RIO DE JANEIRO – Garrett Bender walked off the pitch with blood caked beneath his nose, his padded cap askew, one ear trapped against his skull like a mouse in a trap.
“I’m fine,” he said. “I’ve just got a big nose. It gets in the way sometimes. I wear the hat to hold my hair down, honestly. It kind of suits my play, honestly. I kind of like to put my head in there.”
Rugby sevens is the faster, shorter, more wide-open version of the game. Bender was a star linebacker at Washburn High. He played one season at St. Cloud State, then went back to rugby, playing on the same Minneapolis club — the Youngbloodz — as fellow Olympian Katie Johnson.
Read more: http://www.startribune.com/minneapolis-native-bender-experiences-rugby-olympic-style/389815881/#1
