My partner used to play rugby in his younger days. I asked him "why the black paint then? Do you think it made you look cool?" He told me that it wasn't for that reason at all. He said that the thing about the black paint under the eyes was so that you could intimidate your opponents when you yelled at them. It helped with confidence really. Such as, if you put the paint on, and it made you look really mean, then it helped you to feel really mean, and then it followed that as a player you WERE really mean.

And in reality, from an outsider's point of view the black paint under the eyes does give the player a much more formidable and threatening aspect to their demeanor which does also fit in with the kind of image that you would hold when watching the match. You definitely get the impression that you wouldn't want to fall out with these guys!

He said that also the black paint was quite greasy and he used to put a lot of it on because he hated being grabbed round the head. If you had a bit of a "dirty" player on the other team, sometimes they used to grab your head and put their fingers in your eyes, and the paint made them slide about so they couldn't get a proper grip.

He also said that the main reason why it is worn though is that it absorbs light which helps to reduce the glare from sunlight or stadium light, allowing members to have optimum vision whilst playing.

Brian DeBroff and his colleagues at Yale University School of Medicine have tested this theory and have concluded that after a study of 45 subjects and using various methods such as tape, black paint and petroleum jelly, that the black grease works the best at cutting down glare from bright lights.

They suggested that they initially approached the theory of why wearing black paint under the eyes contributed towards a successful game from a psychological standpoint - assuming that it was merely used as a kind of "warpaint" and acted as a powerful confidence booster, but were surprised to find that in practice that there was actually something to be said for the practice.

On terms of function the black grease did actually work. The black was very effective at absorbing the light, thus cutting down on the glare reflecting off from the cheekbone and thus aiding the vision of the players.

Learn more about this author, Jane Allyson.
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