Welcome to the House of Pain!

aka Carisbrook Stadium, the home of the Otago Highlanders. This is a Highlander. Real tough guys can get away with wearing kilts.

Now, as an American at my first rugby game last night, I was naturally curious about the Kiwi obsession with rugby. I've been told it is like American football, except they just don't stop. And they don't. The audience doesn't stop cheering (or drinking, but the game is sponsored by the local brewery). The players don't stop moving. Ever. A medic could be working on a guy's knee in the middle of the field, and the other players just try not to run into/over them.

Cheap student tickets mean you get to experience the real crowd. No box seats with fancy cocktails here! Painted students, drunk dudes, and an enthusiastic crowd in general with standing room only. And we won! 6-0, which is apparently an unusual score.

Here is a shot of what I'll call a faceoff, though I know that's from hockey (Otago is in blue and yellow, Canterbury is in red and silver). I still need to learn my rugby terms. Anyway, the referee (guy in black) drops the ball, or something like that, and the huddles of players from each team try to grab the ball. And I don't mean "huddles" like American football. These guys charge at each other like two opposing herds of bulls. Intense! Eventually one team will get the ball, and off they go. But you cannot throw the ball forward, only sideways. It can be kicked forward though, and run forward. If it is "fumbled", someone scoops it up and takes off with it. Rugby hardly ever stops! I think there were some penalties, and stops for those, but I'm not sure what they were for. When the ball is thrown/kicked in from the sides, each team picks a player to hoist into the air to try to catch it. I guess the closest comparison I have is cheerleaders hoisting one cheerleader in the air, but that seems like such a terrible analogy. ;)

Not too much going on at the moment, but that's what Sunday afternoons are for. I've got a sinus infection. Should have seen that coming! I'm making a beeline for the student health centre first thing tomorrow morning. My head and lungs feel like they are filled with hot cement, but I'm trying not to let it slow me down. Like rugby. ;)