Hooligans and Gentlemen

We attended the rugby match in March and somehow I never got around to actually publishing the write up I had about it.  I found it and decided it was time to share it.

I had never been to a rugby match and was very excited when we found out that the school cup match was to happen while we were here.  We bought our tickets online, and walked to the match between Methodist College (a grammar school, a type of high school slightly ranked above a secondary school, another type of high school) and Royal Belfast Academic Institute (RBAI - another grammar school).  We left our house with only a twenty minute walk and could already hear the rhythmic chanting coming from the stadium.  As we got closer, the chanting grew and became more fervent in its intensity.  Entering the stadium, we found our way to the “promenade” (the area reserved close to the field for standing only – we were told by a friend that this would be the best place to catch all the action up close), and huddled together in a vain attempt to stay warm in the unseasonably cold arctic wind.  The chanting became deafening loud, and we turned to watch the RBAI team charge onto the field.  After their huddle, the Methodist College team joined RBAI on the green and the rugged rugby players lined up for the start.  Friends have informed us that rugby is more of a "middle class" sport, as opposed to soccer/football which is played more by secondary schools in working class neighborhoods.  I think this quote from "Invictus" (2009) sums up the differences quite well: "Well, you know what they say about soccer. It's a gentleman's game played by hooligans. On the other hand, rugby is a hooligans game played by gentlemen."  However, it appeared that on school cup match day the only division was between the schools and not by socioeconomic status.  As the rugby ball started flying throughout the air, I often found myself cringing when the unlucky courier of the ball got plowed by players of both teams because these unnaturally muscular bodies were wearing little to no padding.  I was further surprised when only two players had to be treated for injuries sustained in this body-slamming contest (I would have guessed more injuries would have occurred).  I was astonished to count a total of five players on the field wearing any sort of head gear.  As the match moved forward and my worrying for the players subsided, I found myself becoming rather amused at how players were hoisted up by their teammates, like overly-muscular ballerinas in a choreographed lift, in order to catch the ball when it was thrown in from out of bounds.  That brevity of graceful movement then segued into a mass of interlocked triceps, hamstrings, and obliques, jockeying for a better position with the ball.  After a brief halftime and another half hour of play, Methodist College emerged as the champion of the cup.  It was amazing to see how a game like rugby could unite so many in the community.  Students were let out of school early, arriving in the stands still in their formal uniforms, and even two foreigners from America came out to see what all the fuss was about.  It was evident that rugby is more than just a game played by grammar schools in the UK.  As much as people may talk about the different classes who play what sport, rugby appeared to me as a source for unity on game day.  It appeared as a way of life, with streets bearing the names of “Rugby Ave” and whole blocks of houses donning matching colors for their respective schools. For at least one day, rugby ruled.