Rugby in the Snow

When I woke up this morning, I was a little confused. I was still in my cottage in Ireland, but outside it looked like we had been transported back to Minnesota. Snow. I built up a fire and spent the rest of the morning tending to it and reading. Then Emilee woke up and wanted to go for a walk, so I threw an extra layer of clothes on and went with her. As we walked, we were talking about how this kind of snow is the absolute best for snowballs; I had an idea that we just couldn’t pass by: snowball fight with all of our classmates.

We knocked on every cottage door with various repetitions of, “Suit up for a snowball fight!” Not everyone was home and not everyone wanted to play, but those who did come out had a blast! None of us expected weather like this, so we were all clad in jeans, light jackets, and any shoes but snow boots. I wore my Chucks (not a bright idea, but it was what I had on hand), and I saw others in hiking boots, rain boots, and tennis shoes. Pretty soon into the fight one of the guys produced a rugby ball. It started as just passing it around and attempting to tackle each other, but progressed to an actual organized match. Or our version of a rugby match, anyways.

The Riders of Johann (who later changed their names to the Mighty Ducks) vs Team Ramrod. Team Ramrod won 3 tries to 1, but both teams put on an impressive game. Everyone came away sopping wet, freezing cold, and needing to do laundry, but it was well worth it. There were a few minor injuries: some scrapes and bruises, sore joints, and almost a broken toe, but that’s to be expected. It was pretty cool mixing our Minnesotan indifference to snow with such a popular Irish game.