Views from the Rail

First of all, there have been several developments on the rugby front while we’ve been apart. I’ve slotted into the teams B-side as the starting fullback. For anyone not in the know, the fullback acts a little like a safety on defense and along with the two wings joins the attack as a link between the centers and the wings. I could go on about what centers and wings are (and all the other positions), but it’d be a long and boring post about something I don’t want to talk about.

Instead I’m going to write a long and boring post about something I want to talk about. The real point is to tell you that I’m in the process of switching positions. Simply speaking, the B-side has had a rash of injuries (including to me but that’s another story). Basically, our scrum-half is out for an extended period of time. So they are letting me audition for the role. If the fullback is like a safety in football, the scrum-half is basically the quarterback of the team. He touches the ball more than any other player and links the forwards who win the ball with the backs who advance and score. Although in reality each group can and does fulfill both of these tasks, generally those are the roles that each is best at.

In any case, there is so much to learn, both tactically and technically. And I’m nowhere near prepared to play in a game. The first thing that I need to learn is, strangely enough, how to pass the ball effectively.

If you’ve ever seen a rugby match, the scum-half is the who takes the ball from the ground and passes it to the backs. The mechanics of this pass are far different from the mechanics of a pass along the backline. First of all, when you receive the ball along the backline, it’s in the air; therefore, it’s in a much more natural throwing position. Secondly, the passes you have to make along the backline are generally shorter than the ones you make as the scrum-half. Thirdly, when you get the ball along the backline you can just run until you’re tackled; as the half-back, you must pass.

Anyway, this rant is all to tell you that I am currently terrible at making a pass as a half back. Luckily my teammates are very patient and I’m working hard both on my own and in practice to not suck anymore. This basically involves throwing a bunch of balls at a fence. Hopefully with a lot of hard work I’ll be able to become technically fair so I can begin working on what I’m sure will be my large tactical deficiency.