This past Friday, the Rugby World Cup kicked off in London with England playing Fiji. The 20 country tournament will continue until October 31, and will be played at 13 different venues across the UK. In case you've never watched a game of Rugby before, here are a few reasons you should tune into the 2015 World Cup.
1. Rugby is easily the most badass and hardcore game in existence. Rugby players don't wear helmets or pads. In fact, many wear "scrum caps" to prevent their ears from getting ripped off. Unlike other sports where possession can be determined by a simple toss or kick into the game, Rugby balls are often taken by pure brute force. It isn't uncommon for players to be covered in their own blood and someone else's by the end of the game. Rugby players break limbs, smack heads, and get gashed by cleats and keep on truckin'.
2. Hot Rugby Man 1: Aaron Smith from the New Zealand All Blacks
3. Scrums are really cool. A Rugby scrum is a way to restart the game and determine possession of the ball. Basically, half the team tangles up in a shape mildly reminiscent of a triangle, hooks up to the other team's kind-of-triangle, and kicks each other until someone pushes the ball all the way back. The scrum consists of eight players from each team and each player has a very unique and specific job to keep the scrum functioning. From flanker to lock to hooker to prop, everyone is equally as important as the next. Sometimes, they spin in circles and (even more entertaining) sometimes they collapse. Scrums are something completely unique to Rugby, which makes them even better.
4. Hot Rugby Man 2: Sean Lamont from the Scottish Glasgow Warriors (LOOK AT THOSE THIGHS)
5. Tackling gets intense. Rugby is known for how rough it gets (and that's why everyone loves it so much). It's a no-holds-barred, fight-to-the-death type of game. "Give Blood, Play Rugby" is on at least half the rugby t-shirts I own.
6. In case you need more motivation, here are a few more very important pictures:
Hot Rugby Man 3: Chris Robshaw from the English Rugby Union (Harlequin F.C.)
Hot Rugby Man 4: Henry Slade from the English Rugby Union (Exeter Chiefs)
Hot Rugby Man 5: Nehe Milner-Skudder from the New Zealand All Blacks
Hot Rugby Man 6: Stuart Reardon from the North Wales Crusaders
Hot Rugby Man 7: Danny Care from the English Rugby Union (Harlequins)
Now that you have plenty of great reasons, branch out and watch some Rugby this season (and some Rugby men...).
