Though it gained traction throughout the Olympics this past summer thanks to the Bronze Medal of the Womens team—faithfully led by Ilona Maher—rugby is not a sport most Americans are familiar with. It’s not entirely surprising, as the sport has its fame internationally throughout several other countries. These range from but aren’t limited to: New Zealand, Scotland, Ireland, England and more.
However, Americans should know more about the sport, since the game of football we know and (hopefully) love today stems from the game of rugby. The first “football” game played in 1869 was actually a rugby game. And it wasn’t until 1876 that football gained its own set of rules from the IFA (Intercollegiate Football Association) and the ranks of Walter Camp later.
This sport being mainly international does not limit its reach though, as Covenant has a new and yet rebooted Rugby Club on the rise! For those unaware, the original Rugby club was founded in 2011 by alums Scott McKeon and Erik Vitolins. It continued on as a strong team, playing traditional Rugby Union (15 men) in the fall, alternating to Rugby Sevens (7 men) in the spring. Sadly, the club dissipated 4-5 years ago, which leads us to today.
Ollie Sutter 27’—the president of the “new” Rugby Club—shared some details about the present state, hope and future of this. Though it’s not entirely an established club yet, a hope of those running it is to garner enough interest to make it an official club next semester with funding. Sutter, Freddie Nash, Leilani Brown and Caroline Hardy are some of the names who will be helping this year run it.
This semester will primarily focus on the basics of rugby, with hope of doing intrasquad scrimmages as well. For next semester, the plan is to really get into playing the sport. Local schools, like Bryant University, UT-Chattanooga, Lee University and Berry University have reached out for scrimmages in the future. And although it’s competitive, there’s a sense of comradery shared between squads after games. Ollie added that “after you leave it all on the field, you end up socializing after the game and eating pizza! You don’t get that in any other sport.”
For those worried about how safe the sport is, do not fear! Sutter mentioned that many came to her expressing worry about injury during play, and that “you are more likely to get injured in football and soccer than rugby.” Sutter has played for five years now and never sustained a serious injury on the gridiron, partly due to an emphasis on form tackling below the waist.
If you want to catch a practice for the Rugby Club, check out the intramural fields at 4:30 every Friday! Also, make sure to be on the lookout for a clinic in the future with local Chattanooga Rugby and former pro-players. So, if you are interested in either a new sport, to know what scrums or line-outs are, or getting a unique way to know people on campus better, join the Rugby Club!