Upscale Rugby?

Turns out, we chose a rather fancy place to watch our first rugby match. Oops. When we went in the afternoon, it looked like a casual place, and it had a sign advertising it as a place to watch the game, so we said okay. But when we walked in last night, the first thing we saw were tons of candles, and the second thing we saw were about 15 people in prom dresses and tuxes. Yikes!

We asked the waitress, and she said that there was a fundraiser ball (sounds like “bowl,” which was quite a funny image) next door, and that we were actually overdressed for rugby. Although that was a major relief, we will still not convinced that this was the cultural experience of rugby we were looking for. Turns out, it wasn’t. There were a few polite smatterings of applause throughout the game, but that was the extent of it. Next time, we will go to the sports bar down the street, and I bet it will be a different experience.

On the bright side, we got to try an amazing cider beer and some delicious pizza while we watched.

As for the actual rugby, I don’t think I could have come away understanding less than I did before, but I also don’t think that there was much at all that I succeeded in figuring out. I picked out aspects that were like soccer and football, but each time I thought that I’d figured out a rule, the next play contradicted it, so I’d be back to ground zero. And… that’s pretty much how it went, until the game was over. Except that in the meantime, about half the team got massacred in one was or another. I suppose, given the lack of protective equipment, that I should have seen that coming, but I didn’t. Now I know.

I did learn that the All Black’s mascot is the silver fern, which is beautiful, simple, and lovely. Ferns are one of my favourite plants, and I love the silver on black, so I’m pretty sure that I was meant to be an All Black fan. Now I just have figure out (or sort out, as Kiwis would say) what the heck is going on in the sport that they play, and we’ll be set. I'll get to reading, as soon as I can find time.