Illustration by Megan Eloise/The Gazelle

Kicking off on Sept. 18, The Rugby World Cup has inflamed passions among a small sector of the student body, while arousing bemusement across the rest of campus. Beyond the odd screening of games involving the self-pronounced Greatest Team on Earth, otherwise known as the New Zealand All Blacks, few students have vociferously advertised their allegiances.

Self-described as a die-hard fan, junior Brittany Trilford noted that these screenings involve popcorn and beverages, as well as mild amounts of screaming and shouting, especially if it looks like New Zealand may not at least double the other team’s score.

But students who are not from one of the 177 nations comprising the governing body, World Rugby, may be asking, what is rugby?

Senior Sam Ridgeway described it as the gentleman’s game, but added that when he played it in high school, it was “the one chance you could hit an upper-class kid in an organized way.”

Comparisons to more widely known sports abound, with sophomore Leo Asatiani invoking football as a slightly similar game that’s different in important ways.

“You know in [football] when somebody gets hit in the foot, they cry for an hour? In rugby somebody breaks his face and they're like — No, I have to get that try, I have to put it down.’”

Trilford likened it to another sport.

“I normally describe it as kind of like American football, but for men,” she said.

The modern game extends well beyond former British colonies, however. Asatiani also pointed out that his high-ranking national team, Georgia, is prohibited from entering the exalted top-tier Six Nations tournament composed of England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, France and Italy despite repeated calls for them to do so.

When asked for their favorites, Asatiani, Ridgeway and Trilford all expected New Zealand to win; however, both Asatiani and Trilford expressed admiration for Wales as the team to watch out for.

For those whose interest has been piqued, touch rugby is played on campus on Sundays from 5:30 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. and is open to all. Currently, the team is not part of the competitive league, but word on the highline suggests that there may be a mini-tournament coming to campus in the future in the style of the Saadiyat Series.