Scrum was written for the M/M Romance Group’s Love Has No Boundaries picture prompt event. The photo prompt was of a handsome and buff, shirtless rugby player looking into the camera.


Scrum is the story of Robin and his obsession with a famous rugby player named Yves Dubois. Robin was never interested in rugby until his best friend Sebastian, told him about the ”Big piles of sweaty men.” Sebastian also wants to set Robin up on a blind date with his cousin who plays rugby. Robin vehemently refuses to hear anything about the cousin since the blind dates Sebastian has set Robin up on have been dismal failures. Little does Robin know that Sebastian’s cousin is Yves Dubois.

I think the author did a good job of following the requestor’s prompt request. The story was cute and I loved the characters. I could easily imagine Yves’ accent and manner of speech and I could sense Robin’s skittishness and hesitation with meeting Yves. Learning about rugby was also interesting.

However, the story often lost interest for me when there were large patches of monologue and the words were dry rather than full of color. Often sentences were clipped and short which I found irritating. At times it almost felt like a narration and I didn’t feel like I was a part of the story.

The parts of the story I liked best were when Yves was seducing Robin back at Yves’ apartment by teaching Robin what the differences were between a good scrum and a bad scrum. It was a very sexy tension filled scene that was helped along with Robin’s cute thoughts as Yves touched and ‘bound’ to him. The other scene I liked very much was at the end when Robin and Yves were going to the tavern. I think this was the perfect way to end the story.

He slipped his arm around Yves’ waist and snugged into his side. Yves dropped his arm around Robin’s shoulders. Bound, they went in to meet the team.

I enjoyed the characters and the plot but I didn’t care for the long swatches of monologue that were dry or the clipped sentences. I give Scrum 3.5 Stars and raise it to 4 Stars because Goodreads doesn't allow half stars.


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Robin is not what one would call a rugby fan. But when his friend Sebastian drags him out and he sees the new player, Yves, Robin is totally in love with the game. Or, at least, the player. Their eyes seem to meet often, and Yves is all smiles. Which leaves Robin wondering if that smile is specifically for him or if it's all in his head. And he really, really hopes it's not all in his head...

This is an entertaining short story that would certainly hit the spot for those who like the athlete-fan romance. There are all of the elements that you might expect. And then there are a couple of unexpected twists that are likely to leave readers wanting more... ( )

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I enjoyed the idea of a rugby story, which I don't see often. I liked the pacing of Robin being attracted to Yves and eventually approaching him. The story was slightly predictable in that I was able to work things out regarding Robin's best friend, but it was enjoyable none the less. ( )

4.5 Stars

Oh, that was a right rousing rugby romp! Loved it...even though I know naught about rugby!

Robin's inner musings had me chuckling throughout! :) One of my favourite lines: "At "ish" past three..." had me laughing out loud! At Sebastian's first "eh", I knew who his cousin was - it's a Canadian thing :) - but knowing just added to my enjoyment of watching Robin get there! Most entertaining! ( )