Background
The game is normally played by children and offers an interesting means of letting off energy and involves rugged physical contact. It appeals to competitive spirits but at the same time produces ad-hoc team activity with all the "losers" endeavouring to bring the "non-losers" to the ground. The strongest, most athletic competitors will find it extremely difficult to win British bulldogs as the number of bulldogs grows. Parents tend to deplore the game since it results in muddied and even torn clothes, bruises, bloody noses, knees and elbows and sometimes tears (when played on tarmac) but both boys and girls participate in it.
As a game of physical contact that results in a mêlée of people attempting to drag others down to the ground, bullrush bears some similarity to a rugby scrum which may explain the presence of the game amongst children in a nation beloved of the sport of rugby. The game when played in Australia tends to be particularly rough, with the version known as pile-ons or cocky laura being common. However, hard contact sports are very popular in that country, constituting a number of national sports, and very rough play is considered a normal and healthy part of childhood in Australian culture. The violent nature of the game is reflected in its more common name of "bullrush". Softer versions that only involve touching runners such as tag bulldog are generally treated with contempt in Australia, being regarded as a wimpy version of the "real" game. In Canada during the 1950s it was very popular in grade schools where all children were encouraged to participate.
Read more about this topic: British Bulldogs (game)
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