When I
used to play rugby there was a moment during the match, where I felt the fear
and thrill in the anticipation of the next 80 minutes. That moment was at the
beginning of the match, when the referee blew his whistle and the opposition
fly-half kicked the ball into the air towards me and my fellow team mates.
There were generally two ways the ball would be kicked to us. The first would
be a quick short kick luring us forward to get the ball, whilst allowing the
opposition to steal the ball in mid-air or quickly allowing them to nail our
unsuspecting player (or me) to the ground. The other was a high, slow ball that
fell deep in our territory which, even though it allowed us time to gather the
ball, meant we were pinned back in our territory. Each approach presented its
own problems, but also provided the excitement of rugby and is what made the
game so fun to play.
