Boasting 55 returning players and 15 rookies, UVM women’s rugby relies on the mentorship of seasoned players to cultivate new talent and leave no one behind. With two weeks of an intensive practice schedule as a whole team before their first game on Sept. 20, camaraderie takes shape quickly.
Vermont’s starting lineup this season is predominantly upperclassmen, led by seniors Emma Griffith and Anna Donaldson, and graduate student Maddie Leroux. With a team of 70 people, more experienced players model what it means to represent Vermont rugby.
Rugby, being such a contact-heavy sport, requires trust between teammates. The team’s nine officers urge returning players to step up as role models.
“The older, more experienced players know to do their part, not only to improve themselves as players at practice but also help teach the new players,” Donaldson said.
The team practices for two hours, four days a week. They often run drills in waves, tailored to experience level, while designating time for the team to bond as a unit.
This is crucial, said Griffith, so that new players aren’t thrown into a level of play they’re uncomfortable with. The team’s 70 players are bound to be learning at different paces, including nearly a quarter who didn’t know anything about rugby before joining.
The high-intensity also means safety officers are essential to the team’s success.
Griffith stressed the officers’ deep investment in avoiding injuries to their players. With help from Kit Vreeland, head athletic trainer for club sports, captains put injury prevention into action by hosting gym sessions and filing incident reports, for example.
Still, some injuries are unavoidable.
“We play at a competitive level and it gets rough sometimes,” Griffith said. “That definitely affects our lineup, and we have to make changes and subs because of that.”
Rugby’s unpredictability, however, provides incentive for players to work hard at all stages of their development. At any moment, you could be put on the pitch.
In a particularly taxing sport, the team’s size gives Vermont women’s rugby an edge. If a player gets hurt in a game, a full bench of substitutes is eager to step up when they’re needed.
Although about 25 players are able to play in a single game, one person’s success is everyone’s success. The three captains exuded pride at each other’s accomplishments.
Currently 0-3 this season, women’s rugby is focused on solidifying its defensive line, snagging possession in mid-air contests, and pushing downfield. Coach Doug Shimel, known to his players as “Dougie,” impresses upon his team the idea of “starvation rugby.”
He describes rugby as a game of mistakes and possessions. If you slip up, the other team will capitalize, and you should be ready to do the same. While keeping the ball is an offensive move, he teaches that it’s a defensive one as well.
“They can’t score if they don’t have the ball,” Donaldson said.
The women’s rugby season spans seven short weeks, and it takes a few games to really build strong team cohesion, said Leroux.
With three games under their belt, the team is heading into its last two games of the season against Vassar College on Oct. 18 and the United States Coast Guard Academy on Nov. 11, confident that their hard work will pay off.
“Our team is more tight-knit than your average sports team because of the fact that there’s no cuts,” Donaldson said. “I think it translates really well to how we play together on the pitch.”
Belonging is what draws so many to the rugby team, and because of the no-cut and no-tryout policy, all who are interested are welcome. The format bridges the gap in access to rugby before college, Donaldson said.
“I just think rugby’s special in general,” Griffith said. “And it’s not just our team, it’s around the world, truly. All rugby teams, they have this certain culture of respect and community.”
