His left eye was well on its way to being swollen shut, but Cody Davidson was grinning from ear to ear.
He had just been subbed out of the UF rugby B-team’s match against FSU after scoring three tries (the sport’s equivalent of touchdowns), but that wasn’t the topic of conversation.
He took a ball to the face following a drop kick, and he recounted it with a smile on the sideline while his face slowly puffed up.
“I could feel it swelling right away,” said Davidson, who took man of the match honors in the B-squad’s 43-0 flogging of FSU’s second team.
A moment later, B-team member Fernando Guarderas jogged up the field laughing while a stream of blood trickled down his nose.
I’ve known both of these guys for a while, and I’ve always considered them to be reasonably sensible. But watching them and the other members of the Gators’ three rugby teams take on the ’Noles on Friday, there was a hint of insanity in the air.
That was my first live experience with rugby, as I watched the UF A-team’s hard-fought 18-16 win, the “Killer B’s” cruise to a victory and the C-squad win 21-10.
I’m still hazy on the rules and tactics of the game, but one look at the dedication from the players involved is enough to make me give rugby a chance.
And the Gators provide a great place to start. Their A-squad is undefeated, and with wins against Tennessee and the Seminoles in the last two weeks, their chances of reaching the sport’s 16-team nationwide postseason tournament look good.
“The college level is really the base level for growth in rugby (in the US) at the moment because that’s where it’s developed,” UF A-side captain Neal Dupree said. “I think you’re really seeing the beginning of something new that’s going to be sticking with the American sports culture.”
The camaraderie element is also interesting. After Friday night’s matches, the two teams hit the pub together.
“In the game, you were hitting someone in the face and now you’re sitting down having a drink with them,” Dupree said. “It’s a powerful chemistry that the sport maintains. The level of respect for going out on the field is something I think you don’t see in most American sports.”
The game is entertaining, even for those who don’t grasp its intricacies.
At its worst, rugby is unsuccessful runs up the middle and punts. At its best, it’s like watching a never-ending option offense, and there are parallels to some of the most exciting plays in football.
Field position is crucial, so punts are pretty frequent. But there’s no fair catch in this sport, so every kick that stays in bounds leads to contact.
Also, forget roughing the kicker. During the B-match, a ’Nole trying to get off a punt was clotheslined by a charging Gator, leading to a loose ball and UF try.
On offense, the goal is to pound the ball up the middle, draw defenders in and start an option offense toward the outside. With a long line of players ready for the next pitch, it looks like the Stanford-Cal desperation kickoff return.
Plus, there’s still the whole violence angle if that’s what you’re looking for.
With men’s and women’s clubs at UF, there’s ample opportunity to learn a sport that has worldwide appeal.
And while I’m not crazy enough to play, when the Gators line up against Florida Atlantic on Saturday, I plan on being glued to the sidelines.
