Live Sports Abroad Part V: The National Rugby League

Welcome back to Live Sports Abroad!  There was a gap of a few months because it is not easy to find sporting events to go to in Turkey and Southeast Asia but there is plenty going on this time of year in Australia.  With that in mind we arrived in Brisbane and overheard that there was a rugby match that evening.  Better yet, it was at the stadium that happened to be literally right next to our hostel.

So, rugby, that's pretty popular there right?

Officially Australian rules football is the most popular sport in Australia, but rugby is probably second and it's more popular in the state of Queensland (where we were) than it is further south or west.  There are actually two different types of rugby: union and league.  They split up in the late 1800's and developed slightly different rule sets.  We were watching league which is supposedly the faster paced less complicated version which is better because we didn't know much going in.  We were in by far the largest stadium we've been to so far.  See the picture below.

What's that hold?  About 55,000?

Dead on, yes.  The actual attendance was about 40,000.

OK, tell us about the game.

Well, it was the Brisbane Broncos (the local team) vs. the North Queensland Cowboys (they're from Townsville, which is right next to Magnetic Island which is where we held all the animals).  It was a little hard to root for the home team when their logo looked a lot like the Denver Broncos.  Anyway, we started off with a little pyro before the match got underway.

The basic goal is to score a "try" which is basically a touchdown.  You get one by running the ball into the end zone (if it's called that which it probably isn't).  You accomplish this by passing the ball laterally a lot and running into the opposing team who try to tackle you, but once they bring you to the ground you get up again and can keep running.  If your team gets tackled five times you have to kick the ball away (a fact we didn't realize until the second half when the people next to us told us).  It's kind of like downs in American football.  Apparently in union there are way more rules about tackling and possesion, but I don't know what they are.  Anyway, you always see people piled on top of each other in rugby.

There's got to be a little more to it than people just running into people, right?

It's mostly just people running into people, but breakaways can be pretty exciting because of that.  There are some brutal hits.  Also, when a team kicks it away they can run and try to catch the ball they've kicked to keep moving forward.  That can lead to some pretty crazy jump ball collisions.  If you score a try (which is worth 4 points) you then get to try to kick the ball through the uprights (like a field goal) for another 2 points.  I think you kick the ball from about the 20 meter point but also lined up with where it was run in so there were kicks from the edge of the field and some right down the middle.  It is unclear to me if you could just try to kick the ball the through the uprights and get points without going for a try.  At no point did that happen in the game we watched.

A scrum, that's a thing right?  Did you see one?

I believe a scrum happens after a foul or maybe some other stoppage of play.  My understanding is that a bunch of the players from each team line up across from each other leaning in and it looks like a big pile (rugby always with the piles of people) and the referee rolls the ball in the middle of the pile and they fight for it.  We didn't see a single one during the game. Apparently, they are more common in union.

So, how was the game you saw?

Brisbane was ahead basically the whole way.  There were some exciting moments usually surrounding breakaways and collisions.  The Australian fans really get into it and were shouting things constantly.  The girl next to me was super critical even when the game was well in hand.  Broncos won easily 44-22.

Any cool Jumbotron action?

Not a ton.  Graphics for when a team scored but nothing wicked interesting.  Below is from team introductions.

Mascots?

Take your pick:

I have no idea what this guy is.  The band behind him played before the game started.  At one point they covered No Scrubs by TLC because who hell the knows.

This is Buck who came out when the Broncos scored.

This guy looks pig like to me.

This is more like a bronco.

Halftime show?

Two things: first this game sponsored by XXXX beer (which is mediocre, i think you pronounce it four x).  Players dressed like beer bottles had to throw beer ingredients into the beer glass.  An entertaining enough diversion.

And of course, cheerleaders.  Notice that is says Hog's Breath across their chests.  Hog's Breath Cafe is actually a chain restaurant here in Australia, so it's just an ad, but still pretty unfortunate.

Anything else of note?

Players uniform numbers in rugby are just 1 through 17 (thirteen on the field, four subs) which seems refreshingly straightforward.  Also, they limit you to four beers per person per visit to the concession stand, so that's something you could never get away with back home.

They even offer this convenient carrying tray.  It cost 80 cents extra but you can actually pretty easily carry four beers with it with one hand.

And of course when the Broncos win you have to sing their song.

Are you going to try for part VI before you leave Australia?

We're going to try and catch an Aussie rules football match in Melbourne, so hopefully, yes.