A mini-documentary I made, profiling a rugby player and how they got into the sport

West Virginia University’s Men’s Rugby Continues on in 41^st Season

WVU’s Men’s Rugby Team just came off of a weekend in which its 15’s won a game at home and its 7’s won a tournament in Philadelphia.

7’s? 15’s? Rugby? I don’t understand any of this…

Rugby is a team sport that began being played in the early 1800’s in England. It was originally a variation of soccer (or football) and eventually lead to the creation of football (or American football). Rugby is played with either seven players or 15 players to a team (hence the name 7’s and 15’s). It is a contact sports where the players wear no protective gear (except occasionally a scum cap, which is a padded piece of headgear). Rugby is about as complex as soccer or football, and the rules are well documented online.

Rugby sounds dangerous…

Rugby is no more dangerous than other contacts sports. In fact, it may even be safer than football. In the 2013 season there were 94 concussions in English Premiership Rugby and 229 concussions in the NFL. This lower number of concussions could be due to a number of factors, but one WVU player has theory.

“Because we don’t wear pads, we learn how to tackle safely, and we have to be careful in the way we tackle,” said Nae Paugh III.

I want to watch some rugby…

If you are looking to watch some rugby then you are in luck, because WVU’s Men’s Rugby Team is holding its 40^th Annual I Used To Be A Chicken Tournament. The tournaments name comes from an old phrase from the teams early seasons.

“I used to be a chicken but now I play Rugby.”

The tournament is this Saturday, the 18^th of April and is at Mylan Park Recreation Center. There will be alumni returning to participate in this event along with collegiate men’s 7’s, 10’s, and women’s 15’s. More information can be found on the event page, the team’s Facebook page, and the team’s website.