try, try again

*** a try in rugby = a touchdown in American football

The boys are playing rugby. Leave it to us to be in a country for only a week before finding a sport to enroll them in. Josh was asking around at the embassy what sports the kids play here in Oman and we found out that the soccer season ended a week ago, but 2 different people mentioned a rugby club that meets on Sunday nights.

So, we loaded the kids in the rental car and headed out to the rugby field last night.

There were 5 different age groups out there -- kids as young as 4 all the way up through high school. The boys joined the groups for their ages and spent the next hour and a half running, passing, tackling and having a great time. There were probably 60 - 70 kids playing in all the groups combined. (that's Carter running out to join his group.)

This bruiser looks like she could take down a few opponents of her own, doesn't she?

The club is run by a group of dads, most from Australia or New Zealand, of course. Carter and Caleb's groups spent time doing drills and playing games that reinforced rugby skills. They scrimmaged at the end with flags, no tackling. 

Caleb practicing with a practice pad

Now trying out his skills on dad.

Calvin's group (he's #8 in the white jersey and red shorts) did some drills and then scrimmaged. Calvin scored a try and almost had a second one, but was forced out of bounds. At his age they wear mouth guards and tackle like the grownups would. The coach warned us that they've already had two broken arms this season and Josh, like a seasoned rugby player, said, "of course." :sigh: I can do bumps and bruises and banging around and even a little blood, but I don't know that I'm up for broken bones . . .

 

Girly, Josh, and I hung out and watched practice together and enjoyed the warm evening. Aside from me getting bitten by an ant (stupid fire ants), it was a fun way to spend the evening.  Especially since Camille is happy to sit and play and isn't trying to crawl all over the field like her brothers used to. It's *really* nice to finally have a baby that will hang out with us and isn't always in search of the next big adventure.

At the end of practice, all three boys said it was "awesome" and "better than football" so I'd say we have three new rugby fans/players on our hands.


Just as we were leaving, the call to prayer started. Except for the part where I almost jumped out of my skin when the call started with the loud, "Allah Akbar!" it was really beautiful and crystal clear. (the popping noises you hear are all from the breeze hitting my camera microphone).