RUGBY!!

I believe it was after a particularly violent rugby match in the spring that my mom turned to my dad and said, "I hope they've never heard of rugby in Chile." This was basically her way of saying that I should take a break from rugby, let my injuries heal, and perhaps grow back some brain cells.

Unfortunately, they have heard of rugby in Chile, and it is much more popular than in the United States. In Valparaiso, and in Chile in general, there was a large English influence due to the fact that Valparaiso is a port city and the English have for a long time controlled a lot of trade in Chile. Of course with them, the English brought rugby, and it is a tradition that continues today. I don't think I need to say that it is not on the level of soccer in terms of popularity, but it might come second...

Right now, the Rugby World Cup is going on in France, and while Chile's national team is not playing, Argentina's is. Most Chileans that are interested in rugby seem to be rooting for the Pumas, to have the pride of a South American team winning. And since rugby is somewhat popular, all the games are televised live on ESPN and then replayed later at night. Our favorite bar, Cafe Journal, also televises all the games, and is giving away prizes. I think I'll be spending a lot of time there between now and October 20th, when the final is.

But most importantly, they have women's leagues here! [although they play 7's and not 15's like I am used to]. Sigrid got me in contact with the University of Playa Ancha's team, a university that is on the other end of Valparaiso from where I live. I had planned on going to a practice two weeks ago, but my ankle injury prevented that. I finally decided that I had to go and at least check it out this week.

I sent a message to the coach, whom they call "Professor" here, to explain who I was and that I wanted to come check out the team. I had gotten the information on how to get to the field where they practice in the form of a description. When I asked here it was, it turned out to be on the very edge of Vina, closer to a suburb called Quilpue. I got on a mirco for Quilpue and simply waited until I saw signs for the other campus of the Santa Maria University. The profe called me back as I was getting off the mirco, and met up with me to take me to the field.

Being totally unprepared that rugby would be a big sport here in Chile and not having that much room to pack things in, I decided to leave all the rugby gear that I had behind in the U.S. Fortunately, I was able to borrow a pair of soccer cleats for practice and I think I might end up buying a cheap pair of cleats to use for the rest of the semester.

As I stepped down onto the field, an amazing rush of excitement came over me. The girls were goofing around, kicking and catching the ball - exactly what my team at home does before practice starts. I had gotten so pumped watching all the world cup games that I couldn't wait to get out there and play again.

A couple of things were fortunate about the UPLA's team. One, all the girls were super nice and friendly and excited about having another player on their team. Two, all the rugby terms are the same in English and in Spanish, so there wasn't anything that was lost in translation. Three, the drills that we did were super similar to the drills that we do back at UMBC. I was especially happy when we practiced the "punch, punch, pass" play that we had been working on last semester at UMBC. (If your on UMBC rugby you should know what I'm talking about, if you're not, I wouldn't worry too much about it :-) ). Finally, although there were only six girls there to practice, the men's team from UPLA was there to help us hold the rucking pads, etc.

It was so great being out there playing rugby again that I'm sad we won't have practice next week because of the vacations... but I'll be back out there after vacations to play more!!