If it seems like I’ve been talking a lot about rugby lately, it’s because I’ve been rewriting my contemporary romance manuscript about a professional rugby player, and I’ve been doing lots of “research” lately (i.e. spending hours searching for videos of rugby players tackling each other and generally being uber-manly).
Today’s been a particularly rugby-tastic day in the Latham household. My husband woke up early to watch the Rugby World Cup final, which apparently was quite slow. I slept through most of it, unfortunately, but watching the final few moments set me up well to work on my manuscript.
If you missed the final, too, here’s how it started. The New Zealand All Blacks always do a traditional Maori war dance to psyche out their opponents. If I had to face those tongues, I’d be a bit freaked, but the Frenchmen stand their ground.
Check out those arms. And quads. And asses. Seriously.
In the afternoon, my husband and I went to watch a live match at the club where he’s a season ticket holder, and ideas for a series of rugby novels bounced around in my head. Fortunately, when I move to the Netherlands next week I’ll have lots of free time to write them!
If the massive men doing the haka above don’t do it for you, then here’s an alternative video for you.
Did you watch the Rugby World Cup final? What did you think?
I did watch part of this match and it was the first time I’ve watched rugby. (I am more of a baseball fan.) I will admit I didn’t understand much of what was going on, but it was very interesting. I was amazed that play continued even when one of the players was injured and the medics were attending to him!
That’s one of the first things I remember drawing me to the sport, Christine. Not that they kept playing during injuries, but that play didn’t stop whenever the ball was grounded, like it does in American football. It felt like a constant adrenaline rush.
It does help if you have someone explaining the rules to you, though. Hope you understand more next time you watch a game!