right for them. It builds trust in a team (also necessary), so that more plays can work and more successful defense can occur. You also win a rugby game by fully being focused and 100% prepared for anything during the entire 80 minutes of a match. Endurance physically and mentally comes in here; there is no time for slacking or laying off in rugby no matter how much you're winning by. And this leads into one of the most important factors to winning a game: fitness. I think the most fit rugby team is almost always the team that comes out on top. There is no substitution, no excuse, and no reason why every rugby team shouldn't be fit. But the ones that pay attention to it the most and utilize it as a weapon as much as possible will be more successful, in my opinion.
What are your goals for the upcoming season?
(Even though it's already almost halfway through the season...but I won't even get into that...) I would like to reach my highest potential as a player possible in order to benefit the team. I would like to be able to support absolutely anyone when they need it, and that is why I work so hard on my fitness. I want to always be able to do my job to the greatest ability I can, but I would also like to be able to help anyone when they make any sort of mistake. If someone misses a tackle and the person is on a breakaway, I want to be able to hunt that person down and annihilate them before scoring a tri so the person on our team doesn't feel bad about missing the tackle. I want to be able to support anyone when they're making a good run on offense; I would never want anyone to be penalized or not receive the benefit of making a breakaway just because they get tackled by someone and the other team ends up with the ball from no one supporting them (I think that's always been something that absolutely kills me, watching someone make such a sweet play and then having to lose the gain because the rest of the team decided to take a break or couldn't keep up). Basically, I want to aid the team as much as I possibly can. I think that a major way I could aid the team more is by working on speaking up more. I would like to play scrumhalf, so obviously a loud voice is mandatory, but I know that in general speaking up and talking more really helps the team (and it's an important life skill to have, ha). I also really hope that I can bring this team together, and cause people to feel a loving family bond that I have always had in my heart for this team.
I wish I could remember the other questions, but I'm a tad exhausted at the moment. But on a final note, I received such a wonderful rugby compliment today and I just have to say how much it truly meant to me. It's been tough for me to see my own progress this season not just because we've only played in one tournament and practices have been dismal, but everything that has been going on with the team has been really degrading. Whenever someone doesn't want to come to practice or when things don't work out with the rugby team, I take it as a personal blow. I consider these people my friends, and I consider rugby like hanging out because I enjoy it so much (well, it's fun and relaxing and like free time for me because I love it so much....but I obviously don't slack off and not work hard).
But anyways, today I went to the Saint Patrick's Day parade held downtown, and tons of people come to it. We staked out a spot that ended up being next to some women on the city's women's rugby team, so here and there we chatted with them. One of the women was talking about how she had nicknames on her college team and a different team she played on, but never on the team she plays here. So I told her I only had one nickname, which is Big Blue, and she said, "Big Blue....that sounds really familiar....hold on, let me think about it....oh! You went to the rugby tryouts, didn't you?" and I told her that I did and she said, "Oh I've heard of you! You did a good job, a really really good job." And it was the best thing to hear. There was even one time where my friend jokingly told me I was bad at rugby, and I haven't been able to get the words out of my head since. But hearing that compliment today really meant a lot to me. I don't even know if she meant it as much as it meant to me, or if she was even remembering the right person, but even the thought of being good at rugby gives me hope.
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