If a player charges down the ball as an opponent kicks it, or immediately after the kick, it is not a knock-on even though the ball may travel forward.

Too complicated? Not at all – this is a perfect example:

Now Rugby is off to a new start. Even though only Sevens will be played, which might sadden some hard-core fans, for a spectator sport this probably is a good choice. Of course there will be male and female teams – a big difference to 92 years ago. Women teams today are not rare at all and they do exceedingly well.

Maybe even a few of the young women on these teams I watched two weekends ago will be in Rio at the Olympics. Plus my favorite female referee, I hope!

So the first American movie about rugby opened in selected cinemas on September 26th and of course we went to see it. Normally sport movies are not my thing – I’d rather work or do other things than sit and stare at a screen watching some actors pretending to be athletes; but once again, with this being the first US film featuring rugby – so, yes, that was a must.

First things first: the movie was not as bad as expected.  It certainly is not a highlight in the history of cinema, just a pleasant run-of-the-mill story about sport being a way of redemption for some troubled young man.

But – and this is what made the film enjoyable, leaving the slightly cookie cutter-story aside -  the rugby scene were marvelous (as they should be, especially as real All-American rugby players were involved). Yes, I know, editing and sound mix and whatnot do play their part; still, these scenes were so great, I could watch the film all over again.

Really – even though I do not like sport movies.

That’s the spirit.

One opportunity to see the results of the careful nurturing of young players is the FYR High School Rugby International Invitational in Fullerton. This year the tournament was held during the Easter weekend and it was truly an international event:

Teams from California, Utah, Oregon, Wisconsin, Australia and Canada took part in two days of exceptionally good rugby. More than 700 young players were present to play and to pit their strength against each other.

Quite remarkable was the fact that so many girls teams took part in the tournament; even more so, that five female teams from Canada were present. Apparently this was a first in the history of High School Rugby tournaments in all of the US.

In the finals the Boys Cup went to the LA Cougars, the Girls Cup to the Columneetza Team from British Columbia.

They all started young and now they are the new breed helping to build the presence of Rugby in the US.

An outsider might perhaps notice that most of the attending guests do look rather fit and athletic, more so than one would usually expect to see in a ballroom; but apart from that they do not look one iota different from any nicely turned out crowd one expects when attending a ball.

A very enjoyable occasion it was, this 2007 ceremony. One of the highlights was the guest speaker, Mr. Jerry Collins, aka “The Terminator” of the New Zealand All Blacks.

To meet such an outstanding world-class rugby player is really something to write home about. Especially when the meeting happens in a ballroom and not on the pitch. After all, “The Terminator” carries his nickname for a reason.

Considering that the US is the reigning Olympic rugby champion, the sport itself is rather invisible. If you now do a double take and say “what?” – this fact is little known outside of rugby circles, but true.

Rugby was played at the Olympics in 1900 (Paris), 1908 (London), 1920 (Antwerp) and 1924 (Paris). 1920 the US team competed for the first time. There were only two teams, France and USA; the US team won. 1924 three teams played, France, the US and Romania. The US team won again, whereupon some nasty fighting started in the stadium. One US player was even struck down with a walking stick. When finally the American anthem was played, general jeering started.

After 1924 rugby was struck from the list of Olympic sports and never reintroduced. Hence, the US is to this day… well, I already mentioned that.

Rugby is truly an invisible sport in the US. Which does not mean that it is nonexistent. It is just not on the radar for many people, even though there are so many clubs around. A complete list of just the clubs in California can be seen here.

My favorite team logo is the one of Eagle Rock:

It is witty on so many levels and always makes me smile.

The US rugby team is currently ranked 15th on the world scene, just below Tonga and just above Romania. This is a far step up from the 30s rankings of a few years ago, but is still nowhere near the elite levels of the top eight. For an example of that level of talent see England (rank # 7).

England, as with all the top teams, fields a squad of professionals, some of them with million dollar contracts. The US on the other hand can boast only a handful of professionals with the majority of the squad filled out by weekend warriors with day jobs or college students. It was found out before the tournament that seven of the US players had to quit their jobs in order to play in the World Cup.

So it was easy to see why England viewed this match as a warm up before the actual tournament. By the end, though the score belied the emotional result, the US was seen as the winners of the game and the British press was reacting as if to Bunker Hill II.

So, soar, Eagles. You are on the right track. Congratulations and we’ll all be watching you against Tonga this week.

We’ve been subscribing to Setanta Sports through DirectTV for a year now. They air all the Rugby that’s fit to watch, including Magner’s League, Premiership and Super 14. All very high level and watchable at times, but this time of year is the time for the very best: Heineken Cup and Six Nations.

After watching the Heineken Cup drama of 2006 with both Leinster and Munster going for the cup vs. the best of English and French Rugby, I was hooked. Seeing these teams fight it out in the Magner’s League paled in comparison. Both teams are still in it this year, but not favored. I’m beginning to appreciate the Llanelli (Wales) Scarlets after watching them dominate Ulster and London Irish.

This month the Heineken Cup takes a break for Six Nations Rugby. This is the year for Irish Rugby fans. 2006 was slightly satisfying, with Ireland taking the Triple Crown (wins over England, Scotland and Wales). This year should see them seal the deal over France. The best Irish players are at their peak: O’Gara, O’Driscoll, O’Connell. Oh my.

England is falling back on some old geezers, trying to capture the faded glory of 2003 and Jonny fever. Good luck with that. France is dropping out of the race, despite all their brilliance last year. The big test for Ireland will be this weekend vs. Wales. Thank goodness for Tivo.