Here on the Plains, we take great pride in supporting our various sports. Our student body is teeming with many gifted athletes, both male and female. Now when someone says ‘sports’, what pops up? Usually, it’s the big ones like football, basketball, baseball, or swimming. Some may think of their own sports, like tennis, equestrian, soccer, and water polo. But there is one sport that many don’t think about: rugby.
Rugby football is usually known for its popularity in other places around the globe, like England and New Zealand. However, this sport made its way to the States and found a field at Auburn. The men’s team hit the stage first, but the women of Auburn fought their way onto the field about 4 years ago. “It was a bit of a struggle to get started,” Amberly Wright, a senior states, “at the time The University didn’t have a good relationship with the boys team so they just judged us off them.” Despite some sore feelings, the Women’s Rugby Football Club was made official and has been making a stand at Auburn, and became this February’s Club Sport of the Month. One of the hardest parts is finding recruits because of the extreme physical contact of the sport. “Not every girl wants to tackle someone else,” Maria Constantini, the team’s treasurer, said. However, there are some women out there whose dream had always been to play football like the boys, so they found their replacement in rugby.
The game of rugby is not for the faint of heart. It includes full- contact tackling, running 4-5 miles in one game, and no fear of dirt. The women on the Auburn team more than make up for the danger. With the way rugby requires you to get up close and personal with your teammates, it pushes you out of your comfort zone, resulting in some pretty mellow personalities. “It more has to do with not caring about what other people think, getting dirty, and wanting to make new friends…ya know?” explains Amy Alexander, a student at Tuskegee Veterinary School, “You are playing for fun, and you can’t be sensitive with regards to holding grudges.” With that in mind, the women on the team are an open-minded bunch that accepts and encourages anyone and everyone that wants to play. “Introverts and extroverts can both play,” answers Diamond Brown, “But I guess true effort and desire for the sport is all you need to play successfully.”
Rugby football definitely keeps you in shape, but it’s the emotional results that are truly rewarding. The cohesion of the team makes for an inspiring environment that boosts confidence and self-respect. It’s a sport that highlights individual strengths and utilizes them for the good of the team. “The sport of rugby empowers women by giving them the exact same rules and opportunities in the men’s division as the woman division,” explains Drew Cash, secretary, “Rugby has taught me to never give up and never stop progressing no matter what you do.”
This pride and confidence can be claimed by most sports, but rugby just has a little something more. It makes you rely on your teammates to step up and ruck for you when you get tackled, and to be there to pass to when you need an out. In the heat of the game, knowing that someone has your back and is with you through it all makes up for the bruises and the social stigma that sometimes comes with such a rough sport. By playing this sport, you get relationships that surpass petty team grudges and last a lifetime. Freshmen and 3 year veteran, Helen Custodio, perfectly sums it up when she says, “The fact that we all play this insane sport makes us have this bond of “lets be insane together”.” Auburn Women’s Rugby Football Club is always open to new members, experiences or not. Joining this team may just be one of the best decisions you’ll ever make.