Members of the Team Speak on their Passion for Rugby

Last week, I got the honor and privilege to speak to some incredible women and their coach about what rugby means to them and why they love what they do.

First, I interviewed Emma Murphy who is a junior and is majoring in Communications with minors in leadership, photography, and video art. One of my questions to Murphy was why she joined rugby.

“One of my best friends, we work together, we had our on campus job, she came up to me and she said ‘you should play rugby’ and I thought ‘I don’t know, I play soccer, and I’ve never played rugby before’ and she said ‘just do it, it’s a super welcoming community, everyone’s so nice and it’s a pretty fun sport to pick up’ so I came to one practice and I have been on the team ever since,” Murphy said.

Another player I had the privilege to speak with is Chloe Grell. She is a sophomore with majors in communications and political science. One question I asked Grell was how she prepared for a big game.

“I come to practice, and then it’s really just getting in the mindset…there is no higher level than club so it’s really good to treat it like a club game and still have fun with it…but we can reap the benefits of winning games and building a good program,” Grell said.

Another teammate I got to speak with is Madeline Stitch. She is a sophomore with a major in environmental studies. I asked Stitch what made her want to join rugby.

“I’ve always been into odd sports, especially contact sports since this is one of the only contact sports for women. I was really interested in it, and I heard it was a really welcoming community, so I had to check it out,” Stitch replied.

The next person I had the honor of talking to is MJ Johnson. She is a senior with a major in Biology. I asked MJ how she hoped to see the team flourish after she graduates.

“I really wanna see more numbers, just getting the name out more and getting people to come out and try it,” Johnson said.

As I was interviewing some of the teammates, I got to talk to some of the team’s newest members. One of them includes Haley Dewitt. She is a freshman with majors in kinesiology and neuroscience. One question I asked her was what she thought the most rewarding part of rugby was.

“The passion everyone puts in, so when you do really well, you feel it and the team is so rewarding in itself. Everyone goes up, we all compliment one another, we’re all so stoked for each other because we all meet our goals and when we meet our team goals it’s really good to just be on the same page as everyone…and plus we’re undefeated so that’s very rewarding within itself,” Dewitt said.

The last teammate I had the honor of interviewing was Isabella Sangiuliano. She is a freshman with a major in Cellular-Molecular Biology. One of the first questions I asked Sangiuliano was what she does to prepare for a big game.

“I normally get lots of sleep the night before, I try to drink as much water as I can because I’m always dehydrated, and if it’s the day of the game, I normally have something small to eat. Most of our games are normally in the morning. But other than that, I don’t really have a routine. I try to get myself hyped once I get to the field,” Sangiuliano said.

Not only did I get the privilege of talking to the rugby teammates, I also had the privilege to talk to their coach, Dr. Andrew Higgs. One of the questions I asked Dr. Higgs was how he chooses to prepare his team for a big game.

“They (the team) might disagree, I try to keep it relatively low-key. Mostly because I don’t know that additional stress has ever helped anybody perform better. So truthfully, I try to prepare like it’s a normal game. They’re all very smart, they all know the stigs in just about any game we’re playing, whether it’s a friendly or a competitive tournament, or something of that sort. They all know the stigs and I don’t need to tell them, so I just try to keep things normal, and routine as possible,” Dr. Higgs responded.

Another question I asked Dr. Higgs was why he thinks rugby is set apart from other sports at CNU.

“Rugby is a global sport. It has a unique culture. It is by the standards of most sports, extremely inclusive… generally, rugby is considered to be the most inclusive sport. Especially from a body type standpoint, the saying is that there is a position for every body type whether you are slow, or fast, are you large or small, we have a position you can play and excel at which I love. From a women’s sports standpoint, there are no other contact sports with this level of violence and aggression and physicality available to women in the major sports. Basketball is very physical, soccer is very physical, but there is not a tackle sport for women like there is football for men unless you are an outlier…so here, this is usually the first time most of my players have ever tackled anybody, which is always a fun experience when we get to the first tackle practice… there’s nothing else like it from the standpoint of physicality. I think all sports would say they have a high level of camaraderie, but it’s really sort of solidified in rugby culture…and when it’s done, you slap hands with your opponent and have a hug and sit down on the sideline, hydrate, and chat about what a great game we all just played. It’s very, very unique, in my opinion. Some of my best friends that I ever made were people I’ve played against, and I think that’s a really cool and unique aspect of the sport.”

After speaking with everyone and hearing why they are passionate about such a unique sport, I feel the need to tell everyone to try out for rugby. These ladies have poured their time and love into this sport. The coach has committed himself to both the game and his team. I have never seen such passion and love from a single sports team than I have from the CNU Women’s Rugby team.

Coming soon in CNU Sports:

*Games listed are happening at CNU

April 19th

*Women’s Tennis

CNU v. North Carolina Wesleyan College

Location: Newport News, VA

Time: 3:00 PM

*Men’s Lacrosse

CNU v. Southern Virginia University

Location: Newport News, VA Time: 4:00 PM

April 21st

*Women’s Softball

CNU v. University of Mary Washington

Location: Newport News, VA

Time: 4:00 and 6:00 PM

April 22th

Men’s Baseball

CNU v. University of Mary Washington

Location: Newport News, VA Time: 1:00 PM

To look at events off campus and for future weeks, visit cnusports.com