New Zealand’s 36-14 win over Samoa in the Pacific Championships final last weekend was one of those games that reminded me why I love rugby league.
I expected passion and physicality from the Pacific Championships — but when it actually plays out on the field, it always manages to stir something deeper.
The scoreboard didn’t tell the full story. It was emotional, aggressive, skilful, and fast-paced — the kind of football that makes you sit up and appreciate the sheer intensity of the contest.
For me, I love the big hits, the ferocity, and the collisions. I love seeing players fired up, giving everything for their country and their brothers.
What’s interesting to some, though, is that I love all of that as a Christian. Maybe even more interesting is that the very players behind the big hits and collisions, share the same Christian faith.
These are men who pray before games, point to the Bible verse on their wrist tape after tries, and gather post-game to give thanks to God. Yet they’re also the ones dishing out those massive tackles and playing with an aggression that sometimes looks brutal. So how do we reconcile that?
It’s a fair question. Can Christians really glorify God through something so physical, even violent-looking, as rugby league? I think the answer is yes — absolutely — when it’s rightly ordered.
The truth is, God doesn’t just want our prayers and our quiet moments of worship. He wants all of us. Every gift, every talent, every ounce of energy we have can be used to glorify him.
Whether it’s in the way we work, study, serve, play sport, or even the way we interact with others — it’s all meant to point back to God. Even the smallest act, like offering a smile to a stranger, can glorify him when it comes from a place of love.
A Maronite monk once said that in everything he does — whether it’s prayer, acts of charity, the Mass, or even sport — he gives 100 per cent of himself. That, he said, is how he glorifies God daily and practically.
And that’s really what these players embody when they step onto the field. When they play with intensity and passion, when they put their bodies on the line and give every bit of themselves for something greater than their own ego — that’s not just good sport, that’s virtue.
Of course, the intention matters.
If aggression on the field comes from pride, anger, or a desire to hurt, then it’s not virtuous.
But when it comes from zeal — from a heart that wants to give everything it’s got — that’s something deeply good. It’s a reflection of what we’re all called to: to love and serve God with everything we have.
So when Christians enjoy watching those games — the hits, the intensity, the passion — I don’t think it’s because we’re drawn to violence. I think we’re drawn to excellence, to wholeheartedness.
We see people living out their gifts to the fullest, and something in us recognises the beauty in that.
Because whether you’re a professional athlete, a monk in prayer, or someone carrying out the ordinary tasks of daily life, the call is the same: give 100 per cent. Give everything you’ve got, for God’s glory.
