There are 3 ways to celebrate rugby in Oz.
You have the Australia Wallabies. They are in the Rugby Union.
Got that? Union.
Union is what Americans usually think of when we hear rugby. The film "Invictus" (with Matt Damon) followed Union Rugby. They have very physical scrums. That is where they interlock their arms and heads and try to force the ball to the outside of the circle. This is a very important part of the game to see who will get possession of the ball. They will also lift a player into the air when the ball is tossed in from the sidelines. The higher you get means you usually get the ball. Their colors are green and yellow.
You have the Australia Wallabies. They are in the Rugby Union.
Got that? Union.
Union is what Americans usually think of when we hear rugby. The film "Invictus" (with Matt Damon) followed Union Rugby. They have very physical scrums. That is where they interlock their arms and heads and try to force the ball to the outside of the circle. This is a very important part of the game to see who will get possession of the ball. They will also lift a player into the air when the ball is tossed in from the sidelines. The higher you get means you usually get the ball. Their colors are green and yellow.
There is the Rugby League. Here we follow the Brisbane Broncos. The Bronco's have scrums, but they really don't do anything. They just have pretend scrums. You get to carry the ball toward your goal and can run it until there have been 5 tackles. Once your team has been tackled 5 times, you must kick. You only get 5 substitutions for the whole game, so you pretty much play the whole time unless you are seriously hurt. Broncos are Maroon and yellow. Brandon and Angielee were actually in the airport sitting next to the whole Bronco team in the Sydney airport and on the same plane in April of 2011, but didn't know that we needed to get a picture for cool-factor.
The Brisbane Lions play AFL or Aussie Rules. Aussie rules is CrAzY! There is a lot of kicking going on. The players mostly kick the ball instead of pass it to each other. They have amazing accuracy with their kicks being that the ball is odd shaped. If you catch a ball that has been kicked, then no one can tackle you for 15 or so seconds. You also don't have to pass the ball only backwards (like the other two). The ball can really go anywhere it wants, but not out of bounds. The ball also has to touch the ground every 15 meters. They can bounce it, but if it's raining, it is better to just bend down and touch it to the grass so it doesn't bounce off in different direction. Brandon and Angielee went to a Lions game with friends who had season tickets and it was a blast, even if the ref's were idiots! Lions colors are blue, maroon, and yellow.
So there you have it. 3 ways to Rugby.
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