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The Daily Gamecock: USC
rugby needs more attendance, recognition |
By
Cait Costello
By simply observing which sports here at USC
require a ticket to go to a game, it is easy to
tell which sports we in the U.S. admire most:
baseball, basketball and, of course, football.
We have been raised in the environments
surrounding those three and we know what to
expect at a game. Other sports that are popular
in other countries tend to confuse us with their
environments and customs. I'm sure soccer
hooliganism makes sense in the U.K., but I don't
quite get it. Sometimes, we have to dive right
in to understand these strange sports.
Last semester, I attended a USC men's rugby game
against Clemson. All I knew about rugby
beforehand was that it was similar to football
but contained much more violence,because of an
utter lack of padding. What I saw at the game
reaffirmed that opinion and transformed me into
a rugby fan.
The actual game of rugby, including scoring, is
similar to football. However, the game is
continuous, making it much faster and more
exciting to watch than football. There are
elements of rugby that can't be found in other
sports, the "scrum" fighting to push the other
team away from the ball, and a "line out," in
which the teams pick up members of the team by
their shorts to catch the ball.
The USC Rugby Football Club was founded in 1967,
making it the oldest sports club on campus. It
is also one of only seven teams from southern
universities allowed to compete in the USA Rugby
South Division I competition, as well as many
other prestigious tournaments. Yet despite all
their accomplishments, the team does not receive
nearly the amount of Gamecock love it deserves.
The Clemson Rugby Club was also created in 1967
and likewise is the oldest club on that
all-too-orange campus. The rivalry between the
two rugby clubs is no less vicious than the one
between the two football teams; The only
difference is that the latter takes place at
Williams-Brice Stadium and the former down at
the fields next to the Strom Thurmond Wellness
and Fitness Center. USC has plenty of passionate
Gamecock fans; They all should come out to the
final home rugby match this season to cheer them
on to victory against Clemson in the second game
against the Tigers of the year.
These are our fellow Gamecocks and they have
earned praise for their recent move to a
Division I conference. Let's give it to them
tomorrow during their game. For more information
regarding the RFC, visit their website at
www.uscrugby.com. As the refrain of an
unprintable rugby song goes, "Saturday is a
RUGBY DAY!"
Source:
DailyGamecock.com |
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