Women’s rugby looks to spring season
Rugby is a game of physicality and agility, so we often think of the men’s team. The women of the St. Joe’s women’s rugby team prove that they are just as capable of succeeding in the sport.
The team plays year round. In the fall, they play “15s,” meaning each team puts 15 players on the pitch. In their upcoming spring season, they will play “7s” or seven vs. seven, which consists of a much faster play and less contact.
“With 7s, it’s such a higher speed, and you have to get as much contact as possible,” senior back Madison Shields said. “It’s more trick plays.”
The 2017 fall season was tough for the team, as they lost a lot of their players to study abroad programs, including Shields who is one of two upperclassmen on the team.
“We basically had to forfeit the whole season,” Head Coach Corey Phalen said.
Unlike many of the school’s club teams, women’s rugby has had a coach since the club was established. The Mid Atlantic Rugby Conference [MARC] they play in mandates that they have a coach. The league also states that teams must have a faculty advisor, which is where Peter Norberg, Ph.D., English department chair, comes in.
Norberg’s involvement with the team began 15 years ago when his student, Melissa Byrne ’01 started the club.
“It’s a great sport and has a culture of camaraderie like few others,” Norberg said.
In the games the Hawks played in the fall, they went 0-3. The Hawks hope to turn this around in the spring season with their 18 members.
“We’re looking to recruit new girls and pass on our passion for rugby,” Shields said. “We’re looking forward to playing 7s. We have high hopes for the season.”
The game of rugby is an elusive one to someone who doesn’t understand the sport. All passes have to be backward, and the game involves running, kicking and tackling.
“It’s almost like soccer but with a football,” Phalen said. “Play never stops unless there’s a penalty.”
To score, players carry, pass or kick the ball into the end zone. In seven vs. seven play, the halves are seven minutes each, because less players means a lot more running.
Men’s rugby is played in the same fashion. Despite the bigger turnout that the men’s team’s tryouts bring, the women are still competitive and the team is close-knit, which is why Shields decided to try the sport.
“I didn’t start playing rugby until my sophomore year,” Shields said. “The girls on campus just seemed crazy and fun, and it looked like a cool group of girls to hang out with.”
The team practices on Sweeney Field and Curran Lawn twice a week and reviews film once a week, in addition to strength and conditioning training. All this time is put in with the hopes of making it to the playoffs that take place throughout the country. In the fall of 2016, St. Joe’s made it to the MARC championships, which took place in West Virginia.
The Hawks hope to make it back to the playoffs this spring with more players on their roster and more experience in the sport, as the team mostly consists of underclassmen. The team’s first match of the spring, the Frostbite Tournament, will take place on March 3 in Hempfield, Pa.
