10 reasons to love rugby

It's rugby time today, and I'm a bit of a rugby WAG (charming term eh?) so I thought I would share 10 lighthearted reasons why I think rugby is a winner, especially over its sporting arch-enemy: football. 

1. First and foremost, their kit looks great, *especially* on all those beautiful thighs and arms, but the ladies' tops are also actually a really nice fit. 

2. The players. Just.look.at.them. Sorry to be overtly pervy, but let's not kid ourselves here: they're more often than not stunning to look at. My favourite beauties are (clockwise below) Ben Foden, Piri Weepu, Dan Carter, and Owen Farrell (if only for his kicking concentration face).

Sources (clockwise): David Rogers/Getty Images; Paul Harding/Action Images; Fairfax; Getty Images

3. Unlike football, the rugby uber-complex offside rules are not quite as explanatory with household objects (coins, salt & pepper pots, tangerines, Monopoly counters, teabags, etc; the list is endless), so you can pretty much get away with not having to learn them... 

 4. The players actually sing their national anthems...with emotion.

 

5. The referee is treated with respect, and rarely would you see any 'answering back' to a decision. In fact, players are to address the ref as 'Sir'. Not quite the same with football...

6. The seating at rugby games is completely mixed (with some great banter). I've sat in the middle of Italians, French and Kiwis before and had a great laugh with no hard feelings!

7. At the end of every match, you'll see the home team create a 'guard of honour', which is a 'tunnel' to shake hands with the away team as they leave the pitch; the away team return the favour too! So sweet.

8. The teams often eat together after a match; a sign of respect and proof that what happens on the pitch stays on the pitch.

9. The All Black's Haka. It's almost good enough to make you want to support them (coming from a Brit). Need I say more. This one in the video is led by Piri Weepu...*swoon*

10. The general passion behind the sport! I love this pic below that I took in New Zealand back in 2011 when we managed to squeeze in England's quarter-final game against France as part of our trip.

I'm not one to judge, but we've all heard the saying "rugby is a thug's sport played by gentlemen; football is a gentleman's sport played by thugs". I wouldn't go as far as labelling all football players/supporters as thugs and I think the saying is meant to be taken lightly, but I do feel that the hooliganism associated with football is awful. It's a shame that a minority can often ruin things for a majority. Do you agree or disagree?

The mighty England play Wales later today as part of the Six Nations competition. Will you be behind them to 'carry them home'?

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