CHAPTER 338: CHAPTER 217: WATCHING THE RUGBY GAME (CONTINUED)

Companions around were all talking about the virtues of the Nix Tribe, leaving Gowes no room to interject with further doubts.

"Beep! Beep! Beep!..." A sharp, urgent wooden whistle suddenly sounded, piercing through the clamor.

"The match is about to start!" Gleson shouted excitedly, and everyone immediately stopped talking, focusing their attention on the field.

Fifteen Pannonian players in white linen undershorts and fifteen Skodisqi players in black linen undershorts, led by two referees in red linen undershirts and shorts, entered the field.

At this time, Italians never wore pants, but the Skodisqi, as a part of the Celts, had the tradition of wearing striped trousers, which also influenced the Pannonians. After Maximus established the tribe, he encouraged the tribesmen to learn from the Skodisqi - to wear trousers. Of course, this required a process, not just changing perceptions and habits, but also due to the lack of fabric.

However, Maximus believed that players participating in rugby must wear shorts, firstly for ease of movement, and secondly to avoid exposing private parts, since the spectators were not just men.

For this reason, the Weaving Workshop had to modify the long pants worn by the Reserve Tribe Members, and to distinguish between opponents in the intense movement, the attire of both teams and the referees had to be vivid and unified. The Weaving Workshop, under the guidance of the Reserve Tribe Members and Emmerich, collected unique plants for dyeing the fabrics of the players’ clothes. Despite the colors fading easily, this marked a significant leap in dyeing techniques for the Weaving Workshop.

At this moment, the players from both sides stood in the center of the field, glaring at each other without any communication.

The captains of both teams were reluctantly called together by the referee...

The referee tossed a silver coin, having the two captains guess heads or tails, and the winning side got to initiate the attack...

Gowes, while listening to Gleson explain the rules of the game, gazed at the field: the pitch was vast, with 32 players appearing as mere specks scattered on a large pancake; at each end of the field stood four three-meter-high wooden poles, the tops of the middle two connected by a beam to form a massive, tall goal; spectators sat around the field...

This surprised Gowes a bit. When he first sat down, there were not many spectators on the side belonging to the Pannonian players, as the Reserve Tribe Members of Pannonia were significantly fewer than the Skodisqi, and the splitting across four fields left the opponent’s side sparsely populated. But in the short time they chatted, that side was suddenly filled, with numbers similar to their own.

He immediately raised his question, and Gleson explained, "Look closely, many Official Tribe Members from the tribes are sitting over there. Although they also have their own players in other fields, ours is more exciting to watch because Official Tribe Members play rugby just for fun, but we’re fighting with all we’ve got!"

"Beep!..." A sharp, long whistle marked the official start of the match, and the surroundings of the field erupted in deafening cheers.

Gowes immediately perked up, eyes wide open, determined to watch this game that the tribesmen were risking everything for.

At the start, the Pannonians served, with a player standing outside their goal, hurling a ball shaped like an olive forcefully to the closest teammate.

Just as the ball left the hand, the Skodisqi players gathered at the center charged swiftly towards the front half, rapidly closing in on the opponents they needed to guard.

A Skodisqi player rushed fiercely towards the opponent with the ball.

The Pannonian player holding the ball immediately tossed it to a nearby teammate, not dodging, but gathering strength, charging at the rushing opponent.

The two collided head-on, and both fell to the ground.

The referee glanced at them, did not blow the whistle, and the spectators cheered excitedly, but no one felt surprised.

The two who fell quickly turned over and got up, without arguing, stumbling towards the direction of the ball.

Just as the rugby was still in flight, a Pannonian player preparing to catch it was tackled by the pouncing opponent, and in the moment of his fall, he kicked the bouncing rugby ball forward with great effort.

The rugby soared into the sky, tracing a curve in mid-air, flying towards the Skodisqi goal. Originally dispersed players from both sides rushed over, continuing to crash and tackle each other during the pursuit and anticipation of the rugby landing, causing chaos and countless falls.

The rugby, with significant momentum, hit the ground, its trajectory erratic, slipping through the outstretched arms of the players, bouncing and wobbling forward... both sides’

A Pannonian player was the first to bend down and clasp it, but was immediately tackled by a Skodisqi player. However, before he could seize the ball, another Pannonian player pressed down on them both...

Watching the players from both sides pouncing on the ball on the ground, each time someone picked it up, another player knocked it out of their hands... Gowes got extremely anxious, starting to shout just like his other companions.

