“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

That is the motto for this year’s women’s club rugby team. The club’s emphasis on teamwork is important because rugby is a tough sport to play and you can’t go onto the pitch all by yourself— you have to stick together. So far, this season the club is 0-3 but they are looking to improve on their mistakes and get better as the season goes on.

“We are learning the fundamentals of the game way better and applying them in game. Both the A side and B side teams show a tremendous difference from day one and we are definitely still growing. In our first game we lost by a lot and didn’t even score a try. The second game, we narrowed the gap and even scored a few try’s. The third game, we took what we learned all week in practice and applied it. Although we lost by two points, I’m proud of the way we played. At one point we were up by three try’s which is a major improvement,” said junior Sarah Bosco who is a first-year player for the club.

One of the main reasons why the club has struggled early on is because they are inexperienced. They lost a lot of seniors last season and now the club is looking to rebuild through the young players that are still trying to learn the game on the fly.

“Rugby is an uncomfortable sport and it’s a lot to learn. So, getting people used to the game and understanding the rules is a challenge for some, but everyone has caught on pretty quickly. Women’s rugby consists of a very inclusive group of individuals. Us new players often depend on the veterans of the club for instruction and clarification” continued Bosco.

One of the bright spots for this club is that they are coached by Alycia Washington who is a professional women’s rugby player. Washington is currently a member of the New York Rugby Club and also plays for the USA Rugby Women’s Eagles. On her spare time Washington also coaches high school and referees on the high school and college level. The coaching staff has played a big part on the development of this team, and the players really take advantage of it.

“Our coaches have contributed to our success by using their experiences on the field to show us how they’ve developed into two great rugby players. Our other coach Dom usually takes the defense and Alycia the offense. Sometimes they do drills with us, not to show us what we could become, but to show us that they wouldn’t have us do anything that they haven’t done. They both show tremendous knowledge of the game. It’s definitely a major inspiration to have both of them and triggers some aspirations for girls to be the best they could be” said Bosco.  

    As far as expectations are concerned, the team feels that they can continue to grow on their strengths and learn from their mistakes. Along with support and guidance they hope to get better each and every week. The club hopes to make the playoffs at the end of the season. The club will play their next home game at Kayo Field against Springfield on October 28th at 11 am.