"The game is more athletic than physical," he said.

Contrasting rugby with American football, he explained: "Because we don't have padding, you don't really have the weaponry to hit hard, and you can't put all your effort into one hit because the game is still going on."

There are two main positions in rugby, backs and forwards. Forwards are roughly like linemen in football, while backs are the speedier types.

There are many different reasons why people join the rugby team, from the desire to compete at a high level for varsity-type athletes to the curiosity the previous unathletic have about team sports.

Baker, as noted above, is one of the very few to have played rugby before Harvard. A lot of players play for three or four years, and that tells greatly about the sport's appeal.

"It's unlike anything I'd ever done before," sophomore Matt Doberman, who plays on B side, says. "I decided to come out as a freshman, because it is not as rigid as a varsity sport, but it's still an extremely competitive sport."

The A side Beanpot games will be played today at Soldiers Field at 9:30 and 11:30 a.m., while the B side games will be played at 2 and 4 p.m.

Next week, look for a feature on women's rugby at Harvard. The women travel to Dartmouth today to play in the Ivy League Tournament.