Beasts for an afternoon
Reannon King looks like any other young woman at Utah State University. As a social studies major who hopes to go on to teaching, there doesn’t appear to be anything out of the ordinary when it comes to her academic and extra-curricular life at USU.
But King has a secret. On Tuesday afternoons at 5 p.m., she takes to the field outside the HPER building and becomes a beast.
“I love to be told I am a beast,” King said. “For most women in society I think that would be considered a negative thing, but in sports, it is a compliment – like saying , ‘good job.’ Whenever someone calls me a beast, I stand a little taller. I feel like, ‘that’s right, I’m capable, I’m not going to be pushed over.'”
King, admittedly, is not an actual beast, but as a member of the women’s club rugby team, she’s proud of the often male-oriented compliment. She said while some boys get a little alarmed when they learn she plays rugby, there is at the same time a lot of respect.
“You’re doing something that not a lot of people do, that is cool,” King said. “They think about themselves and think I’m not sure I’d want to hit people. The fact that you go and do that and aren’t some sissy little girl that cries whenever your nail is broken, I think a lot of guys respect that.”
Rugby is the only collegiate full-contact women’s sport, which is part of the appeal for some players.
“I get to tackle people,” King said when asked what initially drew her to the game. “There is mud and dirt everywhere and I decided this was fun.”
While the game is not for sissies, it is for players of all sizes. Team member Vanessa Avila has been playing on the team for four years, and is far from the sterotypical image some may conjure of a women’s rugby player.
She said, “Sometimes people make it sound like we are all men, really tall and big and muscular. But the girls on our team are pretty small, but we are still really good. That is one thing about rugby that I love, no matter what size you are, you can play.”
Avila, majoring in family, consumer and human development, said that many of the parents and friends of the players were surprised when they learned their daughters were playing rugby. The surprise soon sets sail, however, and gives way to a level of respect and admiration.
“When you do it, you see ‘I can do it, I can hit people.’ Guys are always impressed when I tell them I play rugby, and they want to come to the games. I don’t know if it necessarily gets us a lot of dates, but it’s a cool thing,” Avila said.
More than half of USU’s team consists of new players, with little to no previous rugby experience. So far the team stands at 1-2, though they have also won a few unofficial rookie games. One of those losses came in a game against Weber State in which the Aggies lost by a single point.
While many of the players haven’t played rugby before, rough and tough is nothing new.
Avila said, “When we get bruises, a lot of people are alarmed. But we try to get bruises – it is like the trophy for playing to show you’re tough.”
Annie Smith, a freshman, said this is her first time playing rugby and she never thought it would be something she’d do.
“I’ve always been the little pansy in my family. My brothers played rugby and they’d try to get me to come be their practice tackle. I always hated it. I did swim team and cross country,” she said.
Jessica Rich, a junior majoring in nutrition, said, “I played different sports growing up, like basketball, but I fouled a lot so rugby is good for me. I’ve always liked being rough.”
Rich, who has been playing for two years, said she finds it very therapeutic to go out and hit somebody, while Smith said the physical contact is empowering.
“The first time I hit someone, I was like, ‘this is awesome!’ We compare bruises, but at the same time you’re not out there trying to rip each other apart,” Smith said.
Despite the fact that they often hit each other on the practice field, the team members are best friends off the field, Smith said. Like the physical contact, camaraderie is a common theme in rugby that attracts the players.
King said she has been playing sports since she was five, but wasn’t on a team last year, which is when she realized how much she missed it. A former roommate who joined Utah Valley University’s rugby team encouraged King to try it. King said that she hadn’t felt as much unity in the other sports she’s played. She said rugby is different because “you get rid of your personal bubbles pretty quick.”
King said: “This is our social life, it may sound like a punishment, but there’s a bond you don’t have with others like a roommate. You don’t see them sweating and dying for you. Their hair is everywhere, sometimes they’re bleeding, and you know they aren’t doing it just for themselves. They are sacrificing their body for the team, and that is very empowering because it is like this is a family.”
Smith said rugby provides the best sportsmanship she’s ever experienced.
“I saw the rugby team on the quad and I thought, ‘Yeah right, you guys are scary.’ But I came the first day and I loved it because if you get knocked down hard there is always someone to help you up from your team or the other team. It makes it a lot less scary,” Smith said.
The team not only plays together, but works together as well. Avila said because it is a club sport, the students are in charge of everything. She said that while they do get some funding from the university, they put the team together, schedule games, paint the field, and find their own coaches.
Avila also said the older and more experienced players try to teach the new players so when others graduate they can take care of the team. The team is always looking for new players, and tryouts are not required.
“Anyone can play. I grew up playing sports with my brothers, and I’ve always been kind of a rough woman, but I don’t have any rugby experience,” Avila said. “Our goal is to have fun and have a good team attitude.”
Avila said that as a women’s sport, rugby is sometimes underestimated. While the ball is a different size for men and women, all the rules are the same. It could be seen as demeaning to have a smaller ball, but everything else is equal, Avila said.
“The community should support women’s sports more,” Avila said. “Sometimes I think we might get shafted because of our gender. Don’t forget women’s sports are also important. We are a lot of fun to watch. Can you imagine a bunch of girls tackling each other?”
For more information on the women’s rugby team, visit http://www.usu.edu/camprec/htm/clubsports/womens-rugby.
– storee.powell@aggiemail.usu.edu
Home Game Schedule
(at the HPER field):
Nov. 6 Montana 10 a.m.
Nov. 13 BYU 11 a.m.
Nov. 20 Salt City Slugs 11 a.m.