- November 27, 2024
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We covered scoring. Downward pressure is required inside the try zone, resulting in five points. Knock-ons. Scrums. Then, Brent Justice asked me to come toward the ball so he could demonstrate a ruck, one of the most commonplace plays in rugby.
“Come across,” Justice ordered, as I stood over his friend and Florida Juice teammate Tyler Hilgers at a soccer field in Port Orange. As I pondered what the walkthrough would consist of, Justice, an Ormond Beach resident and Spruce Creek High School senior, launched at my torso and knocked me back flat on my ass.
“So, I just ruck you out.”
The rest of my hands-on introduction to rugby was gentler, consisting of a passing tutorial and small talk about some of the game’s quirks. It’s somewhat of a self-legislating game, a popular collegiate sport, but one that’s governed entirely by USA Rugby —not the NCAA.
Hilgers recalled a match against a team from South Carolina last year when an opposing player (who may have been on steroids) maliciously elbowed a Daytona player, breaking his nose.
“The thing about rugby is that if nobody sees it, it’s pretty much fair game,” he said.
Similarly, in a match against Tampa, Justice was surprised when an opponent left his feet to dive at the ruck he was standing on. It’s an illegal play — and one that left him open to punishment.
“So, I just hit him in the ribs a couple times,” he said, smiling. “I didn’t get carded for it. It’s legal, and I think we were awarded a penalty,” for the play.
Looking at these guys — seeing them beam as we tossed the oblong ball in a triangle, and they talked about the Daytona Beach Rugby Club, I was reminded of my best friend from college, Paul Rowane. Dubbed “Tiny,” since he crutched around like Tiny Tim from a torn ACL during our freshman year, Rowane played scrum half for our team, Mother’s Rugby. We didn’t have a football program at the University of Mary Washington (the running joke — emblazoned on countless freshman T-shirts — is that we’re undefeated), so the Saturday rugby games drew huge crowds. When Hilgers and Justice repeatedly raved about the fellowship and fraternity that rugby evokes, I understood. It’s a game where you can be gouging a guy’s eyes out with a spoon during the match — and belting out “If I Were the Marrying Kind” (a famous rugby tune) alongside the same bloke during the postgame social. Socials bring together both sides for what’s basically a party; they’re popular at all levels of the sport, but especially among the college and men’s groups, where the booze (provided by the home team) flows freely.
But instead of tapping kegs and drinking themselves silly, Justice, Hilgers and Daytona’s high school-aged group just order a mountain of pizzas.
