Motherhood,
          Rugby,

          and Apple Pie?

Rugby seems to be an emerging sport here in Lake Forest as several local matches have been in the news lately.  Lake Forest College's club defeated the Lake County Gladiators from Gurnee 14-0 at the college field in April.  Also in April, the Lake Forest Harriers, a new high-school-aged club, defeated the New Trier rugby club 54-8, and the Deerpath Braves  defeated Cicero 41-17 at the Middle School Rugby Festival held at Deer Path Middle School.  You can learn more about these clubs and their schedules by following the links from their names above.
 

Rugby was reputedly invented in 1823 at the Rugby School near Rugby, England and is the only major sport named after the place of its invention rather than an element of the sport itself. (1)  Two versions of the sport developed:  Rugby Union, played by amateurs and pros; and Rugby League, played by pros.  Both versions are played by two teams who kick, pass, or carry the ball toward the opposing team's goal until they can touch it over the goal line or kick it over the goal to score.  Matches move fast with nearly continuous physical play including tackling.  At the end of two 40-minute halves, the team with the most points wins. (2)

If rugby is new to you, you might enjoy learning about it and some of its interesting terms:  scrum, fend, hooker, ruck, and maul.  Follow this link to a list of titles about or relating to rugby:  Rugby Selections in the Lake Forest Library.


References:
1. "Rugby." World of Sports Science. Ed. K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 2007. 583-585. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 17 May 2011.
2. Haden, Andy, and Neville N. Kesha. "Rugby football." World Book Advanced. World Book, 2011. Web.  17 May 2011.