Sweat flows down the faces of the players as they decide how to drive the ball down the field. They only thing on their minds is how to avoid getting tackled or losing possession of that leather-covered oval ball that is the key to scoring and, therefore, winning.
Sound like a typical scenario during a game of football? Perhaps. But it could just as easily be rugby, a game that is gaining popularity in the United States on both college campuses and at the national level.
Rugby was the fastest-growing team sport in the country between 2007 and 2009, according to the most recent study by America’s Sporting Goods Manufacturer’s Association. The study saw a 20 percent growth in the number of players during those two years.
USA Rugby, the governing body of the sport here in the States, estimates that last year alone, 360,000 children played a non-contact form of the sport in school.
In June, the second annual Collegiate Rugby Championship took place. Right now, the Rugby World Cup is heading into the quarter finals, with the final showdown set to air on NBC Sports Oct. 23.
While all of this doesn’t mean rugby is necessarily taking the U.S. by storm, it’s clear that the sport is gaining a foothold. America’s love of team contact sports, combined with the rugby sevens events that will be included in the 2016 summer Olympic games in Rio de Janeiro, mean that its popularity is predicted only to increase.
Rugby as a pastime sport in America started with college teams formed as far back as the 1840s. The game, which bears a similarity to American football, is typically played with either 7 or 15 players on each side. The major difference between rugby and football is that in rugby the ball cannot be thrown down the field but instead must be carried or kicked toward the goal at the opposite end of the field.
Rugby is also typically played with far less padding and armor than American football.
Modern American football is said to have evolved from rugby, which was the most popular collegiate sport in the early 1900s, according to the documentary A Giant Awakens about the rise of American rugby.
Although America’s passion for rugby fizzled shortly after winning the gold medal for the sport in the 1924 Olympics, the old spark has been rekindled by such organizations as USA Rugby and Rugby America, which offer the latest rugby news as well as opportunities for those interested to find out what kind of rugby clubs and events can be seen in their local areas.
Hollywood movies such as 2008’s Forever Strong and 2009’s Invictus have also helped bring the sport out of the shadows and into America’s living rooms.
America’s men’s rugby sevens union team, the Eagles, played in their first World Cup in 1987. Despite the years of practice and play, the union is still currently ranked by the International Rugby Board as second tier. This means that the sport is not currently competitive at the highest level of play with the unions of England, France and Australia.
This fact was made painfully clear when the Eagles faced off against the Australian team during their last match of the 2011 Rugby World Cup and were flattened by the Aussies in a game that ended in a score of 67-5.
Although the game is still relatively small, the prospect of sevens rugby being featured in the 2016 and possibly the 2020 Olympic games will hopefully bring more attention to the sport, as players, fans and sponsors begin to see both the cultural and economic gains that a sport like rugby can provide.
And while it may never replace sports like football or baseball in the hearts of Americans, there is room enough for a sport that showcases the ideals of teamwork, fair play and fun.