The whistle blows and the game begins, we got first to receive, we got some good plays and good stuff, but most of us were scared. I had nothing, I played full back, which essentially stays the furthest back and just wait for the ball to come. For the first half, I had nothing to do; the ball was nowhere near me. Our outside-centre got injured on the ankle, so we had to take a knee. Brebuf’s team are really buff, they got horse legs, broad shoulders, and they really know how to play rugby, but that didn’t stop us, even with our outside centre injured. Near the end of the first half, buff managed to score, but I was there trying to stop him, and someone else in my team got lower first and tackled him, so his foot went to my chest, and it was metal, man did that hurt. Second half came, and I still never touched the ball, buff never kicks the ball, they all play using their bodies as brick walls. Halfway on the second half, our fly half got injured, damn, that means I have to take his position.
Last year for the first half of the season, I played the fly half, which is like, essentially the quarterback in football for the team, always touching the ball. Then halfway through the season, our coach found out that our full back can kick way better than I can so we switched, and I love the full back position. I love it so much, I always try to avoid being the fly half, but there’s nothing you can do if I’m the only other…let’s say, understudy of a fly half…I’m the only other guy that knows how to play it properly.
So I got switched to being the fly half, and I really got my hands dirty on the ball. Then when it came of defense, I got the biggest guys down and tackled…no surprise… and the ref, for the first time seeing my play really loved my tackles and said that he has never seen any person hold on to a guy for so long and take him down hard.
We eventually lost 26-6, but that’s okay, we learned a lot, especially the fact that our team has a ton of new players.
On the bus back to the school, I felt a lot of different pain on my right torso and most especially my right wrist…I stretched it and bent it trying to heal it…it just got worse…and I also managed to drive home still. When I was sitting at the back, most of my teammates told me of the mud in my hair, and told me that I really got down and dirty, really hard, and that they see a marking of a cleat on the back of my neck.
When I got back home, I checked out all my body, my whole right side felt so bad and shaky that it really scared me, so I had to check. I went straight for the showers, and as soon as I took off my shirt, I saw red spot on my chest from the metal cleat, I saw another spot on my right shoulder, and then when I turned around, I saw a dark red bruise on my right shoulder blade. Man, they totally looked like they were hickies, which was the first thing that popped in my head.
I eventually got me a wrist brace for my right wrist, knowing now that It really was sprained, and had the most painful shower of my life, water running through cuts and bruises on my back, arms, legs, and chest. But you gotta love RUGBY!
