Rugby is one tough sport

By Mathias Huckert 14 June 2016, 12:00AM

When you witness a rugby match for the first time, you somehow reach a point where you ask yourself: how unbelievably physical can a sport be? 

The impressive performance of the war dance given by the Samoan team before their match against Georgia last week already allowed a valuable insight in this sport’s very own dynamics. 

The raw, intense tackling on the field is something you definitely have to search hard for in all other imaginable sports. 

Compared to football, which is the most popular kind of sport in Germany, rugby certainly is one tough sport. In Football, players most likely act like drama queens delivering a performance by diving, when they pretend to be injured in order to gain an advantage for their team. 

When it comes to rugby, the action on the field seems to be of a different, more man on man kind of activity which often ends with one of the players finding himself in real trouble concerning injuries.

Nonetheless, as you could see during Samoa’s match against Georgia, they keep on playing and do not leave the field on a litter, putting on a face contorted with pain, which is a quite impressive experience to watch.

Even though the match last Saturday ended with a draw and not all the seats in Apia Park Stadium were taken, the Samoans represented their country very well against Georgia. The hype about this game had started early, and it was a joy to witness the whole attention reaching its climax with the game on Saturday. 

As one could have discovered, Samoan flags had dominated Apia’s streetscape since the last couple of days and it was not the hardest thing in the world to spot someone wearing the blue colour in support of the Manu Samoa during these exciting days.

 On the day of the match, the crowd seemed to need some time to warm up, but by no later than after the game’s first half, there was tension in the air with Manu fans covered in face paint, screaming their lungs out to spur the Samoan team. It was an event all in blue, with Samoan flags of all sizes waving for the Manu. 

This experience was of a special kind and hopefully, with the upcoming match against the team from neighbouring country Tonga at the end of this month, the whole excitement will repeat again.

By Mathias Huckert 14 June 2016, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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