Rugby: the LDS connection

Now I'm not a big fan of rugby, and I don't really understand how you score points but this Saturday (May 21) BYU and Cal play for the Rugby collegiate championship.  Who would have thought that BYU was such a great Rugby school?  As a matter of fact, BYU and Cal have played for the championship the last 6 years in a row (and yes there are plenty of other teams that would like to play for that championship).  California is so good at Rugby that they haven't lost a game since 2009 when they lost to BYU in the championship.  This year both teams are undefeated as they head into the championship game.  You might be interested to know that Cal made it to the championship by defeating the University of Utah last week.  So two great rugby teams in Utah. 

Some of you might know that Utah has a good Rugby tradition.  A couple years ago a movie came out called Forever Strong about a High School Rugby team in Utah that has won numerous championships in their own right and rarely loses a game.  It is a good movie and worth watching. 

Rugby at BYU is a club sport, which means that it doesn't have all the advantages (like scholarships) of the sports supported directly by the school like football and basketball, track and baseball, etc.  Still BYU keeps coming with a great team year after year.  If you have heard of the rugby haka you might want to learn more about the BYU haka in the video at the end of this post. 

As a matter of fact LDS folks are getting a good reputation for being great at Rugby.  It is true in this country that Rugby isn't a big draw but in Australia for instance several great LDS players have set aside professional playing (for big bucks I might add) to serve missions.

Elder Andersen spoke in April Conference (2011) about a young man who served a mission rather than accept an invitation to play for the top team in New Zealand. Sid Going served faithfully and returned home, able to complete his rugby dream by playing many years on the top team.  Watch the video here to get the whole story and find out what he is doing now in addition too his taking time to encourage young LDS rugby players to put their religion before rugby.   

There is another young man who is setting aside a lot of fame and Money to serve a mission.  William Hopoate of Australia is leaving for a mission.

Read the article about him by clicking on the previous sentence, here is an excerpt: "Hopoate has decided to leave the NRL and serve his two-year mission with the church. He's not the first rugby league player to make such a call and he won't be the last. But arguably, he's the one with the most to lose, in a football (rugby) sense at least."

It is awesome to see young men leave behind anything and everything to serve the Lord.  The older I get, the more I enjoy seeing young people do what it right and let the consequences follow.  Who's on the Lord's side?  Who? 

BYU Haka