A sport that is a mix of soccer and football, making sure you keep possession of the ball in your hand as you’re running down the soccer field. Teammates and crowds cheering for you, then you get tackled to the ground. Although it may seem intimidating at first, rugby is a sport for anyone who has an interest in it.

Jordan Young describes the sport as “Very nerve-wracking, there’s a ton of adrenaline once the ball goes or you get tackled, the crowd is cheering loud, other teams are cheering as we play, but it’s exhausting after a game.”

While Connor Hulne describes the sport as, “Exhausting, lots of running, a huge adrenaline rush, lots of hitting, many rules, and needs a bit of skill to endure the plays.”

Both Young and Hulne are the presidents of the rugby club at UW-Whitewater. They both have different reasons as to why they joined the club.

“I tried out the sport as a freshman and fell in love with the girls on the team and became close friends with them and over time I fell in love with the sport,” Young explained. 

While Hulne had a different explanation for his interest in the sport.

“I started playing when I was young and went into college with 14 years of experience. I saw how the team won nationals and I decided I wanted to join and they put me in the starting position,” Hulne stated.

Community is a big part of the sport regardless of players reasons for joining.

“Rugby is a tight community with a ton of growth, you can move up the ranks fast, and the people are amazing. But there’s not a ton of knowledge in the sport, promotion in the sport isn’t as big as volleyball or basketball, and sustaining the team can be hard since people are afraid to get hit,” Young said.

Although getting hit can be a scary aspect of a sport, the women’s rugby team has passed a new rule that a player has to be hit below the sternum, which causes fewer injuries as severe as concussions. While men’s rugby doesn’t have that rule, they do have a trainer on the field in case a player gets injured, but the clock would only stop if the injury happens in the center of play, it won’t stop if there is an injury on the sides.

Since Young and Hulne are both presidents of the club, they have described their reasoning for becoming president similarly.

“I was mentored into the position, I was originally a secretary of the club, but the previous president saw a potential in me for the leadership role and eased me into it by adding more assignments slowly to what I was doing. Then the team decided to vote me as president,” Young described.

Connor responded with a different but similar statement.

“My buddy was president as I was vice president and I decided to take that role since I have a longer experience in the sport and I wanted to take leadership in the team for us to hopefully win a national championship,” Hulne said. 

Training is a big part of any sport, but it is important for rugby. Jordan describes the women’s training, “We practice three times a week for our season, September-November and March-May. We also have team lifts once a week as well as gym sessions once a week. We train over the summer and winter, but it’s more laid back.” 

While Connor describes the men’s training schedule. 

“We have a film session on Monday, a tackling defense on Tuesday, forward training on Wednesday, Thursday is offense training, Friday is the walk-through before the game, Saturday is the game and we have Sunday off. I make sure my team is keeping their ears open on the field when we practice as well as making sure respect is carried throughout the season.”

The benefits of joining the rugby club include being a part of a tight community that shows support and encourages growth, and alumni events that get you to network and talk with alums who may help you with future careers or advice. The women’s team brings women empowerment with their student-led organization with a community of people who fight for what they have. The men’s team encourages one another to win another national championship, they provide a lot of hard-working people who want to see others succeed in the sport. 

Both teams will ease new players into the sport, you do not need any experience to join rugby. Contact Jordan Young if you are interested in the women’s rugby team or contact Connor Hulne if you are interested in the men’s rugby team. More information about how to sign up for the club can be found on the Recreational Sports website. Reach out to the staff as well if you have any further questions about the rugby sport or any other recreational sports club.