Rugby has taught me many things like any injury can be fixed with enough athletic tape, grass works well for cleaning up blood, and never forget to bring actual under ware when going on a trip (It happens more then you think.) At first glance these lessons seem menial and useless, but amongst some of the weird lessons Ive learned, there are some gems that have really helped me in life, and I know I am not the only rugby player that has learned life lessons from rugby. I see a noticeable difference in people who start playing rugby, even after playing for even just a year. So here are 10 life lessons I've learned from my 6 years on the pitch, Let me know in the comments if you agree with this list or think I missed one!
- Family isn’t always blood- Well rugby does have a quite a bit of blood being spilled on the pitch but thats besides the point.. Your rugby team, whether you realize it or not, quickly becomes your family. You cry, sweat, and bleed with these 20 other guys. When you're on the ground they will stand over you, protect you and then help you up. I've never served in the armed forces, but I believe the bond between brothers in arms and rugby players is very similar. We bleed for each other, protect each other, and fight for each other, and at the end of the day no matter what the result we come together as a family.
- Respect- When the Sir makes a call you accept it, no arguing, no yelling, no whining. He's right you're wrong. This is a lesson I've learned to carry throughout my life, respect people with authority over you, do not argue with what your coach, boss, or teacher tells you to do, just do it. Arguing just makes the penalty worse, or upsets your superior, if you are upset with what they are telling you to do, calm down and ask them questions or to explain "the call".
- You win some, you lose some. Celebrate playing the game- Every rugby player has had a bad game, the one where you walk off the field broken and hurt over the loss and how poor you played, but at the end of the day when all is said and done, you got to play rugby today and that makes it a great day! In life you're going to have awesome days and then your going to have days where you want to crawl under a rock, on those bad days be happy that your alive and that you got to "play" today.
- Its not about the mistake, its how you recover- Everyone drops the ball from time to time, but whats important is what you do after you drop the ball. Crying over dropped balls is a good way to let the other team score. If you drop the ball its ok, forget about it, get back into line and make up for it with a poach, a big hit, a try, or even just an amazing support line.
- Team work- Rugby is a team sport, learn to play well with others, or forever lose.
- Be committed- When your down always get back up, you are on the pitch for 80 minutes with 14 other guys who are all depending on you. Giving up is giving up on them, and they don't deserve that. Finish what you start.
- The best things in life are the least understood- Rugby isn't on T.V. all the time, I can't buy cheap jerseys for my favorite team at Walmart, and were known as football without pads, but its these things that make the sport that much sweeter. When rugby is on t.v. we all get together to enjoy every minute of it, when we do get a jersey of our favorite team its worth that much more to us knowing we will never be twinning with a random guy, and if we are we are probably going to make friends with that guy. And its ok if people think were football without pads, we know who came first.
- The opportunity will come- Sometimes in rugby you have to wait, the action might be in a different part of the field, or between other players. All you want is to get the ball, or make a big hit, but rushing up will do nothing but mess up the flow of the game. This is where you need to learn to be patient, the ball will come to you eventually and it will be your time to shine, make sure you make the most of your time in the lime light.
- Brace yourself, people will take cheap shots- In the scrum or at the bottom of a ruck where its hard for the ref to see, people will take cheap shots. In your rugby career someone is going to step on you, or hit you just to try and hurt you and put you at a disadvantage. Learn to take these hits and let them drive you to press on and best your opponent without taking cheap shots.
- Success is often determined by last second decisions- You are running the ball and are 5 yards from the goal line, do you pass, grubber, take the tackle, juke? The decision could make or break the drive. The important thing is to keep your head and make the decision you think is best and then hit it at 100%.
