It has been three weeks since I started this whole Rugby Team. I´d have to admit, my original reason to join these Rugby Trainings is to finish this blog entries and win the contest. However, after all the pains that I have experienced, I have to take this more seriously. What´s to lose, anyway? I have felt all the pains that my body could endure. All that is left is to enjoy the game.

When they told me that the team where I belong lost during the games the Saturday before, I wasn´t in any shock. In fact, I even expected them to lose. After all, they were playing with blokes who have been practicing for more than a year while at the most experienced among us only had 5 days of practice. In fact, if they won that would have surprised me more.

But that was before they told me what really happened. Coach, himself, was too eager to ask who did not play that day. Of course, he knew that majority of us was not there. There were only 7 who went to play the game. And three of them weren´t even there that day. I just know he wanted us to spill it ourselves.

So why did we lose again? As they said, there were only seven people. Meaning, there was no chance to chance for them to take some rest. And with a line-up like that, who would expect them to win?

That was my first lesson of the day. All these time, I never thought they´d expect me to play. I thought they just saw me as someone who´s just playing for the sake of playing (which actually was my first real reason). But on that night, I felt that I did something wrong. And even if I was telling them since the start that I won´t be able to make if last Saturday, it was as if there can never be a reason to justify my absence.

The first lesson of the day : Your team needs you. This case, my team needed my. Actually, aside from it was my first day of class that day, I didn´t want to go because I felt very limited in knowledge. I wasn´t even sure if the way I do things were right. I felt, I´d just put my team is such a bad line-up that we will lose by leaps and bounds.

But even though they didn´t say anything to me directly, I felt it on my shoulder. I placed my team in a more fatal line-up because only 7 of them were left. No one had a chance to rest. So, probably by the second half of the game, everyone was already too tired to continue the fight. I realised, if I was there, I could have given some guys a time to rest so that he can recover his strength and replace me again. So that night, I told myself, I have to take it more seriously.

But enough with the emo stuff. Rugby is always and should always be fun. So there should be some happy moments that day. We did the same routine. And I was even scolded because I could not even follow simple directions. I just found myself listening to everyone because they were trying to explain to me everything that I did not understand. I realised, they really wanted me to learn.

Actually, when I didn´t understand it on the 5th explanation (yes, it took me more than 5 explanations before it got the simple instruction right), they could have told me to stop a while and let others (who comprehend better than me) do the playing. But they didn´t. Everyone waited patiently until I was able to get it. Talk about patience. They really know what that word means.

After the game, back to the usual routine of trying to take some photos of my team mates and some members of the Philippine Volcanoes (most of all Wolfie and Chocoboy. Sino sila? Hehehe) Then we even had a photo with the boy from Hawaii, Keone. And really, they are so different when playing in the field. They call themselves the beasts. But after that game, when everyone is already settled down, it was as if they were transformed into somebody gentler.

Back home, I was still too much overwhelmed to go to sleep. Fortunately, my body was not aching as before. So, while waiting for my eyes to get heavy, I opened my computer and checked my social networking sites. I have a friend invitation from a French boy. So, I accepted him as I always do to everyone. And suddenly he messaged me and told me that he became interested because he saw my Rugby photos. He happens to be related to a former player of Béziers. Actually, his grandfather played for Béziers and all his family played that same game.

I never though Rugby would bring me this far. All I wanted in the beginning was to meet some of the people from the Philippine Team and now, I even got to meet the grandson of an athlete in one of France´s most famous league. He was even surprised to learn that there are actually four teams of rugby existing (the Volcanoes, the Lady Volcanoes, the Tamaraws and the Vipers). Something astounding for a country who is so crazy with basketball.

Now, the encouragement to continue with rugby is not only limited to my fellow Filipinos. Some people from France are encouraging me to go on with it as well. Image, somewhere there at the other side of the earth became happy that a simple someone like me discovered the enjoyment of playing rugby.

Actually, I already have many friends from elsewhere around the globe. But when this boy from France told me how happy he was to know that someone in the Philippines is like me, (someone who enjoys rugby) I felt he was serious. It was as if he found a long lost friend after long years of search.

So, this ends my rugby chronicles. But surely, there will be more experiences with rugby in the future. More fun moments. And more friends. And that is all thanks to you, Rugby...