Rugby

We only had two things scheduled when we arrived in Edinburgh on September 13, 2024: the play we saw the first day, and a rugby match a week later.

I really didn’t want to be a clueless tourist, so I studied rugby for weeks before we left. I love watching all kids of sports so I had tried to learn the game from watching videos of it, but no way! I read the rules and watched several YouTube explanations. I still felt pretty confused, but it turns out it is more like American football than it looks.

As usual, we walked 3 miles across town to get to the game, Edinburgh vs. Leinster, an Irish team and huge rival!

Behind Murrayfield, which is reserved for major matches, is the much smaller Edinburgh Rugby Stadium, where our match was played. Outside were beer and food stands and lots of people excited about the match. They had so many restrooms you never had to wait–the men’s room was labled Lads, the women’s Lasses, awwwww

Lots of action occured right in front of us! It rained during the game but we were covered and the match played on.

A scrum restarts game play with both teams systematically forming like a mound and pushing until someone gets the ball. It looks weird because it seems like it is in slow motion.

Each fan got big Edinburgh flags, which we waved enthusiatically! A 6 year old boy was next to me and I had to keep dodging his wild waves!

Once a guy gets the ball he can run, throw, or kick it for a score.

It was an exciting, close game, but we lost 31-33. The fans seemed to take it in stride.

It was late, dark, and rainy when we left so we decided we would try for the tram and get an Uber if the line was too long. But just as we found after the baseball game in Japan, we jumped on that crowded tram and road home with the rowdy fans! Excellent!