No Pads

In that age-old bar debate over which athletes are the toughest, rugby players somehow never come up. So, in order to strengthen your drunken ramblings, check out the Kansas City Rugby Football Club, which is about to start its spring season.

Sure, rugby is sort of like football without the pads. (Can we mention that their uniforms are more aesthetically pleasing than, say, the mismatched jerseys and helmets of the Pro Bowl?) But rugby uses cool terms such as scrum (a formation that looks like a giant spider, with the players huddled and trying to get possession of the ball) and hooker (a front-row forward).

“It’s a cross between soccer and American football, where it’s kind of nonstop action and continuous play all the time,” says Brian Cichello, president of the KCRFC. “But there’s tackling involved, and you can play with your hands. We don’t have the forward pass, so it’s kind of like the option in football — everything is lateral or backwards.”

The men of the KCRFC play all of their home games at Seymour Rugby Park, at Interstate 35 and Front Street. Befitting a team that’s sponsored by Newcastle Brown Ale, spectators can bring their favorite beverage — yes, drinking is allowed in the peanut gallery. “It’s kind of a park atmosphere, with a little action going on in the middle,” Cichello says. The club then hosts an after-match party for its opponent at Molloy Brothers Irish Pub, where all are welcome to join them. Cichello says the big games this season will be against the two St. Louis teams (the KCRFC has to beat one of them to advance to the Western quarterfinals) and against the KC Blues, its in-town rival.

Contrary to popular belief, size is not a factor when it comes to playing rugby. And if you want to sound really knowledgeable in your next sports-bar debate, just throw in “rucks and mauls.”