The players from both sides quickly formed a small mountain as they scrambled, with the ball buried beneath them, completely out of sight.

The referee squatted beside, craning his neck, nervously observing, just about to blow the whistle to restart the game.

The rugby rolled out from the pile of people, landing right at the feet of a Pannonian player.

He immediately picked it up, spread his legs, and sprinted forward.

The Pannonian spectators immediately cheered, while the Skodisqi spectators loudly reminded their tribesmen on the field. Soon the Skodisqi players scrambled to get up, attempting to give chase, but were tackled one by one by their opponents.

However, one player exerted all his strength to shake off the opponent’s tackle, striving to chase after the Pannonian player who had already run a distance with the ball.

"Teressa! It’s Teressa!..." The companions shouted excitedly.

Gowes, who still didn’t understand the rules of the game, was already so excited his blood was boiling, joining the entire tribe in cheering for Teressa.

Amidst the roaring noise, the Pannonian player ran with all his might, Teressa giving her all in pursuit, with the distance between them closing continuously, yet the goal was not far ahead.

"Darn! It’s too late!" Gleson sighed regretfully.

At this moment, Teressa suddenly leapt into the air, using the momentum to swing her right leg, kicking the Pannonian player’s back with a forceful kick.

The player fell immediately, dropping the ball.

The sidelines erupted into a louder noise, half cheering, half cursing.

"Nice kick! That’s the way to do it! Kick those Pannonians to death!..." Gowes was so excited he gesticulated wildly.

Gleson sighed, "It’s good, but Teressa broke the rules, she’ll likely be sent off."

"Why?!" Gowes wondered.

Sure enough, a whistle sounded on the field, and the referee ran over, decisively scolding Teressa, then pointed outside the field.

Teressa didn’t argue, walking off with her head held high. The Pannonian spectators cursed louder, but his tribesmen applauded tirelessly, cheering for him.

"During the game, it’s allowed to use hands to tackle, use the body to crash the opponent’s player, but you’re not allowed to hit with hands or kick with feet, otherwise it’s a foul, and the player will be sent off. But Teressa was right to do so just now; we can’t let the Pannonians easily run with the ball to the end line and score!" Gleson explained.

"With Teressa sent off, doesn’t that mean our team has one less player on the field now?" Gowes started to worry about the Skodisqi team.

"There won’t be fewer players on the field; a reserve player from off-field will replace Teressa. But because of the foul, not only can he not play the rest of this game, but he won’t be allowed to play in the next two games either."

"That’s really unfortunate!" Gowes looked at Teressa surrounded and comforted by teammates by the sideline, suddenly feeling that if he were him, he might choose to do the same.

At this time, the referee noticed that the Pannonian player who was kicked down hadn’t gotten up, quickly bent over to inspect, then signaled to the sidelines.

"Haha, the Pannonian is injured!" Gleson laughed gloatingly, but his laughter halt abruptly, as another referee also signaled, indicating that out of the pile formed earlier, five players hadn’t stood up, with three being Skodisqi players.

The spectators cursed collectively.

"Who are they?" Gowes pointed at the five or six men and women in linen robes rushing onto the field, curiously asking.

"They’re doctors and nurses from Snowdia Hospital. Rugby is prone to injuries; without them by the field attending carefully, some of the tribesmen playing during this time might end up crippled," Gleson said gratefully.

The match paused for a while. Injured players were carried off the field for treatment, with substitutes coming on, then the referee placed the rugby on a grass-marked white spot, 20 meters from the Skodisqi goal.

"Now it’s time for a penalty kick."

"Penalty kick?" Gowes continued to wonder.

Gleson explained, "If the Pannonians just now had run the ball past the farthest two posts between the white line, they would have scored three points. Teressa’s foul stopped them."

But a foul requires a penalty; as long as they kick the ball through the goals made by the posts, they can score one point. So, players from both sides usually avoid fouling to prevent giving the opponent free points."

Gowes understood and looked back at the field.

Actually, kicking a penalty isn’t easy. Rugby is oval-shaped, which makes it hard to control with your foot, and Maximus lowered the goal height significantly. At the beginning of the match period, penalties usually didn’t score. Later, Maximus reduced the penalty distance by ten meters. As tribesmen gradually mastered kicking techniques through training, the chance of scoring through penalties increased.

But this time, the Pannonian player kicked the rugby hard, hitting the goalpost instead, and the ball didn’t go through!

The Pannonians sighed, the Skodisqi cheered, and Teressa clenched her fists, pounding her chest robustly; her efforts were not in vain.