Rugby Week!

It's Rugby Week in Bermuda!  Officially known as the World Rugby Classic Bermuda, this annual event is celebrating its 25th year on the island.  Since 1988, the Classic has been coming to Bermuda, attracting retired pros, and fans from around the world.

Most teams continue to come back year after year, both the teams and the individual players building up a relationship with the island.  You know you have lived in Bermuda for a decent stretch of time when you start recognizing tourists on their annual trip to the island.  Take for example Tuesday night when I popped into Flanagans to say hello to the gang, spotted a face i recognized in the crowd but couldn't place, and went "oh right, that's one of the rugby guys, they were holed up in the Pickled Onion last year."  It's hard to forget them when the team puts a few thousand dollars down for a bar tab for the week and starts treating the locals.  But I am off topic...going back to the teams that are repeat offenders...er....guests of the island.  There is, of course, a UK presence with the Lions.  I type that with some trepidation because I know I am on dangerous ground here.  The English will be very quick to tell you that they are NOT British, they are English, and it's a very big difference.  Nor would one want to call a Scottish person a Brit by accident, and then of course there is Ireland and Wales.  I thought I had found the politically correct way about this, which was UK, but I have recently been politely educated, yet firmly enough that I won't make the mistake again, that Ireland is not referenced as part of the UK.  So, the Lions team is from somewhere over the pond, they fly the flags for England, Ireland, Scotland, and I think there was a Welsh flag...but I have no idea how to lump the four into one national description, so we will just call them the Lions from here on out.  Notably, for their close ties with Bermuda, their uniforms sport a lot of pink, right down to the pink knee socks on the big burly brutes, so they are easy to pick out of the crowd.

Lions in blue and pink, Argentina in white and blue

Another favorite is the Australian Wallabies...possibly because they are a good rugby team, possibly because everyone just loves Australian accents.  Rugby Canada is always a notable presence...not necessarily on the field but absolutely on the island...they are spotted on scooters all over the island proudly wearing their red Canada logos and attire, and it is not without reason that their team is sponsored by the Swizzle Inn.  Local legend has it that this sponsorship and scooter relationship led to one of them going home without a thumb a few years back.  You can't have all the favorites without a few favorite villains, so for that I will pick on the obvious, the USA Eagles, The French, and the Argentinians, because I think they are newest, as somebody had to replace the New Zealand All Blacks.  According to my ticket there was an Italian team too.  That said, I know very little about rugby.  The serious fans will, or even regular attendees of the event will be able to pick apart any confusion I put into this text...but first they have to read this, so I will just ramble on like a knowledgeable authority until otherwise challenged..

Typically rugby week is a really big event.  There is an influx of several hundred people onto the island when you add up the teams, support, friends and family, and fans.  The National Stadium is the main gathering point, games are in the afternoons and evenings, and there are on site liquor sales, so the rugby week really does become the party.  About half of the area is fenced off into corporate tents.  The corporate tents are full, and usually a catered party perk for clients and their staff -- it's a desirable area to be in..but, I have never been on that side so I can't say much.  I am over on the public bleachers side, and the public beer gardens.  But to be fair, it is plenty enough fun for me on that side.

Over on the public rowdy side -- these guys heckled the teams and the fans

Why rugby gets such a good turnout is a bit of a mix of things.  For one thing, it is the one blissful week of the year where the island flies in a lot of fresh, athletic boys in all different models-- English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, French, American, Canadian, Italian, Argentinian, South African, and Australian.  Clearly a few girls go out to the games.  Now, being a guy living in Bermuda, you go where the girls go.  If you are not interested in either of these things, you go just because it's a novelty that comes round only once per year.  You go there to be silly and have a few drinks and be entertained.  Or you go because everyone else you know is there.  I bet there are even a few people mixed in there that like rugby.  Nonetheless, rugby week is a pretty popular event.  I will say there were a lot of comments that there were a lot less people in the crowds so far this week, perhaps the population drain is showing a bit, perhaps the recession...but it was still a fun evening out.

I went on Thursday night, lured out by my friend Phil with the idea of taking some photos.  It was already the semi finals, and in the first game, the Lions were knocked out by the Argentinians.  The second game took on a bit more life, even though it was an absolute blow out.  The Americans faced off the crowd and sang their national anthem before the game started.

USA Eagles

They had a lot of heart to go along with the patriotism.  This got the crowd going, and the enthusiastic and ethanol fueled fans behind us led the crowd in song with  -- "bye bye miss American pie, drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry..." followed by "aweemowop aweemowop aweemowop the lion sleeps tonight."  Despite a surprising win over the Australians to get to the semi-final, the Springbox decimated the |Americans 47-7.

I am not sure exactly what happened, since I know only limited rugby terms, like scrum, but I don't know if that's where they have a slow motion pile up or if that's where they throw someone in the air like a cheerleader to catch the ball.  I do know that last set of points looked like the guy got a breakaway and scored a touchdown...but pretty sure neither of those terms apply to rugby.  I also learned that my camera lens is way to small...and that Phil's is on the other end of the spectrum and got more mockery than the Americans who lost by 40 points.  In all honesty, if the spectrum range is my camera lens to the scope on a tank, Phil's lens is closer to the tank scope than to my lens.

This unusual moment (normally seen only in prison) is a rugby norm...we shall call it Step 1

Here in Step 2, the little guy tosses the big guy in the air, as opposed to the other way around for some reason.

Step 3, The catch, or cheerleader move as I call it.

All in all, a fun night, some blurry photo experiments, and possibly my last rugby experience in Bermuda.  Well, there is always the finals and wrap up Saturday night -- if you haven't been out, it sounds like the crowds have been saving up all week for Saturday night, so it should be a good one!