Rugby and Nudity

I had to mention nudity in the title because I wouldn’t have discovered this sport had it not been for the nudity. It all started with a “taping of” DVD I’d rented done by Pedro Usabiaga, a photographer who has shot some of the best-known European celebrities and athletes but has a penchant for shooting hard male bodies. It’s called Private Diary if you want to go check it out. Anyway, when I was searching for it on amazon.com, Amazon’s clever recommendation tool told me I may also like Dieux du Stade, an almost-nude or nude celebration of some of the hottest rugby players of the French Stade rugby team and others they’ve recommended for the honor. So, I bought a couple of their DVD’s and the heavy coffee table book. Inspired by what I saw therein, I began investigating some of the teams these players were on, and thus began my interest in rugby as a spectator’s sport. It looks even better that soccer. Their shorts are shorter and sometimes they wear muscle shirts. They’re big dudes and they have pecs, which soccer players tend to lack in favor of speed and leg strength. It’s very aggressive and they don’t wear pads. What a celebration of human potential!