Ferrari star thrilled to learn rules of unfamiliar sport (ANSA) - Melbourne, March 29 - Ferrari's Michael Schumacher played his first ever game of rugby on Wednesday as he wrapped up a week of rest and relaxation ahead of Sunday's Australian Grand Prix .

Freely admitting that until this week he didn't even know the rules of the sport, the German threw himself into a seven-a-side game organised by sponsors and emerged triumphant.

"It was really fun," he said, after his team won 34-31 against a squad headed by Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa. The win was largely thanks to his precise spot kicks, a skill he has honed over the years by playing in numerous celerity soccer matches. "Now I can say that I know the rules of rugby. Next time I see a match, I'll get more out of it," he continued, before adding: "But now I can't wait to get racing again." Wednesday's rugby match came at the end of a holiday Schumacher had enjoyed with his wife Corinne after the Malaysian Grand Prix 10 days ago .





The break in the Australian sun was partly aimed simply to provide relaxation ahead of the important races to come. But it also enabled the driver to acclimatise and adapt to the time difference in Melbourne .

Schumacher says he is confident that the Australian race, the third of the season, will bring an improvement on Ferrari's result in Malaysia, where he was sixth and Massa fifth .

"Traditionally I like this race. I don't see why things shouldn't go well here," he said .

He added that he was not too worried about being seven points behind championship leader Fernando Alonso, of Renault, in the driver's standings after two races .

After Melbourne, he said there would be a series of European races in which the Ferrari cars would be able to compete on equal terms with the Renaults, which have so far seemed the fastest .

Alonso said on Tuesday that he saw Schumacher as his main rival in Australia. The German's team-mate Massa, meanwhile, said he too was dying to get back to the racing track after his foray into rugby. He said he hoped to make the winners' podium in Australia for the first time in his career .