This Means More

Rugby is truly a game for all. It doesn’t matter what you look like, where you’re from, who you love, or how (or if) you pray. It doesn’t matter if you’ve played the game for decades or days. It doesn’t matter if you’re eight or eighty. Rugby is home.

Rugby is a game, but it’s bigger than the pitch, bigger than the teams. It means more than wins and losses. No matter where you find yourself in the world, the sight of a set of rugby posts means you’re among friends and family. This means more. In what other sport could a father run out with his son as part of the same old boys team and later in the week play alongside his daughter during the club’s touch session?

For many of us rugby is a sanctuary, a place to truly be ourselves, a home when even our physical home is in turmoil. On the pitch, we find community, support, and protection. Beyond the pitch, rugby offers us the same. The neighbourhood club means a warm welcome, a cold drink, good company, and a sense of belonging. This means more.

Our society is the most connected in human history. It’s also the most disconnected. In a world crying out for meaningful community, rugby stands like a beacon. It matters.

Whether you’re a forward, a back, a coach, a fan, an official, rugby experienced, or rugby curious, you’re part of the family. In rugby there’s no need to be someone else, no need to hide who you truly are, no need to hold any part of yourself back. In rugby, you can be you.

You see, the posts mean more than some pieces of upright metal. The ball means more than just a big bouncing egg. The club means more than a crest and colours. The game means more than numbers on a scoreboard.

Rugby means getting up after a hard tackle. It means having teammates to cover you when you’re down. It means being the smallest on the team and still getting a kit. It means getting together at the clubhouse after a drubbing and sharing a drink. It means always having someone with you, next to you, behind you, supporting you, binding, covering, rucking over. On and off the pitch. It means having a community to talk to, to listen to you, a team to conquer life with.

Rugby matters. The posts guide us. The ball is in your hands. The club welcomes you. Rugby means more.

- Adam Hughes