Dude - those are not helmets, they are scrum caps, whose primary purpose is to protect against abrasions and cauliflower ears in the scum. They do have very light padding, but that doesn’t really protect much against head knocks. They aren’t required under the Laws at any level, but a lot of kids (and even some backs…
RugbyRef
rugbyref
Correction: your certainly may legally fend with a push, but you may not strike. In other words, if you engage with a bent arm (open palm to defender’s body) then push him away, you are in the clear. If, however, you strike him, particularly in the face of head (at the adult level, youth fends cannot be to the head)…
I can speak to this as I am, in fact, a rugby union referee. None of these fends looks to be a strike - the ball carrier engages with a bent arm to the chest and then pushes off. That’s legal. That said, if he caught the tackler in the face of head, at that age grade, I would certainly be penalizing. Same if he was…
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Speaking of monsters and racism (kind of, but as good an excuse as any to post this chestnut):
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Is that backpack at the end a Blind Melon “No Rain” shout-out? I really want it to be, because that video was the first thing I thought of when I watched this one.
Everything about this kid, from his name to his hair, screams LAX BRO. He missed his true calling.
The radical answer is to take it back closer to its roots, with little to no protective equipment and a requirement that tacklers wrap their tackles without shoulder charges. Take away the helmets and padding, and the players lose their sense of invincibility and will play more in control. Further, you’ll see the…
He went to the first home game his freshman year and left before the half. He texted me that it was worse than high school football (and we live in NY, not Texas). No wonder day drinking is a profession in Oxford.
This. Thank you NBCSN, and Go you Sarries!
Umm, best known as AMY FUCKING POND, thank you very much.
Still a thing in adult club rugby. Less so in college rugby with the “liability” concerns of today. The rugby is much better than it used to be, though.
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Well it’s No, Nay, Never . . .
No, Nae, Never!
Nighthawks works.
+1 side of mashed potatoes with extra gravy
The key is the lift and turn; if you lift the player and take him past horizontal, you must bring him to ground safely. Joubert tends to be a bit card-happy, though that’s the trend in 7s these days. That said, all 3 cards were warranted, as was the penalty try.
Carlin Isles and Nate Ebner get lots of press in Men’s rugby, and both are very good: Isles for his obscene speed and Ebner for toughness (and his back story), but don’t sleep on Perry Baker (Philadelphia Eagles prospect who came to rugby after failing an NFL physical due to an undiagnosed knee injury) or Danny…