Matthew's First Rugby Game

Sunday, Matthew played in his first rugby game. This has been a long-time coming. Each week it seemed there was another piece of paperwork that Matthew was asked to fill out, or another document he had to turn in, before he could play. He even had to write and get permission from the American Association of Rugby to play on a non-American team.
We drove about 45 minutes to get to the rugby field (past the Louis Vuitton factory!). When we left Clermont, there were blue skies and lots of sunshine. By the time we reached the rugby field, it was freezing and starting to sprinkle.
I have heard how rough rugby can be, and after the very first play, one of our players had his head cut by an opponent's cleat. One of the wives is the "trainer" and ran over to clean off the blood with a sponge and a bucket of water. Then she covered the cut with vasoline and by the next play he was back out on the field. Each time it started bleeding again, she would just put more vaseline on it. (Oh, and anytime anybody else got cut, the wound was cleaned with the same sponge and the same bucket of water! Yuck!!!)
I was glad to see that Matthew was out of the scrum. Bertrand, on the other hand, seemed to always be in the middle of the scrum and at the bottom of the pile! Towards the end of the game, the captain asked Matthew if he wanted to try out the scrum.
Although our team lost, the one touchdown (I don't know if that is the right term for a score in rugby...) was in large part thanks to Matthew, Bertrand, and Ricky (a fellow Michelin employee). Unfortunately, Claire and I missed it because we were still in the car trying to warm up! :)
I am happy to report that although very sore, Matthew survived his first rugby match with only a few scratches caused by the ground.
Here are some pictures. Matthew is #12 and Betrand is #6.