The Lumberjack

Issue date: 9/26/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Elizabeth Hilbig

Media Credit: Elizabeth Hilbig

Media Credit: Elizabeth Hilbig

Do it in the mud for 90 minutes with no protection; welcome to Humboldt Women's Rugby.

Ashley Aldana is a third-year rugby player at Humboldt State. "It's liberating for a woman to play a contact sport that has the same rules as the men's game," said Aldana.

Rugby is played on a 120-yard field with 15 players on each side. The sport involves tackling, passing, kicking, sprinting, rucking, and mauling.

"One of the reasons I started playing rugby is because you get to hit people and it's totally legal," said Aldana, "And we do it without sissy pads, unlike the football team."

The players tackle their opponents to stop them from scoring. Once tackled, the play is not over. Instead, the player who was tackled places the ball towards their teammates who then pick up the ball and do it all over again.

Haley French is one of the captains on the Humboldt State Women's Rugby team. "We wear a rubber mouth guard so you don't knock your teeth out," said French. "It helps avoid concussions, too."

Bruised and tired from a long two hours of tackling practice, the women on this team suck it up when they are sore. They practice daily and play games on Saturdays in the hardest college rugby division in the country.

Megan Helms is a petite third-year player, she is 5'2.
"When we play teams like CAL Berkley and Davis, the average girl has 50 to 75 pounds on me," said Helms.

But size doesn't always matter in rugby; petite women are just as responsible for tackling as heavier women.

"The bigger they are, the harder they fall," said Helms.

Unlike their opposing teams, Humboldt Rugby receives little financial assistance from alumni. When these women aren't playing rugby on the weekends, they're hosting yard sales, car washes, and Jell-O wrestling matches to raise money for the team.

Nuly Moua, a fifth-year rugby player, said, "Last year we brought in over $500 from wrestling in a kiddy pool of Jell-O."

That $500 was spent on travel expenses and tournament fees.

"We've traveled all the way to Canada in rental vans," Moua said. "We need to raise the gas money some how."

Every year the Humboldt Women's Rugby team raises thousands of dollars and practices four days a week to play six games in the spring and a handful of tournaments in the fall.

"Rugby is like football; physically your body cannot handle several games a week," said French.

Rugby stands out from other sports in more ways than one. After games, the two opposing teams get together to socialize, leaving all aggression on the field. At these "social" events, the women compare bruises, injuries, talk about rugby, and get to know each other.

Several players lift their sleeves to show one another their up and coming deep tissues bruises.

Riza Llanes, a fourth-year player and co-captain, said "Check it out. I have a huge bruise coming on my arm. It is not that bad yet, give it a few days."

So, maybe it takes a special breed of person to play rugby. One who gets an adrenaline rush from being close lined into the grass and brags about the fact that they are tougher than football - because their only protection is a two dollar mouth guard.

The Women Rugby Team's next game is against alumni on Saturday, September 29th in Manila.

Michelle Deutsch can be reached at mrd27@humboldt.edu

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