For the first time ever, Cabrini University will have a Rugby team! Cabrini’s Rugby team, will be competing in the NSCRO conference, which is apart of the USA RUGBY association.
What is Rugby?
Rugby is a team sport that can have 15 players on the field at a time. The positions in Rugby are divided into two groups, forwards and backs.
The rugby games run for 80 minutes, which is divided into two 40 minute halves. The field has to be about 100 meters long and 70 meters wide. The ways teams can score through Rugby is through a try ( 5 points when a player runs into the opposing team’s dead area), a conversion (A free kick worth two points), a penalty kick, (3 points) and a prop Goal (3 points).
The eight forward positions are, hooker, prop, second row, flanker and number eight. The seven back positions include scrum half, fly half, inside centre, outside centre, wingers and a full back.
Rugby is more than just a game
Captain and coordinator of the team, Ryan Pfanders, wants to unify the campus through one sport.”
“A lot of schools rally behind football but let me take what I know in Rugby and apply that to Cabrini,” Pfanders said.
Rugby, like any team sport, teammates have to work together as one to win. Pfanders went on to explain Rugby “is something you can take beyond play.” The teammates you play with in Rugby can become close friends that you take in life.
Eddie Mercado, a Cabrini Rugby player, is playing for the first time.
“(I’m) Not expecting it to be easy, but the thing about me is I am going to always give 110% effort,” Mercado said. “I expect it to be life changing because a lot of these sports are like this brotherhood kind of thing, like this tight bonding and great relationships being made so I expect it to be really good.”
Expect big things from this years’ Rugby team. For anyone who is concerned about experience, you do not have to have experience to tryout either. Mercado has never played Rugby before in his lifetime, but he is eager and motivated to start the season.
For more information
The Cabrini men’s Rugby team may have had their meeting last Tuesday, but you can still contact the team on Facebook. You can also, contact Ryan Pfanders, his email is rip344@cabrini.edu or Orlin Jespersen his email is ojj722@cabrini.edu.
