> Too many Americans see rugby as a violent sport.
I once read a definition in the Devil's Dictionary that went something like this: "Soccer is a Gentleman's game played by Ruffians; Rugby is a Ruffian's game played by Gentlemen."
It is God's Literal Truth! You will get more violence in your average game of baseball than you will in your average Rugby match. Sure, you may get hurt playing Rugby, but it won't be because of cheating or dirty play.
> I'm saddened to see them leave and play for the All Blacks.
Don't be! They are laughing all the way to the bank! They have the best of both worlds, you see:
Auckland is the largest Polynesian city in the world, and it tends to attract people from all over the South Pacific. Many of them (Samoans, Tongans) come here to work, make a good living, send money home, and eventually retire back to their own wee islands, rich as kings.
There's not alot wrong with that strategy: put away some money, work hard for a few years, then retire to a South Pacific tropical paradise like Samoa or Tonga or Nieue...
...hell, I'd do it in a minute if I could!
I suppose to me it's a loyalty issue. Although, I'm at an advantage, I don't have to leave America for opportunities. Living on the Islands, you sometimes have to go elsewhere.