jharispe

Hi ! My name is Sammy, and I'm a rugby ball.

Yesterday, I played my very first match, with the men in Black. When I was young I heard a lot of stories about Rugby. I learned my grandfather crossed the goal-line three times during his first match and my grandmother took off in the air and went over the cross bars. I often heard too about my father's and my aunt Jackie's achievements. They played on the best teams in the world. The Rugby is a wonderful sport, I've waited all my life to play it. The Rugby is a full-contact team sport. It is played on a field, divided into two parts. Each team is supposed to carry the ball behind the opponent's goal line.

Before the match, I was waiting in a room, next to the changing room. I could hear player's voices, and their encouraging words. They were also making a “kick off”, to choose which team would start the game. For that, they tossed a coin, then the winning captain decided.

After that, I felt more anxious, especially when I heard the whistle. It was time to play.

Someone came for me, to enter the field. At that moment I discovered all the people in the stadium. It was very impressive. The players put themselves on the ground to start to play. The players have different roles and positions. There are fifteen players on a team, and we can divided them in two parts ; the forwards and the backs.

The Forwards There are 8 forwards.

N°1 Loose head props, positioned to the left of the Hooker (n°2), and N°3 Tight head props, positioned to the right of the Hooker. We call those players “the big ones” because they have a very impressive physique and are normally the largest players on the field. Their role is to support the Hooker in the scrum and to provide efficient, dynamic support for the jumpers in the line out. They are famous for the scrums. During this action they bind each other to create the first line.

N°2 Hooker, is the player in the middle. The Hooker uses his feet to “hook” the ball in the scrum. He also throws the ball in, at line outs. He is a key player in the scrum as he is the main force pushing and resisting.

N°4 and n°5 Locks. They constitute the second row. Their role is to recover the ball during line-outs, rucks and mauls. They are almost the tallest players on the team.

N°6 Blindside flanker and n°7 Open side flanker. We can also call them the wing forwards. It is their responsibility to clean up messy balls to start a new phase of play. In the scrum, they do less pushing than the tight five, but they have to break away quickly and attempt to tackle the opposing backs if the opposition wins the scrum. Due to their role, they should be fairly heavy, but still have speed and power.

N°8 forward, is the only position that doesn't have a specific name. He packs down at the rear of the scrum, does less pushing than locks or props, controlling the movement of the ball to the scrum-half with his feet. During the scrum, he can choose to pick and run with the ball like a back.

Then, there are the backs. They are often the most creative and evasive players on the field, relying on running, kicking and handling skill, to break the defensive line, instead of brute force.

N° 9 Scrum half. He is the all important link between the forwards and the backs, and is invariably at the center of the action. A scrum half, is normally relatively small but with a good degree of vision, and the ability to react to situations very quickly. They are often the first tackler in defense and are behind every scrum, maul or ruck to get the ball out.

N° 10 Fly half. He is crucial to a team's game plan. He usually makes tactical decisions. He needs to think quickly in a game, and needs to be able to communicate with all his backs and adapt them to the attack/defense happening. The Fly half is generally the kicker of the team.

N° 11 Right wing and n° 14 left wing. Wings are almost the quickest members of the team, but they also need to be able to side step and otherwise avoid opponents in order to score tries.

N° 12 Inside centre and n° 13 Outside centre. They need to have a strong all-round game : they need to be able to break through opposition lines and pass the ball accurately. When attack turns into defense they need to be strong in the tackle.

N°15 Fullback. He stands back to cover defensive options as a “sweeper” behind the main line of defense, to remove the other backs principally against any opposition kicks. Increasingly, full backs are used to start counter-attacking moves from the back. Thus, they need to have excellent attacking skills, speed and often field running prowess.

The Black captain, n°10 carried me. The referee (the man who enforces the rules) ordered n°10 to start the match.

