Trying to gain credibility as a legitimate club sport, the women's rugby team has posted two consecutive wins and looks to continue its winning streak in its final game of the season on Saturday. Unlike the men's rugby team, which has emerged as one of the best in the nation, the women have struggled on and off the field, but are finally making a name for themselves.
"People compare us a lot with the men, but we play in a different manner," junior Emily Schaffer said. "We're still really good. When playing rugby, you have to be willing to supercede your fears and throw yourself into stuff like a tackling situation."
Tackling and full contact without pads are just as much a part of women's rugby as they are with the men's version, and anyone who questions the intensity of the sport should have watched the Bowdoin game three weeks ago. A clean, hard tackle by a Tufts player left a Bowdoin forward screaming in pain with a compound fracture of her femur.
"It was a freak accident. It was a safe tackle, but somehow she shattered her femur. We ended the game at that point," Schaffer said. "One day during practice the next week, our team went and visited her in the hospital. She was not mad at us and understood that it was just part of the game."
The 30 members of the team have realized the hard way that injuries are a major part of the game, but they can be avoided with enough practice. Nevertheless, many girls who originally tried out for the team decided that the commitment was too great.
"We've had a lot of injuries this year, you have to learn how to fall and take a tackle," Schaffer said. "We started out with a huge team, and people decided that it's not for them."
In a sport where injuries are common and rules are very foreign to the average American college student, consistent practices are essential for competition. The team actually practices near varsity level, holding two-hour practices every weekday on the playing fields behind South Hall. Conditioning has traditionally played a large role in preparation for a grueling cardiovascular sport, but more recently, specific plays and drills have been incorporated into the practices. These drills and offensive plays have clearly had an impact, as the Jumbos edged Northeastern 14-7 two weeks ago and destroyed MIT last weekend in a 66-5 thrashing.
"They [MIT] were missing a few players, but everyone was working really well together, using plays that we had been practicing," junior Katie Bowen said.
The two wins were the first two of the 2000 campaign, but the team seems to be finally putting everything together.
"We didn't quite know how winning worked before these two games," Schaffer said. "Winning last week was amazing, and the MIT game was out of control."
The team is led by Bowen, a captain, and coach Kara Yimoyines, who graduated from Tufts two years ago. A club sport rule states that a Division III club sport needs to have a paid coach at every practice and game, and Yimoyines receives a meager sum of $500 for the entire semester.
"She's an amazing coach," Schaffer said. "She understands what we need and does all of our workouts with us. She works really hard with us. It is hard to get good coaches and a program without the funds."
Funding is traditionally a problem for club sports, and women's rugby is no exception, although team members feel that conditions are improving. They are given a fixed amount of money from the athletic department, and the individuals on the team must cover any other expenses, which can be frustrating.
"Rugby can't use athletic vans because they assume we will drive drunk," Bowen said. "We have to rent a bus or take the T. We would be a much better team if we had more money for some pieces of equipment that enabled us to reduce dues."
The team has run into many other logistical problems this year, including problems with the field they use to play and practice on. The Homecoming festivities of last weekend left their field strewn with trash, glass, and bottle caps.
"On Monday, we spent a good ten minutes cleaning up bottles and bottle caps on the field, one girl cut her hand," Schaffer said. "It is not a field treated with too much respect. We work as much as we can around the administration, but they don't give us the recognition that we deserve."
The women have also struggled to disassociate themselves with the stereotype of rugby players being irresponsible drinkers. Tradition follows that after every game the two teams socialize and have a good time. Players find this not a time to be reckless drinkers, but instead to put the rough game behind them and enjoy the other team's company.
"When you are playing a game that is so aggressive, things get dirty on the field," Schaffer said. "We have social events with the other team, and you have to leave the game on the field. It is always just a game, and the idea that we are friends with them is important in the values of rugby."
Despite an uphill battle with the administration and fighting numerous stereotypes about the sport, the women try to remain focused on why they are playing the sport in the first place.
"It's really fun once you get into it," Schaffer said. "In a lot of ways, it is a very pure sport, no pads, very few accessory items, a ball, a bunch of people, and ways to get through. Scores are low, so it is rewarding when you score. The team has a lot of camaraderie, we get along really well."
"You feel really powerful, it's kind of like the karate thing - you never use it, but you could if you had to," Bowen added.
The team will finish its season on Saturday, facing a very strong Stonehill team on its home field across from Cousen's Gym at 11 a.m.
