Introduction
Rugby union is played and loved by over 5 million individuals worldwide. My family and I enjoy rooting for our local and national teams. The game of rugby has a long and illustrious history that spans across several countries. William Webb Ellis is credited with inventing rugby in 1823, which has its own rules, and terminologies. There is a tale behind why he founded rugby and how he came up with the idea. William was a soccer player, but he was unfamiliar with the regulations. Rugby clothes nowadays often consist of short sleeves and short pants in team colors, long socks, and better-specialized footwear with studs.
Fans participate in the action by donning the colors of their favorite club where they may purchase official fan items like jerseys, scarves, socks, and wristbands (Beyer, 2022). Many stadium games plainly show which team the fans are supporting based on their apparel. Rugby teams begin in local areas and unite communities and the country. Our local club is the Auckland Blues, although we favor the Wellington Hurricanes and, like many Kiwis, support our national side, the powerful All Blacks.
Why I Chose Rugby
Age does not impede enjoying this exhilarating game, whether you wish to play casually or professionally. Even though rugby is a physical game, tackling is typically introduced to suitable age categories. Rugby may be introduced to younger players progressively through simplified and non-contact forms of the game. Even though males make up a great percentage of rugby players, more women are taking the sport. Rugby is a terrific sport for people of all ages and gender. It brings people together from all walks of life as players and fans.
Rugby promotes general fitness and physical strength because all the players are required to be in good shape to prevent injuries. According to the World Health Organization standards, the average individual should participate in moderate to light activity five days a week (Beyer, 2022). However, rising waistlines worldwide show that only some are achieving this aim because it is not only about staying slim. Lack of regular exercise is the fourth greatest cause of death worldwide (Beyer, 2022). Rugby is an excellent way to get away from the sofa and begin moving. It is a game that turns boys into men and teaches the art of protecting one another in the field.
The rugby game teaches discipline as it involves a high level of preparation, and involvement in appropriate training. A regular match schedule can help to develop crucial mental abilities such as discipline and self-control. Players understand the importance of setting objectives and how to create a plan for reaching those objectives. It is an essential lesson for academy athletes as they gain fundamental life skills that will serve them well in maturity on and off the field. Lastly, rugby builds friendships because of shared experiences on the field. Whenever you see other men putting in huge hits and scrummaging aggressively, and they step in to assist each other, it creates a long lasting relationship that flourishes beyond the rugby field.
Statement of Modes
I chose rugby as a focus for this anthology because the game is enjoyable. I will share my expertise and learn more about the game by conducting more studies through engagement in three rhetorical forms to achieve this purpose. The first is “Narration,” which tells the tale of how I got into the game, “Process Analysis,” which explains how to get in shape for the game; and “Cause & Effect,” which shows how playing rugby fosters friendship.
Becoming a Rugby Player (Narration)
I had aspired to be a rugby player early on in life as it was very popular among boys and men. When I am on the field and look around, I notice that people are chatting and cheering. It drives me to become more engaged in playing the sport (Jones et al., 2021). Whenever I hear others shout, I wonder what it would look like if I was the one doing the cheering. I opted to begin playing Rugby, and what draws me into it is seeing how we possess this strength in ourselves, particularly in me, and I am pretty surprised to have this aspect in sports.
I began playing rugby while still very young and it has taught me a lot throughout the years. I was in third grade when I participated in my maiden game, and it was both spectacular and terrifying. I was worried about being run over by the masculine players, but that was just a part of the adventure. Speaking from experience, being afraid gives me confidence and power. Playing Rugby has helped me improve my talents and taught me to trust my intuition.
Requirements of the Game (Process Analysis)
Rugby is divided into two forty-minute sessions, with certain injury time in between. However, comparing body fat levels is challenging due to the varied estimation errors associated with every approach. Researchers and coaches prefer to monitor the body weight and skin folds total rather than determining the percentage of body fat because of the constraints. Rugby players need leg strength to lift and jump in the lineout and, during the first push in the scrummage, to tackle and accelerate explosively.
The growth of vigorous leg power is essential for all rugby players. The forwards require power during scrummage and lineout scenarios (Robinson & Anderson, 2022). Lineouts require longer forwards because they can jump high, leading to competitive throw-ins. Back-line players must be able to sprint short distances and make and deflect tackles. The vertical leap test is one way to assess explosive leg strength. The test accuracy for the players is boosted since back-row forward players are supposed to jump during the lineout.
All Rugby players require some speed and strength, although the proportional significance of each component varies depending on the player’s playing position. Staying strong also minimizes the likelihood of injury and weariness (Hook & Brayley, 2020). Increasing one’s total muscular size may be highly useful because the large person usually overpowers the smaller guy during contact game. Rugby is a contact sport that consists of high-intensity periods of exercise such as sprinting and agility sports, as well as tackling, interspersed with brief periods of low-intensity activities (Hook & Brayley, 2020). Rugby players must have speed, flexibility, physical strength, and power to match the demands of the sport. Consequently, muscular power and strength are strongly related to performance, with elite athletes exhibiting the greatest muscle power levels.
Rugby Fosters Friendship (Cause & Effect)
I enjoy Rugby because no other game gives room to form such strong bonds with not only the teammates but opposition teams and all players in general. It is easy to make friendship with anyone wearing a rugby jersey even if they were not players. The colors bring back the memories of the beautiful game that everyone loves (Jones et al., 2021). It is hard to convey in words, but everyone who has ever played the game will understand. A real example of how powerful that link can be is when one of my college teammates requested me to preside at his wedding, which I gladly did.
It is more than a sport; it is a way of living. Every action undertaken outside the field is mirrored on it. It taught me accountability and responsibility and introduced me to lifetime brotherhood. Regardless of the game’s outcome, you stay with the opposing team, feast with them, and enjoy beers (Hook & Brayley, 2020). I realize that I will forever be looked after and have a sofa to sleep on wherever I travel in the region. The chance to keep playing this fantastic game that I have done since junior high is what motivates me each day.
Conclusion
In conclusion, researching this anthology paper enabled me to travel back to when I first began playing Rugby. Simultaneously, I looked for extra material that may be useful to someone who wants to take up Rugby as a sport. Extensive training is required to retain physical bulk and strength as a player. Rugby is a contact sport that, more than any other, instills discipline and fosters lifelong connections.
References
Beyer, G. (2022). The History of Rugby: The most brutal sport. Thecollector. Web.
Hook, J. & Brayley, D. (2020). Chasing a rugby dream. Polaris Publishing.
Jones, B., Hope, E., Hammond, A., Moran, J., Leeder, T., Mills, J., & Sandercock, G. (2021). Play more, enjoy more, keep playing; Rugby is a simple game. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 16(3), 636–645. Web.
Robinson, S. & Anderson, E. (2022). Bromance: Male friendship, love and sport. Palgrave Macmillan.