Bam ! My first match started

I took off in the air, and it was exactly as my mom told me. Incredible. It was so impressive. Just before I landed, I felt the tension of the players on the ground. They were fighting together to catch me and I felt so desired. The opponent didn't catch me and I touched the floor after he touched me. We call this action a forward pass. The referee blew his whistle and ordered a scrum. (A scrum is an action to re-start the game in a fair way when an involuntary error has have been committed. This action is created with the 8 forwards of each team. They bind each other with at least one arm. The n°9 introduces the ball, and the hooker has to hook the ball, to push it outside of the scrum). The black n°9 introduced me into the scrum and he caught me and passed me to n°10, who passed me to n°12, and this one passed me to the n°13, but an opponent tackled him, caught me and kicked me. I took off in the air and landed on the black side behind the touch line. The referee stopped the game because someone was bleeding, someone of the Black third line. To restart the game, we made a touch (this action allows us to put the ball back in the game. Some players - the number depends on the teams - place themselves perpendicularly to the touch line. The hooker of the team with the advantage sends the ball straight in front of him and the players raise one or two of them to catch the ball.) So the Black hooker sent me and n°6 Black caught me but he made a forward pass when he released me. The referee whistled and ordered a scrum. Blue n°9 threw me inside of it and took me on the way out. Scrums are still a big moment of emotion. Where two teams wrestle. The Blues tried an attack, by passing me to the left wing n°11, but he was tackled and I crossed the touch line again. So we made a touch again. The Black hooker sent me into the middle of the players. n°8 Black caught me and passed me to n°9, who one passed me to n°10, but he made a forward pass. The referee ordered a scrum for the Blue players. The audience was irritated because of the referee. So they insulted him. They screamed, they hit billboards. They were scary. The Blue scrum half threw me into the scrum, caught me on the way out, and passed me to n°10 who sent me on the Black side to n°13 Blue who made a forward pass. The referee ordered a scrum for the Blacks. The Black scrum half threw me inside the scrum. I heard the guys encouraging their respective teams to push together at the same time. Black Hooker hooked me with his foot and threw me out of the fight. N°9 caught and passed me to n°10, who passed me to n°12 who ran awhile avoiding the tacklers and passed me to n°13. The audience started to encourage the players. Their voices got stronger and stronger. We ran for 15 meters before an opponent tackled us, but I was thrown to n°11 before I touched the floor, and we ran together for the rest of the field, avoiding an one on one tackle and we crossed the try line.

YES ! My first try.

He stood up with me in his arms, and his team mates came to give him a hug, to congratulate him. The audience stood up too and claped thunderously. It was a wonderful day. I was sure my parents would be proud of me. The score board changed. 5 to 0 for the Blacks. Then, n°10 took me for the conversion. (the conversion consist of kicking the ball between the crossbars. If the player is successful the team wins two points. The field fell silent. N°10 took a run up and shot ! Bam again, I was flying in the air, and... I did it ! I passed the crossbars ! Yeah !

Then, the game started again. We did line-outs, scrums, mauls and rucks. A routine began and I started getting bored. (We call a maul an action when the player who carries the ball is caught by one or several opponents. All the players are on their feet and in physical contact. It ends when the ball is on the ground or when a player carrying it emerges from the maul or when a scrummage is ordered). A ruck is a spontaneous scrum where one or several players of each team surround the ball on the ground. They have to stay on their feet and in physical contact. A ruck ends when the ball is out or when it is on the goal line. We ran all over the field, we ran, we walked, we flew. It was awesome !

The first half came to an end, and the referee whistled for the half time. The players grouped together in the middle of the field, in their respective teams. I took advantage of that moment to remain in the obscurity of the stands and have a rest. After five minute's break, the referee started the second half of the game. The Blacks caught me and they went into the adversary's side. One more time, they positioned themselves on the field. The Blacks started this second half with a maul. They performed different attacks to make a try. Well, their efforts were rewarded, I crossed the line one more time. It's n°14 who put me on the ground. I failed for the conversion, but they weren't offended. We continued to play. The game was intense, all the players wanted the victory for his team. At this time, the Blue players started a very beautiful attack of 60 meters. The action started with a scrum. I passed through a lot of hands. From n° 8 to n° 9 to n° 10 to n°13 to n°14. And they made a try. Remarkable. I passed this conversion with n°10 Blue. We were, running out of time before the end of the game, five minutes exactly. I flew again and again, until n°10 made a drop goal and I passed the crossbars. YEE HAW ! The referee whistled three times. End of the game.

Black n° 9 threw me in the air and screamed for happiness, he raised his hands to the sky. To thank God. I landed on the floor in the centre of the audience's cheers. It was a fantastic match ; my team won. I thought my father would be proud of me. The players of my team were kissing, crying and taking each other in their arms, and they also shook the hands of the opponents. I was overwhelmed with joy, looking at them, but I was surprised when they started to sing « on n'a pas pû chanter Gérard… » or something like that. They planned a party to celebrate their victory. So they went to the changing room, to take a shower and change clothes.

And, they left me on the ground.