I started going to the Conn Men’s Club Rugby games last semester. Living in the Village, it was an easy walk to the field and a nice place to bask in the sun trying to overcome poisonous hangovers. I like foot- ball, so I figured I’d like rugby, too, since my American thought process equated it to football mixed with cricket and soccer. For whatever reason my brain felt less pummeled from the night before as my eyes watched men repeatedly crash into one another and rough each other up. While I never understood rugby (and still don’t fully), I could not deny how entertaining and adrenaline-fueled it was. Though Conn’s men’s rugby team went 2-3 last semester, losing those three games to rivals Wesleyan, Nichols College and Westfield State, the boys are gearing up for this semester’s matches with a renewed sense of carnivorous blood lust, ready and able to bash some faces and crack ribs like kindling. It’s almost time for rugby’s spring season.
Rugby is one of those sports here at Conn that doesn’t enjoy the glitz and glamour of playing home games on the green. Rather, the team is relegated to the boondocks of Con- necticut College athletic spaces, the beautiful but isolated Dawley Field down by the water past the Win- chesters. One would expect such exile to be partially beneficial, al- lowing the club to practice without bother and enjoy a certain level of independence from the traditional varsity athletic sphere. This isn’t the case, though. “One of the biggest issues for our club has been finding adequate space to practice. More and more each year we have been given less time on a field that has been traditionally used as the rugby field,” says team president Henry Rossoff ’ 12. “Sailing has built a shed and a generator on Dawley field without discussing it with us, and rowing has occasionally just left their boats on our field. As we see it, there’s a lack of respect to- wards our club by the varsity teams and other higher-ups.”
“The administration doesn’t like us, or at the very least doesn’t respect us,” gripes Michael Natriello ’12. “The athletic department thinks we’ re just another club sport, and unfortunately I feel like some members of our team are convinced that this is true also. Put simply, if someone even knows that we have a rugby team at Conn that’s about as good as the press can get.”
This vented frustration translates into bone melting tackles and a testosterone soaked competitions. Since there is virtually no fandom, little glory and constant hurdles, it is incredibly commendable that these guys even suit up on a week- ly basis. Notwithstanding the lack of any kind of support mechanism from the school, the team is always striving for wins. The boys are still finding their stride after losing such powerhouses as James Jackson ’ 11 (known popularly as DJ E@sy), Keith Winking ’ 11 and Nick Bright ’11 at the end of the 2011 season. There has been an injection of new talent, particularly in their scrum, so the spring season should prove to be more successful. Natriello believes that, “Tom Olsen, who was trying out for basketball in the fall, will be integral to renewed success. He’s a player of diverse skill and can re- ally help us out. We need more aggressive players like Tom. In terms of my personal performance, I’ ll be better if I get in shape, and if my tackling is more consistent.”
Hopefully, more wins will also lead to more of a follow- ing at Connecticut College for the rugby team. “We’d like to increase our exposure at Conn, it’s just difficult as normally we play on a field that is as far away from main campus as possible,” says Rossoff.
For a school that dons t- shirts bragging about a fictional undefeated football team, we have a very real and exciting “substitute” already. “Rugby is an extremely physical sport but there’s a lot of strategy too,” says co-captain Alex Soffron ’12. “A good team needs to run plays and combine an overall strategy with brute physicality in order to win.” Rugby is fast paced and stimulating—basically, all of the ingredients for an awesome sports viewing experience. Though they play far away from the traditional action of campus, it’s definitely worth the trip down to the waterfront. Club sports retain a grit and semi-casualness that make for entertaining and unpredictable matches. Rug- by, in particular, is balls-to- the-walls fun; it has all of the brutality of football without the constant pauses and dead space. You got scrums, line- outs and a ton of hits, all with no pads or helmets—absolutely invigorating stuff.
The season kicks off after spring break, and this sports writer highly suggests that anybody with an ap- petite for violence or human kinetic poetry makes the trek down to the water on a sunny day to watch these striped warriors gelatinize players from other colleges.
Human kinetic poetry, gelatinizing players, more examples from not the last sentence. Eth, you’re quite the wordsmith. Also rugby suits games draw crowds on Floralia mornings.