I was once leading Ann through a sporting goods store when, gazing perplexedly at a wall-mounted TV, she asked, "Kavin, why are all those men hugging?" What she was confused by was, of course, the peculiarly frenetic mess of a Rugby scrum. The image of two groups of burly men trying to continuosly pummel each other while minding an imaginary offside line quickly led to Ann's logical second question, "is there even a ball in there?" I'm less than an hour from watching my sentimental favourites, Fiji, take on Scotland's tartan army--nationalistic favour never even got a chance to get off the ground before Canada's repeated poor showings--and I find myself wondering what it is about rugby that makes it so alien to our North American sporting mindset. h3. The Kicking Game Obviously, not knowing the rules in any formal way, it was always difficult for me to follow a rugby game without translating the play into its North American analogues, Canadian and American football, which I've been inculcated with. Yet, it's strange I never took to it: I'm one of those weird american football fans who actually enjoys the notoriously un-macho aspects of the kicking game. After all, punting and place-kicking were really all that my bodytype was suited for--I played nearly an entire year of schoolyard football in grade 5 before catching a pass ... I also scored on that catch, but that was because nobody ever bothered covering me. In lieu of such natural selection it's only natural that the most exciting moments for me on a rugby pitch involve cunning tactical kicking and not bruising stampedes across the goal line. h3. Give it a chance But of course, I don't think many of us had the chance to learn the game as kids. Honestly, can you say that at the age your gym class had its unit on rugby that any but those five overgrown kids, playing lineman on the football team, had any fun? Of course not, you were likely not a freak of nature and suffered from a sadistic P.E. teacher who believed bone-breaking contact, not skill, was to be the sole virtue of any game. Have you participated in or even viewed an elegant move out to the wing and a subsequent graceful zigzag in for a try? No, because chances are television exposure and grass-roots support for rugby is nearly non-existent in your community. Well, if there ever was a time to take in some rugby, now is the time. So, I'm gonna go and try to absorb Fiji's run in this world cup, trying to learn the laws and phases of play as I do so. Athleticism, skill and some south pacific charm, rugby anyone? p.s. can I get to play flyhalf? Please