Students bring rugby to Martin
Danny Warren
Issue date: 11/11/08 Section: Campus News
Last spring a few students at UTM decided to start a rugby club and have been building a program that is now looking forward to playing in the Mid South Collegiate Competition, which is a part of U.S. Rugby, next spring.
Starting next spring there will be a designated rugby season in the spring of every year.
Since spring 2008 the team has competed in five exhibition games and has continually shown improvement. They started off playing against the Memphis rugby team last spring. Fall 2008 started with a match against a Nashville men's club and then another match against Memphis. UTM tied Memphis 20- 20 early in the fall semester. The team then competed against Tennessee Tech starting off in the lead and then falling short in the final score.
Most recently the UTM Rugby team traveled back to Memphis to play Memphis and Sewanee. They were victorious in both games of this double header.
The UTM Rugby Club hosted its first home game on Saturday Nov. 5 against Hopkinsville. This game will be held on the intramural fields behind the Elam Center. These fields will be the new home of the Rugby team at UTM. The team has been holding their practices in front of Browning Hall.
Steve Sadker, President of the Club said, "I would like to see a lot of support from the students and faculty at our first home game. I think that people will be impressed with our team. We have worked hard to get where we are."
UTM Rugby coach Paul Higgs played rugby in New Zealand at Canterbury University and Auckland University. Higgs is also a professor of chemistry at UTM.
Higgs said, "Rugby is a sport for all body sizes. Anyone is welcome, with or without experience, to practice and learn how to play the sport. There are many different positions and they all require a different kind of person."
Tyler Neal, the vice president of the Rugby club said, "We have been working very hard to get where we are. The team is starting to become more experienced and it can be seen on the field. I encourage anyone who would like to play to come out and practice or join the club."
Coach Higgs mentioned a possibility that the team may hold tryouts next fall but anyone is welcome to come out at any time.
Starting next spring there will be a designated rugby season in the spring of every year.
Since spring 2008 the team has competed in five exhibition games and has continually shown improvement. They started off playing against the Memphis rugby team last spring. Fall 2008 started with a match against a Nashville men's club and then another match against Memphis. UTM tied Memphis 20- 20 early in the fall semester. The team then competed against Tennessee Tech starting off in the lead and then falling short in the final score.
Most recently the UTM Rugby team traveled back to Memphis to play Memphis and Sewanee. They were victorious in both games of this double header.
The UTM Rugby Club hosted its first home game on Saturday Nov. 5 against Hopkinsville. This game will be held on the intramural fields behind the Elam Center. These fields will be the new home of the Rugby team at UTM. The team has been holding their practices in front of Browning Hall.
Steve Sadker, President of the Club said, "I would like to see a lot of support from the students and faculty at our first home game. I think that people will be impressed with our team. We have worked hard to get where we are."
UTM Rugby coach Paul Higgs played rugby in New Zealand at Canterbury University and Auckland University. Higgs is also a professor of chemistry at UTM.
Higgs said, "Rugby is a sport for all body sizes. Anyone is welcome, with or without experience, to practice and learn how to play the sport. There are many different positions and they all require a different kind of person."
Tyler Neal, the vice president of the Rugby club said, "We have been working very hard to get where we are. The team is starting to become more experienced and it can be seen on the field. I encourage anyone who would like to play to come out and practice or join the club."
Coach Higgs mentioned a possibility that the team may hold tryouts next fall but anyone is welcome to come out at any time.
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