Wickets, Scrums, and Aussies OH MY

Hello hello!

Over these past few days I've been able to partake in a few sporting experiences that are not-so-typical in the US of A, Rugby & Cricket. South Africa took on Australia in the quarter finals of the Rugby World Cup this past Sunday morning and suffered a disappointing loss to the Aussies.

Whippersnappers

 In honor of the loss many South Africans have decided to sacrifice Bryce Lawrence to the Rugby Gods due to his less than spectacular refereeing skills.

FAIL

It is quite interesting to watch Rugby I must say. It is like watching American Football without the annoying cheerleaders, constant stop & go, and oh yea, protective padding! These crazy fools don't wear any pads or helmets, just a simple mouth guard will do. They basically go into the game accepting the huge possibility that they may come out of the game with a disfigured face and a broken limb or two or three, or CAULIFLOWER EAR! Probably the nastiest term I've EVER heard. (For those who haven't heard of it before, as I hadn't, google images it, but beware its so nasty)

South African professional Rugby players earn between $100,000 and $650,000 per year compared to the average salary of $1,642,595 for a New England Patriots football player. Yikes. That is quite a difference.

Yesterday I braved the Gale Force Winds and went with a couple of chaps to get up close and personal (from behind a fence) with the Australian national cricket team. They were certainly not as beastly at the rugby players, mostly just tall, pale, and lanky.

I don't know any of the rules of cricket or really what is going on during a game. I know that the people who pitch are called bowlers, the batters basically wear the equivalent of hockey goalie shin guards, and that that hard little ball looks like it would hurt SO BAD if you got nailed with it. Oh and that the Aussies are playing South Africa on Thursday woop woop. Maybe if I learn the rules I could be the Heidi Watney of cricket ;).