Americans Were Horrified At The Roughness Of Rugby

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 13, Issue 43, 19 January 1949, Page 8

Americans Were Horrified At The Roughness Of Rugby

Teams from H.M.S. Duke of York and H.M.S. St. James played a demonstration Rugby match when the warships visited Norfolk (Virginia) during the Home Fleet’s autumn cruise. It was the first occasion most of the 15,000 spectators had had an opportunity to see this full-blooded English sport and to compare it with the American brand of football. English folk who form their opinions of American football by the robust hard-hitting displayers they see in films will be mildly surprised by an American commentator’s views on Rugby. This is what he said : “Whatever the faults of Rugby, as far as an American crowd is concerned,. it made American football look like an indoor sport for old maids. In the words of one American who watched the game ‘lt’s brutal.’ “Baffled by the intricacies of Rugby, the Norfolk audience sat on the edge of its seats and watched the Englishmen pulverise each other. Two members of the St. James team left the game, heaps of crushed bones. The violence of the game made the Americans question the traditional reticence and aloofness of their British cousins. “One Norfolk woman, after watching 29 Englishmen crawl' atop one of their countrymen, said’ ‘Thank goodness they’re our allies. Just imagine facing such a fighting spirit on the battlefield.’ ” ( And this is what one of the British officers told the Americans: “Not much to look ati No practice, you know. They’re soft. You should watch our professionals.” .