Scene Depiction - Rugby

The group that I have chosen to research was the rugby team. Leaving high school, where I participated in sports such as wrestling, football, track, and cheer leading with the with the idea of never doing sports again. I quickly regretted that decision and found myself searching for a sport as soon as I stepped on campus. Wrestling was considered to be my dominant sport, but because of my choice to go to the University of Kentucky, which no longer has a wrestling team, I had to find something new. Many friends and athletes said that rugby was almost as challenging as wrestling, which is why I was interested in it. This was the first time I heard about the University of Kentucky Rugby team, which was also when I found out that rugby was a sport.

Although the rugby team had their own field that they used during the season, they practiced on the Johnson Center field. This is an ideal location since the field was in clear view of those who worked out and trained in the Johnson Center, this allowed for a little-known sport such as rugby to receive recognition and spark the interest of other athletes. The conditioning consisted of sprinting and passing the rugby ball, which was something very new to me.

The rugby team consisted of mostly white men, mainly because they were the only ones willing to practice in 30 degree weather. Before practice begun, the athletes conversed about girls, wrestled, and called each other names such as “bitch” and “pussy”, just like any other athletic team. Though I was not a part of the team, the players came and talked to me about my sports history, and my interest in rugby. Most of them were just like me, with no prior experience or knowledge of rugby before joining the team. Being that rugby is not a very popular sport in America, let alone the state of Kentucky. This is why rugby is not an official sport at the University of Kentucky, making it harder for the team to obtain players with much experience of the game. Some of the players recognized me from last years’ preseason conditioning and referred to me as “speedy”, for obvious reasons.

The players were much taller than me and most of them were stronger as well. They then began conditioning and drilling by starting with sprints and passing the rugby ball to one another. The coaches constantly yelled and scolded the players when the drills did not go accordingly and they were punished by sprinting down the field. They then broke off into two groups, in what appeared to be categorized by strength and speed. I watched the group that was closest to my size and ability, as they practiced footwork, and passing the ball in order to improve hand-eye coordination. The practice appeared to be very similar to that of football, just without equipment or padding. This made me more comfortable, because I was able to relate something that was foreign to me, to something that I knew very well. As the players continue to run plays, they don’t seem competitive, they appear to just be having fun and enjoying the fact that they get to play the sport. The team always seemed to find a way to have a good time even when they were feeling fatigue.

Since rugby was originated in England, it is not a sport that we as Americans, grow up around and know due to cultural popularity. This is why I was skeptical about trying something that I’ve never seen or heard of before. But the members of the UK rugby team were willing to take time out to explain the basics of the sport to me. I had a chance to meet up with the team president, Curt Hart, who explained to me the things I needed to know about rugby. He stated that rugby is very similar to football, except for the fact that rugby is nothing like football. The ball is much larger than a football and it meant to be tossed laterally or backwards, rather than throwing it forward. Curt was first introduced to rugby when he visited South Africa, where rugby was very popular. After he returned to America enter his freshman year at the University of Kentucky, him and a friend, who was born in South Africa, actively sought out a place in which to play rugby. They then found a flyer for the UK Rugby team meeting, and showed up to practice. He has only been involved in rugby for two years, but his athletic background of soccer and tennis made it much easier to transfer his abilities to what was required of him from rugby. He goes on to say that, “The learning curve is extremely steep as with any sport, but after a month or so you develop sound basics and can play the game at a decent level.” After his first year of playing rugby, his coaches saw that he demonstrated a level head and people skills and assigned him to be the president of the rugby team.

I noticed that the players were very social, and it was a very good team building environment. The rugby team was not just a large group of athletes, but more like brothers, since these individuals all have the common bond of doing a sport that is so uncommon. Being that I am a very quiet and reserved person, I’m not able to open up and communicate with people, but I had no trouble communicating with them as they introduced themselves to me. My appearance caused them to be interested in my athletic abilities, and felt that I would be a good asset to the team.

After practice, the team resumed socializing with one another. The bond that these athletes have between each other mad me realize that I’m not looking for athletic involvement, I’m looking to belong to something, to have a group of friends that I have thing in common with. This and so much more, is what I found in the rugby team, they have a brotherhood along with athletics that I look forward to being a part of. Before I left, the coaches made me promise to come back and join in on a practice in the near future so that I could play for them in games to come.