Notes from a Rugby Virgin

By Steve Davison
February 14 2007

Just to put this article in perspective, it is from an old family friend who is English but who got married & moved over to San Diego 20+ years ago. They were kitted out in Quins tops when they visited recently & were told to keep an eye out for Charlie Amesbury at the 7s in San Diego. - Prof

The thought of 9+ hours of rugby on a single day was exciting to me, but I was not sure how my wife, daughter and her boyfriend would think of it. I was fully expecting some or all of them to bail way before the end. How wrong I was!!!! Not only were we in our seats (except for the occasional biology break, beer run or food run) for the whole 9 hours, we also are hoping that the US leg will be held here again next year as we can't wait to attend.

Charlie and team mates waiting to get on ©Steve Davison

I can't comment on the nuances of the game as this was the first time in decades that I've been to a game live of rugby of any sort, and many years since I've watched a game on TV, but....

We saw some extremely exciting games, and a few (very few) yawners.

We saw highly skillful teams and games, and we saw a few that were not quite so good. Skillful here means in the eye of the beholder. They may have been crap to the cognoscenti, but they looked skillful to us.

When we bought our tickets, the "best" we could get were in the "Samoan" section and the "South African" section. Sadly the English, and the USA sections did not have have space. I was totally amazed at the following that the likes of Kenya, Samoa, Fiji, and Tonga had in the stands. All of them bubbling over with enthusiasm for the game, their team and the competition, making the day full of entertainment.

To keep this on topic for the 'Quins, we did cheer Charlie on making his try in the game against the All Blacks, and we shouted out "Go quinns" on more than one occasion. Did he hear us? Hell no, there was too much noise in the crowd, but that's not the point.

I thought that Charlie played a good game. He was fast and nimble on his feet causing defenders to miss on occasions, and he certainly turned on the after burners for that try. A very bright future for this young lad in my unknowledgeable opinion.

So to some it up....

What a brilliant days entertainment!
Can't wait for the next event!