Rugby Part 1 - England For The Win!

Saturday was an exciting day for me. I went to my first rugby game!

England vs. Fiji in Twickenham. 

And although I went into it not knowing all of the rules (actually, I think I just knew they passed backwards and they wear short shorts) I left absolutely loving the game.

Full and massive stadium!

England team lined up

I was incredibly excited for the game itself, but I was probably more excited for this:

It's Fiji dancing! No just kidding...

I wish I could say Fiji put on an exciting dance number with perfect choreography and song lyrics titled Rubgy: The Musical, but I can't. That would be hilarious though. 

I can say that Fiji did a version of the Haka. Basically it's a war cry/chant with lots of stamping and shouting. And I was genuinely amused.

Also, what made the game even more amazing was this:

Side note: My fingers look really strange here. There was a string holding it around my neck and I was trying to take a pic and hold the stupid string out of the way but it just looks like I'm missing some fingers.

It's called Ref Link. You purchase this little radio-like box with an earpiece and it connects you to everything the referee is saying. It was a bit crackley, but it was really cool hearing all the calls that were being made on the field. And you could hear lots of the grunting and general rugby playing man noises when the refs were close enough to the action. That was pretty funny.

Imagine hearing all the GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR throughout the game. Thanks Ref Link!

England absolutely annihilated Fiji. That was nice. There are not many things worse than your team losing (as I've discussed before), especially when you've traveled to London and still have a dreary ride back home. Losing just sucks.

The final score. Go on England!

Yeah and everyone who said "rugby is just like American football!" lied. These are the same people who say cricket is just like baseball. LIES.

To sum everything up, I now can say I've been to and enjoyed a rugby game. Obviously, I think I'll stick to running. I won't be a former dancer turned running enthusiast turned rugby all star any time soon. But it was a great game to watch and I can't wait to do it all again!

Tune in tomorrow for Part 2 - my American/expat list of things you should know about rugby when you know virtually nothing about rugby to begin with. Lots of differences between rugby and other sports. Lots of Americanisms. Lots more reasons to get excited!

Have you ever been to a rugby game? What do you think of the sport? Exciting? Too violent? If it's not popular where you live, do you wish it was? Anyone want to take a beginners Haka class with me? (kidding, kind of) 
What are some of your favorite sports to watch? Do you prefer watching on TV or at the stadium?