After more than a decade of not having a Girls’ Rugby Team at Richardson, this September we were finally able to make one that has affected female athletes all around our school. Girls who wanted to try out for the Girls’ Rugby Team were unable to do so due to the lack of players wanting to join in past years. However, this year, rugby coaches and rugby girls finally got their chance to shine. The team played the 7s season in the fall and now are about to start the spring 15s season. Despite not having a team for years, they held their ground with tremendous skill. They played teams that have been running for years and were still able to score some tries against them. Shout out to Harmony H, Emma T, and Samantha T for scoring tries this past 7’s season.
“It’s our first year in about 10 years that we had a girls’ rugby team,” explained Grace C, one of the starters on the 7s team. “I knew we weren’t going to be the best of the best, but we’re still improving and in the 15’s season which is coming up, I think we will get a lot better.”
Some players found tackling to be rather therapeutic, as it can get rid of extra stress or tension. “Oh, I really enjoyed tackling people!” noted Nylah C.G.
We interviewed Ms. Davidson, the coach of the Girls’ Rugby team, to see how she felt about this season.
“I’m so incredibly proud of the commitment, passion, and power you all showed this season as well as your resiliency!” she noted. “I can’t wait for the next season to show them all what we are made of!”
We believe that having a Girls’ Rugby Team is important because rugby is typically known as a “gentlemen’s sport” or a “men’s” sport. It is important that we have a girl’s rugby team to break gender stereotypes and have as much of an opportunity to play as the boys do.
– Aleena Ejaj and Catherine Ogwang
