“There’s this saying, rugby is a savage game played by gentlemen,” inside center Reese Frenchman said.
The legend of rugby is that two guys who were sitting on the bench during soccer practice got bored and decided to steal the ball. They were throwing the ball back and forth to keep it away from their teammates. There is no hard evidence of this legend, but the rugby community agrees this is the origin.
The Rugby club practices every Tuesday and Thursday on the fields behind the Recreation Wellness Center. Club sports are not a part of the NCAA, so their practices are open to anybody who would like to join. The club plays fifteens rugby; this version is played with 15 players on each team. A team is split between forwards and backs. Forwards consist of a hooker, a loose-head prop, a tight-head prop, two locks, a blind-side flanker, an open-side flanker and an eight man. Meanwhile, backs consist of a scrum half, a fly half, a left wing, inside center, an outside center, a right wing and a full back.
During practice, players break into forwards and backs and run drills, switches, loops and plays. The seasoned players teach the rookies all about the various positions and how to play them. Their practices are built to make the team bond and get the players talking to each other during drills.
The game is all about communication with your teammates. Everything about rugby is played and learned in a way to be safe so they do not have to wear pads or helmets during practices or games. Rugby is a sport for all kinds of people to play; there is a spot for any and everybody on the team.
“It means growth and learning to work with other people, learning everything again fresh, as long as there’s new people in the sport I’m learning too, and I’m learning so much more,” scrum half Tapiwa Uta said.
UTSA’s rugby club started around the same time the football team started. Over the last 14 years the team has made it to nationals five times in rugby sevens and one time in rugby fifteens. The toughest thing for the club is fundraising and getting new players. This year the club has about ten new players, but they are looking for more.
UTSA rugby is all about brotherhood and building a bond within the team.
“Rugby was really great to have like a family, a team experience. I think that’s what I appreciated more from high school football, just having a really tight knit group of friends,” eight man James Ethridge. said. “If you’re out there playing a contact sport with each other and you all kinda know what the sacrifice you need to be making to be on the field you have a lot closer relationship.”
