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ANDERSON COOPER: Ruck,
maul, blood bin. Just some of the terms used in a
wildly popular sport. No, we're not talking about
synchronized swimming here. We're talking about
rugby. Where the men are tough, the play is rough,
and teeth, well, teeth are optional.
Right now players and fans are swarming France for
the World Cup. CNN's Michael Ware is also on hand
there. He's not in Baghdad tonight, he's in France to
cover the games and to educate me on the fine art of
rugby. I spoke to Michael earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER (on camera): All right, Michael, I got to be
honest with you. I don't know anything about this
sport. I'm guessing a lot of Americans don't know
much about it either. So what is the appeal of rugby?
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson, the
appeal is very much like that of American football.
Essentially, it's a violent form of chess. What we
have is 15 men on either side, no pads, no helmets,
playing on essentially a football-sized field, trying
to put the ball across their opposition line, much
like scoring a touchdown in the end zone.
One big difference, however, is that in rugby, the
game does not stop. Over two 40-minute halves,
there's very few stoppages, except for injury. And
there's very few substitutions. So much so that in
rugby, there's a thing called the blood bin. When
someone is injured that badly and they are bleeding
that profusely, you're allowed to replace him for 10
minutes to stem the bleeding before he returns to the
field. Anderson?
COOPER: And you say that with a smile. You like that,
I think.
WARE: Oh, I have many fond memories. It's a fabulous
game. And Anderson, this is the World Cup. This is an
international game. Twenty international teams
fighting it out to be crowned world champions for the
next four years.
COOPER: So I know rugby has its own language. I want
to go over a couple of the terms with you and if you
can tell us what they mean. We are going to put up
some pictures, and just telestrate. We're looking at
what -- I'm told this over here is a scrum behind
this rather large gentleman in the picture. What is a
scrum?
WARE: Essentially, Anderson, the scrum is rugby's
form of trench warfare. It's one of the ways that you
restart the game after there's been an error or a
mistake. And what you do is from either side, you
take the eight biggest men on the field, put them
together in a wedge- like formation, and slam them up
against each other and they complete for the ball to
get the game going again. Anderson?
COPPER: I'm told what we are looking at now is the
haka. What all of these guys are doing. What the heck
is a haka?
WARE: The haka is basically a war dance. This is
performed primarily by the New Zealand team, known as
the All Blacks, but all the Pacific Island teams have
a similar version. It dates back to the Polynesian
tradition of trying to intimidate your foe prior to
tribal warfare. It is simply one of the greatest
traditions in international rugby, and it's performed
just before the kickoff to scare the living heck out
of your opponents.
COOPER: And now the final term is the hooker. This
guy, I'm told is the hooker. He doesn't look like any
hooker I have ever seen before. What is his job?
WARE: Well, I can tell you that I once in a former
lifetime many years ago was a happy hooker myself.
COOPER: Michael Ware was a hooker, wow.
WARE: We talked about the scrum where the two sides
just -- absolutely, mate -- where the two sides just
pound into each other. It's the hooker who is right
in the middle. His arms pinned up against two
monstrous guys and both hookers compete for the ball
trying to win it for their team using nothing but
their feet to literally hook the ball back to their
side.
COOPER: OK, now Michael, I know you referenced your
own rugby history. You were a happy hooker. I wonder
if we can show a picture of you close up. I want to
ask, is this the result of playing rugby? There seems
to be -- your nose goes in a couple of directions.
I'm wondering, is that from rugby?
WARE: Absolutely, Anderson. And if you wanted me to,
my nose has been broken so many times -- I lost count
at 10 or 11 -- I can break it for you right now here
on TV, so fluid and malleable is it. This is the
essence of rugby. It's about a physical contest. When
it's played well, truly is a hard man's game. You got
to love it, Anderson.
COOPER: I understand it looks like, there are soccer
hooligans who follow around these teams. Obviously
there's a lot of rugby fans. You're at a bar tonight.
It seems like beer and rugby kind of go together?
WARE: Absolutely, hand in hand. One does not go
without the other. It also is part of the culture of
the game. Once you take the field and you belt into
each other, it's one of the greatest honors
afterwards to stop and have a beer with your opposite
number. And that's shared by the supporters.
I mean, rugby is followed by an international tribe,
and here in Marseilles in the south of France, there
is four teams competing out of the eight left trying
to be world champions. And all their followers have
descended. And Marseilles tonight is one huge drunken
spectacle, full of color and noise, Anderson.
COOPER: All right, well, go join it. Michael Ware,
appreciate it. Thanks, Michael.
WARE: Thank you, Anderson.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: I have always wondered about the nose. You've
got to ask.