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

Competition or cooperation?

Sometimes we have strong competitive feelings.  That is the norm when we talk about sports and one team playing another.  In recent years we have taken that competition to greater heights where we vilify the other team and spend days and weeks identifying their weaknesses in the field of play and unfortunately in their life too.  We try to find any edge to help them play poorly so our team can win.  If we can make them feel too small, too week or too ill prepared, or barring all that if we can just make them lose their focus during the game then we can give them the impression that we are better or bigger than we are. 

That is despicable when it happens in sports but it has grown way beyond sports to life in general.  Anytime someone feels competition with another the field now includes jibes about their personal life. 

I remember when I was a child and this sort of thing was happening back then.  The last resort for a child to say in the school yard when nothing else could be said to gain an edge was "Your mommy wears Army boots!"  That always struck me as funny, even when I was a kid.  Nowadays there are plenty of mother's in the military and they do indeed where Army boots. 


In the video entitled "Same Jersey" we learn about two competitive boys who are quarterbacks on opposite teams.  They both want to win the game but simply by their team doing their best.  They have a very close relationship.  Watch it and be inspired. 

I was visiting a Branch of the church on an Army base a few weeks ago.  This branch was specifically for students in the military who are prohibited from leaving the base because they are at the beginning of their service and haven't earned that freedom yet.  Most of them came dressed in their military camouflage fatigues.  They were all on the same team and they treated each other with respect.  The ladies and the men were dressed the same and both treated respectfully.  

Although I was dressed in a suit I was on their team as well.  The outside appearance may have been different but our loyalties were the same. 

When I used to coach city league girl's basketball a few years ago, sometimes the girls would express that they wished players on the other team would play poorly or be sick for a game so that we could more easily win.  I taught them however that the key was for us to play our best.  And, that we wanted the other team to play their best so that when we beat them then we could say we really had done something meaningful.  The goal wasn't a win, but rather that we did our best.   

So when we sit at church and look around the congregation are we able to recognize that we are on the same team and not trying to out do, out dress, out cool each other.  When we make comments in Sunday School are we able to enjoy and grow from the comments of others or are we busy trying to figure out what we can say that is better than the other guy.  Can we remove competition from church and from the home and maybe find that while we are moving it out that we need to move it right on out of our life?  Can we recognize that all of the people around us are our brothers and sisters, and we can help, can love, can encourage, can support their best efforts instead of trying to outdo them?  Let's not compete with others and instead help all, including ourselves to be the best we each can be.

cooperation

cooperation

cooperation

cooperation