Hurt So Good

I woke up this morning with a kink in my neck and my legs quaking with fatigue, my arms dead at my side, and my back feeling like a thousand horses had trampled me the previous day.
I love that feeling.
Yesterday was my first rugby practice, and I as I expected, my body is in revolt after a long-missed physical beating. Although I'm in pain and every muscle in my body aches, I can't help but smile and go back for more, which I did today...twice. The feeling of sprints, drills and muscle memory reflex exercises in a team setting had me grinning from ear to ear and brought back the old high-school feeling of being in shape. Not to mention how fun running around in the mud and hitting people is with a bunch of really friendly and helpful teammates.
Coach had me tryout at forward, a line of eight stronger, more built players that clear the way for the backs, a group of seven smaller and faster players. I wasn't really sure of the theory behind what was going on in the drills, but I started to get a physical grasp on what the position entails; a lot of tackling, lifting and some ball carrying. I also tried to soak up the calls, what all the code words are and their meaning, although there are so many I think it will take me more than a few weeks to get everything straight. A few rugby terms so you can impress Americans who don't know to much about the sport:

Ruck - the area and players surrounding a tackled player, all trying to get the ball

Scrum - happens after a stoppage in play i.e. a penalty. This is when the players line up, interlock and try and push the opposition back while trying to get possession of the ball

Lift- hoisting a player into the air to try and gain possession off a throw-in.

The team is one of the best college teams in Ireland, and have won the inter-college tournament for the past two years, so I'm really excited to get a chance to play with them. Hopefully I play well enough in practice over the next week to make it to the next match in dublin. Even if I don't get to play I think playing rugby (one of the most popular sports in Ireland) will be a great opportunity to interact with more Irish people and also learn more about the culture and ways of the Irish. I may just need to airlift my chiropractor and massage therapist here to do it.