| RUGBY WORD AND PHRASE GUIDE |
| Wes "Brigham" Clark Borrowed from Fort Wayne RFC |
| All day long - For the next 80 minutes or less, depending on if this is said at the beginning of the match or during half time. It illustrates an interesting time-dilation property of rugby, wherein two 40-minute halves can seem like an entire day. Example - "We can run the ball off the base all day long." |
| At pace - Doing whatever it is you're doing while gasping badly for air. |
| Boots - Studded sneakers. |
| Charge down the ball - Why old rugby players have arthritis in their knuckle joints. |
| "Forwards don't kick!" - What onlookers sometimes chant after a forward's really awful kick. |
| Get behind the kicker! - He's sensitive about others getting into the photograph. |
| Get lower, second row! - This is what loose forwards say when they want to be helpful in the scrum. Pushing harder themselves doesn't seem to suggest itself as a remedy. |
| Good game - What is automatically said to members of the opposing side at the conclusion of the match. Whether or not it was a satisfactory game is another matter entirely. |
| Hoik - A verb describing when a rugger jams a finger into one nostril and forcible sends air out of the other, clearing the nasal passage of debris and providing people standing on the sidelines with a Kodak Moment. |
| Hrk - The noise a player makes when being high tackled. |
| It ain't a round ball - A defensive statement that explains why you didn't catch that wildly bouncing ball. Or, after a loss, an attempt to explain the ways of Dame Fortune. Or an attempt to explain life itself. Japanese Prime Minister and former rugger Yoshiro Mori once said: "Life is like a rugby ball. You never know which way in what direction it will bounce next!" |
| Make a target- Show the ball-thrower your open hands so that he can throw to them. This way, if you miss catching it, it's not your fault. |
| Motley - Anything other than the First XV. This word has an association with foolishness, but I'm not sure how to describe it. |
| Pack's right (or left)! - A good way to irritate the forwards. When most of them are on the right, call "pack's left!" and vice versa. |
| Pass flat - Make the guy you're passing to have to accelerate to catch the ball. This way he can get a higher velocity flattening by the opposition tackler. |
| Put a name on it! - An exhortation to loudly proclaim that you're going to attempt to catch the ball at kick-off when it comes your way, thereby giving yourself all the embarrassment in trying to catch it. |
| Rugby Queen - The players' attempt to turn the clock back to the good old days before feminism and political correctness. |
| Sin Bin - Where a player has to cool his heels for assuming that the World Wrestling Federation sanctioned rugby. |
| Sir - What players call the ref when they know they are on dodgy ground. |
| Tackle low! - Prepare for a kneecap in your eye socket. |
| Thank you (fill in the kicker's name) - What is said to the player (usually a back) who makes a successful clearing or a penalty kick. He is the only person to be verbally thanked during the course of a match. Never mind that the forwards may have turned their larger bones into shards to retain possession, the kicker gets thanked for abusing a little inflated leather ball. I hope he appreciates it. |
| They were the better team on the day - They beat the crap out of us when we didn't expect them to, but we still think they suck. |
| What happens on tour stays on tour. (A.k.a. "Rule #42") - I plan to cheat on my wife or girlfriend. Might get some bodily fluids (my own or someone else's) on myself, too. |
| Wheels - Legs. |
| Who wants it? - A metaphorical question asked at kick-off. The idea is that one is supposed to burst down the field and wrest the ball from one of fifteen guys, all of whom have other ideas on the matter. |
| With you! - Give me the ball, stupid. |