Dhani Jones probably won't be trading his quest for the Lombardi Trophy with a quest for the Heineken Cup any time soon, but the Cincinnati Bengals linebacker got a taste of American football's distant relative when he trained with Blackheath Rugby Club, which was founded it 1858 and is the third-oldest rugby club in the world. Blackheath currently plays in National Division Two, the third tier of English club rugby behind the Guinness Premiership and Division One.
Jones is filming a series of segments for the Travel Channel in which he learns how to play international sports that are unknown to most Americans. He's currently in Ireland learning the old Gaelic sport of hurling.
Bit of trivia for you: the Blackheath representative stormed out of the first Football Association meetings in 1863, claiming it wasn't real football unless you could A.) carry the ball while running and B.) kick the ball carrier in the shins. So the next time someone tries to argue what real football is, throw that line at them and see how they respond.
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Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 1)
1. This was great to watch, and big ups to Dhani for trying something new. It's also nice to see rugby portrayed as something better than a sport college kids play as an excuse to get wasted. Rugby is such a great sport once you learn what's going on, and its pace is a lot more appealing to me than football.
On top of that, it's a rush to play. There's no better feeling than to lay someone out and feel their ribs deflate, as opposed to hitting hard plastic. My hope is that rugby really catches on here and gets some TV exposure.
Posted at 4:15PM on May 2nd 2008 by mattclake5
2. I remember seeing a bumper sticker that reads "Real Men Play Rugby." Rugby and Aussie Rules Football are great sports to see on television.
Posted at 12:42AM on May 4th 2008 by George B Vieto
3. When is Dhani going to learn to play hockey, no one in America watches that either.
Posted at 5:25PM on May 4th 2008 by Brian
4. free bet
i think the bengals are due for a break this season, enough downfall
Posted at 11:39AM on May 5th 2008 by free bet
5. Instead of playing rugby - he ought to spend his time improving his NFL game - because he is HORRIBLE.
He actually shouldn't even be in the league right now - and he knows it. That is why he has been working hard on his media whore personality...
Posted at 1:57PM on May 6th 2008 by Dahani Hater
6. Rugby skills could be loosely based on American Football but hurling is a whole other challenge. It's an incredibly difficult game to master. Fair play to him for giving it a try, he seems to be doing ok picking up the skills in training but the real test will be how he survives the actual game which is on tomorrow (saturday)
Posted at 2:31PM on May 9th 2008 by larry