Jenn and I have really been enjoying the Churchill Cup, an international rugby football tournament being held here in Denver this year.  Six teams are participating, including: England, USA, Ireland, Argentina, Canada and Georgia.  The games are quite fun, with some great runs, long kicks and lots of brutal tackles.  Here are a few shots from today’s match between England and the US (click to see larger):

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Forward passes are not allowed in rugby, so the teams practice throwing the ball sideways and slightly behind them, so a teammate can catch it and run.

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Instead of a “line of scrimmage” as in American football, rugby has “scrumdowns”.  Eight men from each side crouch and then slam into each other, while another man rolls the ball in from the side.  The object is to control the ball and work it to the back of your pack.

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The USA Eagles were the only team to have a mascot on the sidelines.  He scares me a little…

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This was the reason we left before the second match of the afternoon.  Denver has been seeing severe thunderstorms every afternoon for weeks now, so this wasn’t surprising, but since I took this picture from the stands, it was a little close for us and we decided to boogey on outta there before the Ireland v Georgia match…

And as a special treat, before the match today, Eric Scott, who flys for GoFast Energy drink took his jet pack around the pitch.  Here’s the vid:

Fly Guy