Common Sense Note

Parents need to know that this bad-boy-makes-good-on-the-team drama includes scenes of alcohol- and drug-fueled partying, and consequences (one fatality) occur because of drunken driving. There is some blood in the roughhouse rugby action. A juvenile prison environment includes fistfights and references to drugs. Though the bad-boy main character reforms his errant ways, he gets persecuted by his former friends and teammates for doing so.

Sexual Content

Brief scenes of affectionate teens in bikinis and swimsuits around the pool. Mild sex innuendo ("Rugby's not the only thing I'm good at").

Violence

Rugby action and tackles sometimes result in bloody noses and wounds. Off-field scuffling. Brief, non-explicit shot of drunken car accidents, one fatal.

Language

No verbal profanity, but characters make middle-finger gestures.

Social Behavior

While the main character starts out as a hard-drinking, self-centered hotshot on and off the field (and in jail), he evolves to embrace higher principles of "honor," forgiveness, sobriety, and sportsmanship/spirituality. With no denomination specifically mentioned but references to the "Father in Heaven," the Highland team are a prayerful group; pre-game ceremonies even invoke blessings and respect for opposing teams, and they participate in community charities and good-Samaritanship. Multiculturalism prevails on the ethnically mixed team, with particular attention to Pacific islanders and Maori of New Zealand.

Consumerism

Mostly product labels of rugby-gear manufacturers.

Drugs / Tobacco / Alcohol

Teens raucously drink and party, including the bad-boy hero; when he sobers up, his former friends turn against him. Consequences shown in more than one drunk-driving tragedy. Athlete Rick takes narcotics. A laundry-list of jailhouse drugs is recited.