Paramatta Eels vs. Melbourne Storm
This week I went to my first professional rugby game. I had never watched Rugby before, so I spent the first 20 minutes asking questions. After my friends explained how Rugby worked, for the third time that night, I began to understand the mechanics of the game.
We were watching the Parramatta Eels play Melbourne Storm. It was the season opening match, and the energy in the stadium was electric. Fireworks and flames went off as players entered the stadium, and the sound of 20,000 fans deafened me for the rest of the week. In addition to the initial excitement, the game moved quickly with the kind of constant action I usually only see during a basketball game.
This game is not for the faint of heart. Even though Parramatta plays a “non-scrum” version of rugby, which eliminates the wrestling elements of traditional Rugby, it is still possible to get hurt during a tackle. I cannot put pictures of Eel’s Team Captain Cameron Munster’s face or hand on this site. If you do look for pictures, please be aware that some newspapers have chosen to blur the images of his hand, so the first image you see might be his face. Anyone who is squeamish should avoid viewing these images.
The game
ended with a golden point, which I would compare to a shootout in Soccer. Speaking of Soccer, I have found that Australians will refer to both Rugby and “Soccer” as Football. They specifically call the non-scrum style of rugby “Rugby League” and the scrum style as “Rugby Union”.
All things considered, I enjoyed my first Rugby match, but I would advise any potential fans to prepare themselves for the reality of the game. The sport is more physically and visually engaging them American Football since gameplay is faster
and there are no advertisement breaks. Be aware that you may see some things that don’t happen in American Football.
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