Bloody Marvelous

Photo By: Michael T. Regan

A night of rugby and remembrance at Franklin Field.

by Mike Newall

Rugby. It's Australian for: "Oh, shit that had to hurt."Tuesday night, the University of Pennsylvania's Franklin Field hosted a historic, first-ever match between the Australian and American National Rugby League sides. Close to 5,000 fans were on hand as the 18th-ranked USA Tomahawks took on the world champion, No. 1-ranked Australian Kangaroos in the Liberty Bell Cup exhibition match.

It was a brutally thrilling game.

Rugby is kind of like American football without pads or forward passes. Each 13-man squad gets six downs to score before having to turn the ball over. There is no stoppage of play between downs. Only continuous, high-speed finesse passing and gut-wrenching tackles.

The Americans, considered Davids against the Australian Goliaths, put up a fight. Tackling and running hard, the 'Hawks brought it to the Aussies and led 24-6 at halftime. But the 'Roos—who haven't lost an international series in 30 years—dominated the second half, scoring 36 unanswered points.

Still, the Australians were impressed.

"They were tougher than we thought," said Kangaroos coach Wayne Bennett.

The match was organized by David Nui, an Australian native who is president of the Pennsylvania-based American National Rugby League, as a way of promoting the sport in the U.S. But there were symbolic undertones as well. In the night's first match, billed the Remembrance Cup, the Coogee Dolphins took on the Glen Mills Bulls. In 2002, six members of the Dolphins were killed when terrorists bombed two nightclubs on the Indonesian resort island of Bali [News, "A Good Fight," Mike Newall, Nov. 25, 2004].

"The world became a little smaller on September 11," said Coogee team president Albert Talarico before the game. "And even smaller after Bali. We both experienced loss and pain. This game will honor our mates that are no longer with us and pay respect to the mateship between two countries."

The Coogee Dolphins won easily, 42-10.

"It was an honor to play this game," said Dolphin's Captain Brock Thompson, whose brother Clint, along with 87 other Australians, died in the bombing.

Many local Australians came out to honor the Dolphins.

"I left work early to make sure I caught the first game," says Jon Bourner, an Australian native who now lives in Morgantown. Todd Beamer, one of the heroes of doomed Flight 93, was Bourner's co-worker. "There's not words to describe this night. Bloody marvelous. Bloody marvelous."