The referee calls the two captains of the team to the side. He flips the coin and the decision is made. You either started on the defensive or on the offensive. Both teams go out onto the field and position themselves accordingly. The offensive side spreads out across the field to what looks like chaos to the eye of the outsider but it isn't. It's strategic positioning. The team on the defensive side all aligns as one row along the centre line, ready to protect its territory.
Welcome to the game of rugby. I didn't know this at the time but years later, I realized that rugby was teaching me lessons that extended far beyond the field.
When I started high school in Calgary, during the first week of school, I went for soccer tryouts. It was during the fall season. I played soccer in Libya and also in the UK, while I briefly lived in Nottingham. So naturally, I wanted to continue playing in high school. My first season with the team left little to be desired. The coach was incompetent, played favouritism, and the dynamics of the team were subpar. After the soccer season ended, I heard from someone about rugby. So I asked my friend, "should we go try this?" and we went together.
It was one of the best decisions I ever made.
This game was completely foreign to me but the coach was good and the team had great energy. I got put in the position of wing which is where most new fast small people start. At that stage, I believed being a wing was simple. Run fast, find space , and finish the play. I didn't yet understand the complexity of the game. Being a wing was considered the easiest position for a beginner because speed mattered more than mastering the technical aspects of the game. As one of the smallest players on the team, it was the perfect position for me.
My high school, John G. Diefenbaker, was famous for our rugby talents. Especially the girls team. We were in the city's division 1 league so the expectations were high. I don't know what it was but I really loved this sport so I focused and worked super hard. We had rugby training every day after school for two hours, tournaments every other weekend, and a game about once a week. We were always on the field, come rain or shine.
Being on that team was fun. We were bound together by our school pride and many of us saw each other in classes too. My fondest memories were the moments we spent on the big yellow bus that transported us from the school to our games. You know those yellow buses you see in American movies that take kids to school. We used to sing songs together, joke around with each other, or if you're me...one time I ran to a McDonald's right before a game because I was so hungry and ate the burger on the bus hiding under the seat so the coach wouldn't see me. I also specifically remember my teammates singing a song that went like this:
"Que sera sera...whatever will be will be"
At that time, I didn't speak French so I was confused...are they singing about me? Because the way they said "sera" sounded exactly like how a Canadian would pronounce my name. I was so confused omg. I used to slightly blush and look around and wonder whether they're singing to me, about me, for me. Lol. Now I can look back and laugh.
First year with the team flashed by and by the end of the season, we were City Champions.
Then second year started and we were back to the grind. What I loved about my team is that winning never went to our heads. We continued playing hard, we continued anticipating what the other team would plan for us, and we continued being hungry for more. Rugby players never complete with each other, we played together as a team. Everyone was responsible for playing their position to the best of their ability.
I continued my position as a wing then half way through the season, something changed. Our scrum half left us. I don't remember exactly why but I do remember the coach panicking to find a replacement because it was a very important position on the field. The same friend who I invited to come to try outs with me suggested to me that I should propose myself as a replacement. "It could be a really good fit for you" but I was a bit hesitant. Although, he didn't show it openly, I slightly felt that our coach didn't like me too much so I stayed quiet. Or maybe it was a slight lack of confidence. Every practice, someone new was given a chance but the coach was never convinced. Then one day my friend went up to him and said " I think you should let Sura try" and he did. From that day on, I became the scrum half of the team.
The number 9, or the scrum half, is the middle bridge between the forwards and the backs. They direct the flow of the game and communicate constantly to both the forwards and the backs. Their main mission is to clear the ball after every tackle, scrum, maul, or ruck and get it out to the players. Being exceptionally fit was a necessity to survive this position. You have to run around the field the entire game. You don't need to be the strongest player on the field, but you have to be the thinker. Standing at the centre of the action, the scrum half reads the game, anticipates what the opposition is about to do, and makes quick decisions that determine how the team attacks.
