In the United States, rugby isn’t among the most popular sports in the country. But around the world, it’s a popular sport that is comprised of aggression and teamwork. The Idaho women’s rugby club has been around for 26 years.
This year’s team has been practicing since September and has played several games around the Northwest despite not playing in a league this season. Women’s rugby also plays in the spring.
“It’s hard to get a lot of girls to get out and play rugby,” Idaho freshman Meghan O’Berry said.
Darian Blair, who has played rugby for five years and is playing her second semester at Idaho, said time management has been an issue in getting girls to come out to play.
“It’s really difficult to get everybody out,” Blair said. “The hardest part with time management is school, but (practice) is only three days a week so it’s not bad.”
Third-year player and co-captain Jahna Jo Fischer said rugby is a sport, but it’s also like a lifestyle.
“Rugby is an awesome sport … you’ll find people that enjoy it everywhere,” Fischer said. “It’s a passion and like a lifestyle rather than just a game that you go out and play.”
Fischer said she joined rugby as a fun way to exercise after playing other sports for years. Fischer said her responsibility as co-captain is to keep the team encouraged during difficult moments in the game.
“I’ve learned a lot of perseverance and not giving up even when I really want to,” Fischer said.
Also a third-year player and co-captain of the rugby team, Monique Munoz agreed with Fischer that she helps encourage her teammates. Munoz said she tries to steer the team in the right direction.
In her first year on the team, senior Samantha Wright said her challenge is continuing to play after being tackled.
“As soon as you get tackled or get hit really hard, you have to get back up and go for it,” Wright said. “Normally, when you get hurt in another sport, you’ll sit out.”
Despite playing for five years, Blair said there’s still room for learning the basics of rugby.
“We start over on the basics, so you can learn new things as much as you want, but it’s still the basics that you need to know and we go over it a lot,” Blair said.
Despite the challenges, the team has bonded and has always enjoyed a few laughs during practice in order to maintain composure during games.
Idaho coach Aaron Ribble said the team has done a great job of playing together.
“When times get tough, they know how to buckle down and play as a team instead of playing as 15 other individuals out there on the field,” Ribble said.
Fischer said there’s a misconception in rugby that size matters. Fischer disagrees with the notion and said rugby is all about having fun.
“A lot of people think that you have to be really strong but we have a lot of small girls on the team, especially for a normal rugby team,” Fischer said. “But I think it really has to do with the size of your heart. If you have a passion for the game and you want to get out there and meet new people and have a good time, I think rugby is the sport for everybody.”
Ribble said there isn’t any other sport that competes with rugby from a body type perspective.
“There’s individual and team aspects, and like Jo said, there’s a position for every single body type,” Ribble said. “Whether you’re tall or skinny, short or stalky, there’s a position for everybody. It can be really intimidating to watch and can be awkward at first … once you get past that first initial awkwardness, the camaraderie, friends, family and what you developed from rugby is second to none.”
Idaho will compete in a tournament at Western Oregon Nov. 7 and will play Boise State Nov. 14 in Boise.
Luis Torres can be reached at [email protected]
Christin Kaminsky
Glad to see that rugby is still going strong up there. I got my start to my long rugby career by playing at UI. Good for you Darian for continuing playing after you left high school rugby down in Boise. That's what keeps the sport growing!