Rugby player describes what makes the sport different from others

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Alabama Women’s Rugby Team was founded in 2009 with a small number of players on the roster. That changed in the many years which followed with the team winning the Southern Independence Rugby Conference Division II championship in 2015 and many successes have recently followed. 1st year player Cierra Loomis described the many experiences that has been had so far on the team.

Loomis described that joining the team brought more friends and an exciting experience. She also described what makes rugby differentiate from other similar sports.

Rugby, like many other sports involves physical contact; but in rugby’s case, it requires some to no padding or protection. But with that said, there are extra rules in place to protect the players from serious harm. For instance, players are restricted from tackling above the shoulders to protect the facial area.

“In rugby, all you have is a pair of cleats and a mouthguard,” said Loomis. “And even the mouth guard is optional.”

“There were some matches where we had no injuries and no-one was seriously hurt” Loomis said. “But there was this one match, where I had broken my fingers, my teammate blacked out on the field and got a severe concussion, and my friend tore her ACL; all in one game.”

At the university, Rugby is a club sport that welcomes any and all who want to participate. They practice Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 7-9 p.m. on the recreational fields.