Illustration by Isaac Woodruff.
I trekked to Dawley Field Friday afternoon to watch the Connecticut College Women’s Rugby team practice. And by watch, I mean I was forced to participate in some of the plays in exchange for an interview. That’s right; I took one for the team. During one of the passing drills, a player who will remain anonymous chucked the rugby ball at my hip for no apparent reason. One of the players had my back, saying, “We don’t throw the ball at new players. We want them to stay.” I felt like part of the team, and like my hip really hurt.
Despite this random act of violence, I think it’s necessary to say that the rugby team is composed of some of the nicest, funniest people at Conn. Practice is really chill and casual; it’s easy to see how well the players get along with each other. They’re really welcoming to new people, though that may have something to do with the fact that a majority of the team tried to recruit me, unaware of the fact that I am both uncoordinated and weak.
Let’s get straight to the point. Do you have a death wish?
Karina Hernandez ’14: No!
Are you sure?
Hernandez: (hesitantly) No… I’m just kidding. I love rugby.
Ariann Holden ’14: If you play rugby the right way, then you’re not going to get hurt.
What’s the best part about rugby?
Elizabeth Boyland ’11: Taking bitches out.
Jill Marshall: It’s a really fun sport. The fact that we can compete at the same intensity as boys is great. This is not delicate. We don’t prance around like ballerinas.
Holden: I do prance around like a ballerina. When I first started playing rugby, I would pass the ball and make this ballerina move.
Evelyn O’Regan ’14: Basically being able to throw people to the ground. And the team is awesome. It’s not some sport for pansies.
Anna Volpe ’14: Tackling someone.
Allie Moehrke ’11: It’s the epitome of a team sport; you’re putting yourself on the line and your teammates have to back you up.
Hernandez: I like feeling like a family. We’re best friends on and off the field.
Is rugby as frightening as everyone thinks it is?
Elena Rosario ’14: Once you get your first tackle down, it’s amazing. You have an amazing feeling that you can do anything.
Boyland: It’s not any more dangerous than any other sport.
Marshall: I got hurt more playing soccer than rugby. All that’s happened with rugby is I hurt my pinky.
Moehrke: You can’t play the game if you’re afraid of getting hit. It’s not for the weak-hearted.
Hernandez: Watching and playing are two very different emotions. When you’re playing, you get this adrenaline rush and you feel like you can do anything.
Moehrke: Everyone when they first start is a little bit afraid, but after that first game, that first hit, you’re like, “It’s not that bad.”
Do you enjoy tackling and/or wounding other people?
Marshall: Tackling, not wounding. One time, I tackled someone and ended up hurting them and I felt really bad.
Boyland: It feels good to tackle if you do it correctly. People think it’s a crazy dangerous game but it’s not.
Marshall: It’s a sport where you can show you can kick people’s asses. Most people are too afraid to come to practice and don’t know how to get started.
Moehrke: Fuck, yeah. It relieves my stress. But I don’t want anyone to get seriously injured.
Volpe: Hell to the yes. Tackling is good.
How well does the team work together?
Parinda Darden ’13: Excellently.
Boyland: We work together very well on the field and off the field.
Hernandez: We’re definitely all friends. We hang out on and off the field.
Moehrke: We’re like a family. This is the closest team I’ve ever been on.
Volpe: There are a lot of new players this semester and we’ve really connected.
What’s the worst injury you’ve ever gotten playing rugby?
Darden: I got clotheslined.
Boyland: I think concussions are the worst.
Marshall: When school comes first and then your head is whacked, it’s not good. I’ve gotten a broken finger and multiple swollen knees.
Rosario: I haven’t really gotten injured. I’m the most injured person ever, but not from rugby.
Marshall: Knock on wood.
O’Regan: My neck got really hurt and I sprained my ankle.
Moehrke: Someone stomped on my hand.
Holden: I got cleated in the face and it was awesome.
Paige Miller ’14: I got decapitated. Just kidding. I don’t play rugby. I don’t even know why I’m here.
How do you feel at the end of a game?
Marshall: Awesome.
Boyland: Amazing.
Darden: Orgasmic.
Rosario: Ready to get it in.
Volpe: I feel like I got run over by a truck.
Holden: I feel relieved, like everything has been lifted off. You put everything into it, and then you wake up the next morning and your body hurts. But you get back up and keep doing it. You have practice the next day and do five million hill sprints.
In a few words, can you describe to a newbie how rugby is played?
Rosario: You get the ball and run.
Tess McGovern ’13: Kill or be killed.
Boyland: No passing forward. Fighting for possession is really physical. Lift people by their shorts. Get crotch in a scrum.
McGovern: Rugby is the cleanest sport ever.
Hernandez: We have a hooker and a stripper. We scissor all the time.
Boyland: We rock all day long.
O’Regan: Throw the ball, run like hell and tackle people.
Volpe: Mess biddies up, get money.
Does anyone have any awesome nicknames?
Marshall: I’m Superfly. All my codenames for plays were superheroes.
Rosario: I’m Andy McDonald. Like the pro sk8boarder.
Darden: We’re also called Asian Power.
Holden: Rugby Ballerina. It’s pretty awesome if you ask me.
Best song to play rugby to?
Hernandez: “Smang It”…No, I hate that song.
Rosario: We all rap on the way to games. And “All I Do Is Win.”
Boyland: All Time Low.
(For some reason unknown to me, the team decided to break out into “Friday”)
Moehrke: “Freaks and Geeks” by Childish Gambino.
Anything else you want to add?
Hernandez: I want five girls to join by the time this is in print.
Holden: We have an amazing coach and captain (Boyland).
Hernandez: I love practicing with the boys’ team.
Volpe: We couldn’t do it without them.
Holden: Yeah, we could.
Volpe: Yeah, I know. I was just being nice. •
