the rugby world cup is just around the corner! believe it or not, i’m excited.

did you know the u.s. has an international rugby team? did you know they actually qualified for the world cup? neither did i until four years ago.

rugby is a big sport in much of the world, and particularly in commonwealth countries, so i’ve been learning as i go along. (and no matter what any rugby enthusiast would want you to believe, it’s really not all that dissimilar from american gridiron football. that kind of talk is considered heresy in these parts, but it’s true nonetheless, and i should know.)

england are the reigning world champions, and there was much craziness and celebrating back in 2003 when they won. south africa and australia are always serious contenders for the crown, and new zealand is the bookies’ perennial heavyweight favourite to walk away with the cup. so, yeah – some serious rivalry is to be expected in these heavily antipodean parts of south london, and the pubs are guaranteed to be chokka.

i, of course, will be pulling for the americans, though i admit i can’t get my hopes up too high when i look at the pool we’re in. i mean, we might have an outside shot against samoa or tonga if their team gets food poisoning (those are some *big* teams and we’re 2:1 underdogs), but we really haven’t got a prayer against south africa or england. we’re given similar odds to romania, namibia, georgia and japan. i mean, you don’t have to know much about rugby to know that the romanians are probably not considered a dominant team. i may be a fan, but i’m also a realist.

the u.s. face off against england in the first game of our pool on 8th september, and though i’ll actually be stateside that day and have the time difference in my favour, i doubt it’ll be easy to find on television. i doubt many people in the u.s. know or care that we have a rugby team, or that there’s a world cup on at all – while football/soccer is catching on slowly, i think rugby-fever is still several years away from hitting american shores. which is a shame, really. rugby is an intense, fast-paced, physical game to watch… and we’re not half bad at it.

international marital relations will also be tested in the jen and jonno household on 30th september when the u.s. face south africa in what is sure to be a red, white and blue bloodbath. showdown!! mark your calendars.

jimmy cliff – the harder they come

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