Rugby - A Gentleman's Game

Rugby - it often evokes strong passions, great competitiveness and an overwhelming desire to win. Saturdays game was no exception. Hard tackles, relentless rucks, steely determination. And then just 2 minutes before the final siren, with the score balanced 31/30, a boy lay , unmoving on the ground.

His team mates moved away so the medical staff could assist him, the opposition team huddled in a strategy meeting, preparing for their final assault once play resumed. And yet as time ticked slowly by, it became apparent that the medicos were being extremely focused. The boy was not moving, his head held by the physio who lay motionless on the pitch.

Without request or reluctance , the 29 boys remaining on the field joined in the centre of the field, contest forgotten, and joined in a circle pray for the injured boy. Not sure if it would have happened in any other contest, but the character of the boys from both schools shone through.

After all they are just boys , having fun, chasing a ball. And glad to say the reports of the injured boy are that he is OK - some muscle strain in the shoulder and neck but certainly not our worst fears.