Captain’s Log: Rugby Anyone?

Best weekend ever! All my kids and their spices and spouses and the little grandson were home this weekend. For the first time in five years, we were all in the same place at the same time to hang out, cook together, eat taco salad, and just generally enjoy each other. What a joy for this mom's heart. 

It wasn’t just a random visit, though, we did have serious business to attend to – Sloaniebelle’s baby showers (yes, plural, if you know Sloan you understand), but by a strange coincidence, Finn’s rugby team also had a game in Reno on Saturday. Friday night had all the kids suffering a little Fear of Missing Out (FOMO), since Finn and I had planned to sneak away quietly and run up to Reno for the game, then sneak back in time for the 2 p.m. shower. But then Trev and Jess wanted to go, and then somehow Trev was going to play – the team only had 13 players for a game of 15s. 

My kids are very inclusive, so of course the invitation was extended to Jess to fill the last spot on the Life West, D3 men’s rugby team that would be playing against the Reno Zephyrs, both teams full of players who had been moving up and down the ranks of the USA men’s rugby league, vying for a position on the national team. 

Initially, Jess, who is 44, gracefully declined, but Trev, who is 32, employed a little good-natured ribbing, and Finn, who is 35, got very encouraging. Finn is a player/coach of the team and, in coordination with the Life West head coach, thought playing with two out-of-shape, retired athletes (Jess was on the UNLV Rodeo team back in the day, so he’s no slouch) was better than fielding 13 players in a game of 15s.

But honestly, Jess and Trev drive truck. In fact, there was some mention of the “truckdriver bods” as they were all huddled around the laptop signing up for the team and then shopping the Scheel’s website for rugby cleats. 

Trev mentioned that the last time he had cleats on was football at Butte College, 10 years ago, and Jess said he wore a pair of cleats last month on the Elko golf course. Neither had ever been on a rugby field.

As the mom, witnessing this foolishness, I was torn between the fun of it, the nostalgia to be back hauling my kids around, sitting on bleachers and watching them play the games they absolutely loved, and the fear of the reality of time and gravity and lack of inertia and the niggling thought that if things went badly we may be sitting in the emergency room at Renown instead of being on time to Sloan’s shower – and THEN there would be hell-to-pay.

After a quick coaching session Friday night before bed, we headed to the field Saturday morning. I was nervous someone would get hurt. Jess’s boys were nervous that their dad would make a fool of himself. Trev was nervous; he wouldn’t know what to do. Finn was absolutely nervous, but so excited to finally, after all these years, get to play on the same team with Trev. 

Within the first ten minutes of the game, all three of these kids had tackled opponents straight to the ground; Jess had a black eye; Trev had carried the ball; and the Life West team was winning in points. What happened for the rest of the 30 minutes of the first half and then the 40 minutes of the second half was a blur of relief and absolute fun. Skills transferred, the truck drivers learned the flow of the game and when they could hang back and breathe, and the whole thing ended with a 59 – 26 victory. 

And some sore, sore, old men who just provided a ton of fun for the rest of the weekend. Thank goodness Finn and Kate are chiropractors is all any of us could say. 

So, while I wave goodbye as they all head back to their respective homes and hot bathtubs, I’ll always be right here…

…Keeping you Posted.

Rach