Frequently Asked Questions
I have no idea how the hell to play rugby. Absolutely. The vast majority of our players come to college without having ever played and pick it up pretty quickly. A number of us have played other sports before, but if you haven’t, that shouldn’t stop you. Probably should come to practice and learn before you step out on the pitch, though. How do you play rugby? Rugby, as
you may have heard, is pretty much a step between soccer and football. Like soccer, play is continuous (for 80 minutes in 15s), and like football, there’s tackling and passing (though never forward) and scoring by 7s and 3s, more or less. Teams get three points for a field goal or penalty, five for a try (like a touchdown, except you actually have to touch the ball down), and two for the kick conversion. Unlike in football, when a tackle is made, possession is contested with something called a ruck, which keeps play going. Minor miscues, like a forward pass, result in something called a scrum (which you might have seen), where possession is contested. Out-of-bounds plays result in a line-out, which is like a soccer throw-in except way cooler (see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyEy7pbIW1s). Yeah, we lift people in the air. Hooked yet? Is rugby a contact sport? Tackles, rucks, and scrums all require you hitting people. Don’t worry though, you won’t get ever get seriously injured if you use good form. (People like to throw around injury or concussion as a reason not to play rugby. If you play clean, it’s unlikely you will get a concussion - and people get concussions all the time playing soccer, ultimate, Quidditch, drinking, etc. Don’t get a concussion drinking after saying you were worried about rugby giving you one.) Do you play 15s or 7s? Currently 7s (the newest Olympic sport!). We're hoping to get back to playing 15s in the near future
What if I’m too small? Backs are people too. What if I’m too slow? Forwards are people too. Do I need to try out or sign up or register or something? Nah, none of that bu****it. The team is pretty damn open. But you do need to fill out some release forms and take an IMPACT test before you play, which is easy. When do you practice? MWF, 4:30 - 6:30, Cunningham Field (across Chester Rd. from Mertz). We (the captains, at least - Taylor and Mike) generally lift on the other days, and we hope to see you there in the gym too. What’s the team like socially? The team’s a pretty solid group of guys. We social together after most home games (Wharton or Worth, usually), we do Pubnite as a team relatively often, and we’ll watch get together to watch rugby matches about once a month. It’s a pretty great group of people without being insular. When do you play? Saturdays at 1, generally. We have a league season in the fall and an exhibition season in the spring. Generally there’s about 4-6 games in each over the course of two months. Who do you play? We play mostly small colleges in the Philadelphia/Eastern PA region. We’re a member of the Eastern Pennsylvania Rugby Union (EPRU) Small Colleges Division. So we play teams like Widener, Haverford, Philadelphia U., LaSalle, Villanova C, Neumann. I don’t identify as a dude, but I’d like to try women’s rugby. Does that exist? Alive and well. We like them a lot, mostly. They practice Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, same time, same place. Check them out here: https://www.facebook.com/swatrugby.
