Super Rugby

I was surprised yesterday by Chris with tickets to a Super 15 Rugby match! The Auckland Blues vs. the South Island Highlanders, a preseason match between two rugby union club teams. The official season started last night as well.

We grabbed amazing seats only a foot away from the pitch. Being able to see the players so close really helps you feel the intensity of each match. (I was actually rooting for the Blues but there was only Highlander flags around.) It started off with a little boy being dropping off in a helicopter(!) to drop off the official game ball. 

Then the guys were off, tackling, kicking, throwing and scoring.

 

For those of you who have never seen a rugby match this is a scrum.

This is a line out.

And this is a bunch of rugby guys stretching ;)

The Blues won 29 to 28. It was a really exciting match!

My First Rugby Match

First time I saw rugby being played was at school. Not really understanding the rules of an oval shaped ball being kicked forward and thrown backwards I'd see the team practice as I'd walk to the gym. Then when I came to New Zealand it was rugby everywhere. And then I learned that it wasn't just one kind, but two. Two different types of rules, just in New Zealand, league and union. And then you have Aussie rules, and Gallic football, the Sevens, and Six Nations, and I'm pretty sure that's maybe half of them. Great. And then the New Zealand Warriors were playing at a stadium near by, the only New Zealand league team. Chris got us tickets and a few of us got together and went to watch.

The energy was amazing, drinking was plenty, and the stands were full despite the drizzly weather. We watched the first half from the stands.

 

And the second from behind the try line. I much rather prefer the second view as the players were scoring only a few feet in front of us. You can actually see how physically demanding this game is when you're that close. By the end I finally grasped the basics by asking way too many questions.

 

 It would take too long to explain what everything is called or how it's done, but basically:

• The game starts on a coin toss in the tunnel, then whoever wins gets to pick who gets to receive the ball first. 
• Then the opposite guys have x amount of tackles to get the ball back. 
• Kicking forward is allowed, as in throwing backwards. 
• You cannot tackle anyone unless they have the ball. If the ball goes forward it automatically goes to the opposite team. 
• Penalties get solved by either a scrum (guys all hundded together pushing the other teams guys) or a line out (one guy from each team gets picked up to try and catch the ball). 
• The referee is king and if a player gets hurt, unless is on the verge of a concussion, he usually continues to play.

And there you have the basic rules of rugby.