USD rugby makes a name for itself
Among the many club sports spawned on the campus of the University of South Dakota, there is almost none more popular than rugby.
The club sports over 50 members between both the men’s and women’s team.
The men’s rugby club has been involved with the university since the late 1980s, and has had a successful and rich history, which the women’s club joined just a few years after the men.
“The men’s rugby club at the beginning was one of the best in the nation,” said senior Kaleb Paulsen. “We’ve made the playoffs in the past and we’ve managed to keep the club going.”
Rugby is played like no other sport as it adapts traits of both soccer and football.
There are no set downs, and the clock is continuous. Passing however is more complex, as you can only toss the ball backward or kick the ball forward.
The ultimate goal is to get a try, which is worth five points, and then the player who scored kicks a dropkick for two additional points.
“A try is like a touchdown, you have to cross the goal line, and touch it down with applied pressure,” said senior Katie Perillo. “The challenge is wherever you touch the ball down is where you have to kick the dropkick.”
In rugby, if a player doesn’t show up the other team usually gives the team one of their own players to play against them.
“Commitment creates team chemistry, which is vital to the sport,” said Perilo. “I had to play with a team from Kansas once, and it taught me how important and beneficial chemistry is.”
Many people who join the team did not play rugby before attending the university.
“I began playing as a freshman in high school, so I knew I wanted to play from the beginning,” said Paulsen. “However this sport can be played by anyone, all body sizes and talents have a position.
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Chances are the person across from you only has a year or two of experience at the most, so you’re never at that bad of disadvantage.”
The teams play games in both the early autumn and spring, but usually practices year round.
This fall the teams played in fewer games because of cancellations by other teams.
“We play about five or six weekends each semester, but in the spring we play more games because we go to tournaments,” said Perillo.
The team travels throughout the tri-state region to tournaments to see better competition and gain experience.
In 2011 the team went to tournaments in both Storm Lake, IA, and Wayne, Neb.
“The tournament in Wayne is the second biggest in the country,” said Paulsen. “The tournament hosts teams from all over the world including Canada, and Germany. Competition is much higher, and we get to see how good we actually are.”
Chemistry takes time to sink in, but when it does, the team has more confidence and better communication on the field.
In 2010, the men lost to South Dakota State 88-0, and came back and beat them three straight times in spring 2011.
“We are more of a spring team, because we get more comfortable with each other and play more as a team,” said Paulsen. “In the fall we usually have a new team every year because of graduation, but by the time spring rolls around we are comfortable.”
While the club remains close with one another, the sport as whole keeps generally close. In fact, Paulsen’s high school co-captain is now the captain of the South Dakota State rugby club.
“We hate each other for 80 minutes, but for the rest of the day we are best friends,” said Paulsen.
The rugby clubs are both done for the fall semester, but practice picks right back up after winter break. The first action for the men’s team will come in late February, as the women’s team will begin in early March.
