"Rugby is a good occasion for keeping thirty bullies far from the center of the city" ~ Oscar Wilde
from first drop-kick
through end of the match
bulky forwards and speedy backs
endure painful hits
raking cleats ~ leg knocks
through end of the match
bulky forwards and speedy backs
endure painful hits
raking cleats ~ leg knocks
tough ruggers pretending
they're not bloodied and hurt
~~ because everyone knows
it takes leather balls
to play rugby
they're not bloodied and hurt
~~ because everyone knows
it takes leather balls
to play rugby
"Rugby is a game played by gentlemen
Football is a game played by barbarians"
Oscar Wilde
The leather balls line is great, but I must disagree with Mr Wilde. Football is a gentleman's game played by hooligans, while rugby is a hooligan's game played by gentlemen. (source unclear)
ReplyDeleteNice jam, Helen!
haha...aint that true...smiles and you are not far off from my jam which i will put up tomorrow...snickers...rugby players got to be a bit insane, i knew several in college...
ReplyDeleteAnd American Football, I suppose, would be a Capitalist's game played by People Escaping Poverty.
ReplyDeleteGood one! Was looking for 'scrum' in there somewhere :o)
ReplyDeleteI started to use words like scrum, ruck and pitch .. then realized I may as well have been speaking another language for most readers!
ReplyDeleteI don't know rugby from rugs here in California born and bred, but I know a scrum when I see one! Never fear the ignorance of your reader! For a good poem, I'll Google anything...
ReplyDeleteNice one Helen. I have a daughter who's mad into rugby (I'm football myself)
ReplyDeleteHooray Helen! A rugby one at last, and it made me smile.
ReplyDeleteOh, Helen, this is so good. I couldn't figure out what sport was being played here. Your poem made it CLEAR! Priceless conclusion.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad your wrote about rugby instead of just pretending to like I did - great poem! And I LOVE the last line :)
ReplyDeleteNot to worry, Helen. We understand lock, prop, scrum half, line out, and all the rest.
ReplyDeleteBTW, have you ever played rugby? Lots of fun. I played in university. People will tell you about broken bones, concussions, gashes. But those only happen when people don't know what they're doing (mostly). Engaging and entertaining game, not to mention good exercise.
What's next? Cricket? Now there's a gentleman's game.
Watching gorgeously athletic men play sports is never a problem... even if I don't understand the rules. :)
ReplyDeleteI love the sounds made by the first three lines. All those Ks play such a wonderful song. And the last two lines are a fantastic bit of wordplay and imagery.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't expecting to laugh at the end...but I did! Well done!
ReplyDeleteThe end was fun. Having never played I cant comment on the degree of safety in the sport. But, definitely looks bloody!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely not for the faint of heart, Namratha
DeleteClever stuff Helen, it made me smile... x
ReplyDelete🙃Nice one Helen
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by my blog today
Much💛love
I could well debate the gentlemen and hooligans comment! (This week's Jeopardy host has been Green Bay Packers QB -- hardly a hooligan!) I would have had to google scrum and ruck.
ReplyDeleteI think sports were invented reduce people killing each other as winning at sport might wear us out but doesn't usually kill us.
ReplyDeleteOr does it more slowly anyway. (Depending on the sport.)
DeleteWow. This is as gorgeous as when athletes display their best.
ReplyDeleteFantastic poem love the last line. Rugby is a religion here in NZ. I am not a big fan of it and still prefer soccer, the no 1 sport in the Netherlands
ReplyDeleteDear Marja, my Dutch-born second husband, father of my kids, introduced me to soccer and I much prefer it to other forms of footy. It seems to me to require much more skill and grace.
Deletethis is a fantastic poem about a great sport.
ReplyDeletei love watching the sport, that in all that power and bulky bodies, there is incredible elegance and grace in the feints and exchanges and runs.
That raised a laugh at the end. I am not a big fan of rugby, which is played in the part of Australia where I live now. Looks like licensed thuggery to me. I grew up and spent most of my adulthood too in the other part where Aussie Rules rules. I do like that better, and have a favourite team and all (cos you gotta, really) but my true favourite is soccer. See my comment to Marja above.
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