(Untitled)

[bullfightposter]

Time: August 15, 2000
Status: Open to spectators or joiners in
Setting: The manor lawn
Summary: Brian teaches the way of the rugger

Comments

[average_adam]

"Er," said Adam eloquently, looking uncertain. "How do I know if I'm in front of it?"

He wasn't sure about this venture. It was Brian, so it had to be okay, but he tended to prefer games without a lot of rules. And did he really have to be wearing such a small pair of shorts?

[average_adam]

Okay, that shorts thing was interesting. But by the time he'd gotten used to that particular sensation, he was in the air and flailing around trying to keep his balance. Legs stiff, knees locked, oh, that was easier. As he landed on the ground again, Adam was laughing. "That was brilliant!"

[bullfightposter]

"Says you!" Brian said, shaking out his wrists. "Flailing around like that, you could do a man damage." He stuck out his tongue.

"No more lifting for you till you've learned something else."

[average_adam]

"Sorry, Brian," said Adam, face flushed and smiling. "What now?"

[bullfightposter]

Brian pondered ever so seriously for a moment.

Then he dropped to a crouch and threw himself at Adam's knees.

"Tackling!"

In his defense, it was a correctly executed tackle, well powered and with a good lock around the lower legs.

Against him, however, was the fact that it had been a rather dirty trick.

[average_adam]

Adam made a funny noise as he toppled onto the grass and the air got pushed out of him.

"Brian!" he managed to squeak, trying to look stern and failing miserably because he was laughing. "C'mon now. I'm not learnin' anythin' about rugby. Gerroff!"

[bullfightposter]

Brian bounced up to his feet. "C'mon, you're learning lots! For instance, you can't tackle above the waist. I mean, you can, but maybe someone'll get hurt, and it ain't half as 'fficient as when you get'm around the knees."

Hope I got this right... I know nothing about rugby except what I just read on the internet. ;)

[classic_palm]

Shadow couldn’t help but laugh at the look on Adam’s face when he went down under Brian’s tackle

[bullfightposter]

"Not quite," Brian admitted cheerfully, "But close. You don't drop-kick the ball at the end. You take it all the way back, touch it down, and THEN you have the chance to kick it for extra points. You can kick it anywhere on a straight line back from where you touched it down-- so if you touch it down right in the middle, you have a pretty clear shot."

He caught the ball. "Passing, all right. You can only pass to the side, and behind. Not too far behind, or else you just lose ground."

He showed them both how to hold the ball, in two hands, to put a spin on it. Then he stood besides Adam, and a little in front, and tossed it to him.

[average_adam]

Adam caught the ball stiffly, elbows sore from when he went down on them, and trying to copy Brian's moves, turned around and passed it to Shadow with a grateful over-the-shoulder glance.

"That makes a bit more sense. It's easier to start with the general 'fore you move on to the specific rules and stuff. Gotta have a goal in mind, right?"

[bullfightposter]

Brian looked prim and sensible.

Given that it was Brian, well, it just looked out of place.

"There is a goal. That's the goal," he said, pointing innocently.

[average_adam]

For a boy of infinite imagination, making this one random area of grass a goal over any other area of grass in the world seemed to be oddly difficult. This piece of grass should be differentiated in some way so that he knew it was a goal. Reality heard his wish and obliged, putting proper rugby goals in where they should be. That helped Adam lock in the idea. Sometimes when you can see everything at once, focusing on just one thing that isn't really there is hard.

"Well, I meant the point of the game, but all right. That's the goal. We've done tacklin', passin', liftin', and where to stand. What's next? Runnin? I'm good at that."

[bullfightposter]

Brian stood back, impressed by the sudden appearance of two tri-lines and a pair of uprights.

"But the goal is the goal," he said, continuing with his matter-of-fact innocence. "Get the ball there. All the rules just tell you HOW to get it there."

"An you already know how to run. What we gotta do is put it all together in your mind."

[classic_palm]

Shadow rearranged the information about drop-kicks in his head and passed the ball back to Brian.

"What we need," he suggested glibly, "is a practical demonstration."

[average_adam]

"That's right," said Adam eagerly. "Maybe I should just watch for a couple of minutes..."

[bullfightposter]

"Oh, I suppose," said Brian (who had his own reasons to keep Adam concentrating hard). "Me and Shadow could show you how to pass. But it takes three to really see why you pass."