Being a scrum half also involves precision in throwing the ball. My right throw was on point but my left side was weaker. I had to dedicate many hours to perfect my throw. I would meet my coach before the rest of the team or stay behind after everyone left to practice. At the end of year two, we won City Championships again and this time, our coach entered us into the provincial championship competition. It happened in Vulcan, Alberta. A strange little town in Southern Alberta. The name of this town is shared with the home planet of the Star Trek character, Spock. They took this alien identity seriously. They built a visitor centre that resembles a spacecraft and planned annual sci-fi and Star Trek themed events that attracted visitors from all over the world.
Now, back to rugby. The Vulcan rugby team was tough. I remember looking at some of those girls and genuinely feeling afraid for my safety. They had huge muscular legs and unmatched speed. Imagine having to tackle them and bring them down..o..m..g. The Provincial tournament happened over two days and we played teams from all over Alberta. I remember when we played a weaker team, my coach actually let me sit on the sidelines and watch because he was afraid I might get injured and he needed me for the bigger games. That made me feel special. And guess what, we won the tournament and went home proudly as the Champions of Alberta. Carrying our trophy and many bruises home with us.
I guess I polished over that part so far: the bruises. The tackles in rugby were so violent at times, it was very normal to get a black eye or a purple bruise on your body after every game. We were accustomed to this. We used to see these bruises as tokens of pride from the battlefield. Unlike American Football, rugby was a game played without any bodily protection so you had to bear the pain. It was part of the game. My worst injury was a fractured nose. Being a scrum half was tough, since I was the first to touch the ball, there were always so many hungry forwards charging at me. Every ball touch received a violent tackle and my challenge was to get the ball out before I got down. I only had seconds.
As a wing, I had absolutely no clue what the forwards were doing. Even with the backs, I was rarely involved in the strategies of the game. I was last in line to receive the ball, if it even made it out to me. As a scrum half, everything was different. I had to practice separately with the forwards and the backs. Each had their own tactics and strategies and I was the key player in all of them. Without the scrum half, nothing flows. During every practice, we planned, strategized, and executed.
The third year with the team was different. I was now considered a senior and since the captains of the teams graduated high school, the coach picked new captains. I was never made the captain of the team but on the field, I was a leader. I had the loudest voice, I pushed people and inspired them to be much bigger.
I distinctly remember one game where we played our arch nemesis team. I want to say they were called Bishop Grandin. I don't remember why we hated this team but we did. Half way through the game, we were losing by far. Hope was almost lost. We felt shame and disappointment. I gathered the team around and gave them a pep talk, losing to this team was not an option for me. It's safe to say that the turn around was phenomenal. We completely took control of the field after that and crushed them to defeat. I don't know what I said that impacted the team that way but it was effective.
Although I was small and my left throw was not the most precise, I discovered that my biggest strength was my mind.
We did not win City Champions that year and that really broke me down, into tears actually but I got something even bigger, I won the "Most Valuable Player" award. Part of me was anticipating the win, part of me was surprised. My coach didn't seem too happy when he presented me with the award and later I found out that he was hesitant to give it to me in the first place but he had no choice. The other coaches told him "Only Sura deserves it". I never confronted him about it. Perhaps he simply saw something in me that I couldn't understand at the time. Perhaps he underestimated me. I may never know.
Rugby gave me focus and discipline. I never pursued rugby at the varsity level or anything higher than that and until this day, I wonder whether I made the right decision. I continued playing rugby at a local Calgary club called the Saracens every summer for another 4 years after that also as scrum half, but it was not like my first team. I will never forget those 3 years I spent with them. They shaped me into who I am today.
Looking back, becoming a scrum half probably suited me far better than being a wing ever did. I started rugby because I could run fast. I stayed because I discovered I loved thinking just as much as running. The scrum half wasn't the biggest player on the field, nor the strongest, but they had to constantly read the game, anticipate what everyone else was about to do, and make decisions in a split second. Years later, whether in engineering, business, or life, I realized I was still playing the same position. The field had simply changed.
And that game with Bishop Grandin taught me what kind of leader I am. I am happy working without a title, without recognition, and without grandiose materialistic rewards. I simply like to make an impact.
In the game of rugby, you don't need to be the biggest or the strongest on the field. You need awareness, courage, and the ability to understand the game before everyone else does.
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