Boys and their Balls - Part 2

NZ Nude Blacks, 2008

There's something about the sport of rugby that seems to make guys get naked.  Not only are some of the best naked calendars from rugby teams, and not only do rugby players like to get naked in pubs (we'll see that in future posts), but the city of Dunedin, New Zealand regularly hosted a bunch of rugby games where the players actually played naked.

New Zealanders love their rugby team, the All Blacks, which competes internationally.  Whenever the All Blacks play in Dunedin, the local lads stage a pre-game game, calling themselves the Nude Blacks and playing naked.

Before 2009, the naked games were played on St. Kilda beach to an admiring crowd of spectators.

In 2008, the All Blacks were playing England in Dunedin, so the pre-game was the Nude Blacks vs. England, with both teams made up of local lads.

The Nude Blacks start each game with a haka, a traditional Maori challenge involving chanting, stamping feet, sticking out tongues, and other gestures.

Then the game began ...

only to be interrupted by a clothed "streaker" running among the naked players.  A naked "cop" captured the clothed streaker ...

and escorted him off the field.

Despite such hijinks, the teams play the rugby game for real.  By the way, Bottom Bus refers to a local bus tour company that sponsored the naked rugby games.

After 2008. the naked games were moved to a grassy playing field in the center of the city, with even more spectators.  We have more pictures and videos of the Nude Blacks, so stay tuned.