"Go The Brumbies"

Yesterday, I made another trip into the city to do some basic shopping. Basically, I was being a tourist. I got some postcards, a shirt, and am now the proud owner of an Australian flag.

While in Canberra Centre, I came across the store "Brumbies HQ". The Brumbies are Canberra's team in the Super 14 competition (more on this in a minute).

I knew the Brumbies had a match that evening, and asked if I could get tickets there. Nope. I found it odd that a place called "Brumbies HQ" wouldn't sell Brumbies tickets, but no worries. I could probably get some at the gate. With that bit of news, I went home, but not before noting that I could ride the bus for free to the game.

This might be the first thing free I've seen in Australia outside of the BBQs during O-Week, I was happy.

So, later that night, I hopped on the bus and got down to Canberra Stadium. Had no problem getting a ticket (game was far from sold out) and even got a discount due to being a student. Good times all around.

Canberra Stadium is relatively small (it holds about 25,000 people) but it has a nice feel to it. It reminded me a little of Martin Stadium in Pullman. Everyone's close to the action. Unlike Martin Stadium, Canberra Stadium is an enclosed bowl all the way around. (Note: I would have pictures, but I left my digital camera in my room, and am posting from the Computer Centre. I'll update this later)

I got general admission tickets, and was in the South Endzone, maybe seven rows from the field. I watched the players warm up, even shot some video of it (again, its on the camera...be patient) and settled in for the game.

At the match there was no playing of the Australian anthem, and I was surprised how fast the game started. The Brumbies took the field, and then the game basically started. It couldn't have been more than two minutes from the time the teams came out of the tunnel to kickoff.

As soon as the ball was kicked I got this feeling, one I haven't had at a sporting event for a long time.

I had no idea what was going on. I knew the purpose of the game, I knew how scoring worked (kind of) but from a general standpoint, the game was lost to me.

The first scoring took place about two minutes into the contest when the Bulls (a team from South Africa) kicked a field goal to take a three-nill lead. The Bulls would add a few more penalty goals, then a try and conversion to take a 19-0 lead at the break.

The Brumbies had their chances (right in front of me, no less) but everytime they seemed to be going in for a try (think touchdown) they fumbled the ball. Here's where rugby gets interesting.

Other than running with it, a player can't propel the ball forward or make it go forward by any means. This means when the ball is fumbled, and inevitably goes forward, play stops and possession is rewarded to the other team. So, when the Brumbies got dangerously close to the tryline, only to lose control of the ball, the Bulls were given a nice chance to clear the ball.

The second half saw the Brumbies score a try (whoo!) and continue to get close to the tryline but not actually score on a few other occasions. A rather disgusted crowd (heard one fan refer to it as the, "worst Brumbies match ever.") left after witnessing a 19-7 defeat.

(By the way, the title of the post refers to what fans say at the game. Its not "go Brumbies" Its "Go the Brumbies". Other common things heard at the game were "RUN FORWARD!"; "What the hell was that?"; and the ever popular "You wanker!.")

When I got home, I looked up the rules online and the game made about 50 times more sense. I'll look them up again before going to my next game. And I'll probably have a slight clue as to whats going on.

Overall, it was a fun experience. It was a lovely night to be outside, and watching sports is always a good time. Saw some big hits and some really athletic plays. Rugby is fun to watch, and hopefully play, as I've entered into the "Touch Footy" league here on campus. Touch footy is touch rugby, and I'm sure you can figure out how that works.

Some other rugby related notes...

~The Super 14 is a rugby union competition featuring (get this) 14 teams. The teams are state or province based (meaning players from that area make up the squad). The teams are located in New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa (the national teams in these countries also face eachother in the "Tri-Nations" tournament).

~Rugby union and rugby league are two different things. What you see in the states is most likely union, and that is the style of play used in the Rugby World Cup. From what I can tell, the difference between union and league are about as much as the difference between baseball in the National and American league.

~The Rugby World Cup is this fall (starts in September) and will be played in France. USA will be there (as one of my friends here pointed out though, "If all you have to do is beat Barbados to get in, you should be making it.") The Eagles, as our national side is called, suck. During the last RWC, USA snapped a 16 year drought without winning a RWC match when they beat Japan.

Don't expect much out of the Eagles this year either. They're placed in a pool with defending champion England and world power South Africa. We are ranked ahead of Tonga and are just behind Samoa (the other two teams in our pool). But, considering the top 2 teams in each pool advance, it will take a shocking upset to get to the knockout state.

Alright, enough rambling about rugby. Though if you're interested in the sport here are some links to check out...

International Rugby Board: Rugby's version of FIFA.

Rugby World Cup

The Super 14

The Brumbies

USA Rugby

Until next time,

Alan