Rugby returns to campus with a vengeance

    Although football, baseball and basketball have firmly secured their place as the top sports in America’s culture, a new sport is gaining a quick foothold on some college campuses around the country. Sadly, rugby is not that sport.
    Created in the 1820s, it has taken the better part of two centuries for the game to gain a secure following on the campus of Murray State. Now that it’s here though, it shows no sign of leaving any time soon, and for a small group of dedicated students, there couldn’t be better news.
    The university has fielded a team for years, but the sport was canceled in 2007 following indiscretions by team members. 
    After being revived last year from the remnants of independent squad, the Bloodhounds, the group was adopted as the club team and currently operates as a member of the MidSouth Rugby Union, playing in a developmental level with UT Martin, Belmont, and Freed Hardman.
    According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, rugby, a sport that resembles a hybrid of both brands of football, credits its creation to an English student named William Webb Ellis, who in 1823 picked up the ball in the middle of  soccer game and ran with it. In his honor, an engraved stone on the  campus commemorates the birth of rugby, noting Ellis’ “fine disregard of the rules.”
    The rugby field, called a pitch,  is longer and wider than its football counterpart, typically 110 yards long and 75 yards wide. With 15 players on each team, it is played at a fast pace, with few stoppages and continuous possession changes, for two 40-minute halves. Conditioning is paramount as only five substitutions are allowed for each team per game.
    The object is to score “tries” in which the ball is run or kicked across the goal line. A try is worth five points followed by a conversion kick that could net an extra two possible points.
    Other ways to score include penalty kicks, in which the ball may be kicked from the point of a foul or anywhere on a line straight behind that spot, or drop goals, similar to field goal, which can be taken from anywhere at any time.
    Similar to American football in many ways, the sport has gained a reputation for its violence and intensity. Unlike football though, rugby players don’t have the luxury of wearing pads to protect them.
    Corey Grissom, captain of the Murray State rugby team and senior from Aurora, Ky., said he tries to stay away from arguments  that compare the games toughness to others
    “I simply present the facts,” Grissom said. “No pads, no blockers, 30 players, 80 minutes, one official, full contact...”
    Among all the moments in a match the one he said he most looks forward are those leading up to that first hit.
    “Rugby players are a different breed,” Grissom said. “Most of the guys we look for don’t have a problem with pain or violence.”
    Some players like Ryan Harwood, sophomore from Watertown, N.Y., are all too familiar with that mentality. Harwood, the eight man, was running for a score in a match against UT Martin when a low hit left his left knee battered, tearing nearly every major ligament. Oddly, his ACL, one of the most common sports injuries, was the only one left in tact.
    Despite the setback, Harwood maintains his love for the game hasn’t been impacted.
“If you play the game right, stuff like this usually doesn’t happen,” Harwood said.” The team is kind of like my second fraternity. There are guys that I feel like I’m close to because it’s such a rough sport. You have to have each other’s back out there.”
    Unlike other athletes on campus, who are rewarded scholarships and recognition for their performance, Harwood said the simple satisfaction of playing the game is what lets him sacrifice his body and keeps him going. While others have nice benefits and special rewards, Harwood has his teammates, his brothers, and at the end of the day, that’s enough for him.
    Contact Waddell at gregory.waddell@murraystate.edu.