Club Cuts: Women’s Rugby

Wanted: Tough, athletic, fierce competitors for new club sport on campus.

At first glance that wouldn’t seem too uncommon, yet the Women’s Rugby Club at Sac State is anything but common.

Although great strides have been taken in women’s athletics, equality has yet to be met in rugby — one of the toughest sports in the world, which continues to be dominated by men.

“The stereotype is more with girls,” team co-president Hillary Gatlin said. “Guys think its cool, girls don’t think they can play rugby.”

As the Women’s Rugby Club starts its inaugural campaign, stereotyping has been a major adversity that co-presidents Dara Schnieder and Gatlin have had to overcome.

“People expect some beefy chick to be playing,” Schnieder said. “They don’t believe me when I tell them I’ve played for four years.”

Fielding a team has proven a difficult task. After playing rugby for four years with the Cougar Rugby Club, a local area rugby league, Gatlin and Schneider came to Sac State and thought their playing days were over. At Sac State they found that while there were multiple men’s rugby teams on campus, there was not a women’s rugby team.

“I talked with student activities and they said that there was an interest in a girl’s rugby team,” Schnieder said. “But someone just needed to take charge and get a team together.”

Schneider and Gatlin were told that a minimum of eight players would be needed in order to start the club. The campaigning started immediately.

“We put fliers everywhere; at dorms, sororities, just everywhere,” Gatlin said. “We wanted 25 (members), if we could get more women than that it would be great. We have a position for any type of girl.”

The efforts were successful and the Women’s Rugby Club was founded earlier this year. Yet as with anything new, the team will experience growing pains — one being the inexperience of most members of the team.

“Practice is the basics: How to handle the ball, how to throw, and general rules of the sport,” Gatlin said. “Since it’s so new you don’t have to be good, you just have to be there.”

Practice is every Tuesday and Thursday from 4 pm to 6 pm for the unseasoned squad, which is itching for some real competition, but as of yet had not scheduled any games. Instead, the focus has been on getting a consistent team together and spreading the word.

“We want to start up right,” Gatlin said, “so that in years to come we can have a tradition.”

With its imminent improvement, the Women’s Rugby Club will start competing in regularly scheduled weekend games this January against teams from San Jose State, Santa Clara, Reno, Chico, and Santa Cruz. It also appears likely that the team will be asked to join one of many collegiate rugby leagues.

Whether or not the club joins a league this year or next is irrelevant, as it assuredly will someday. What matters most in this first season is that the Women’s Rugby Club continues to improve while continuing to smash stereotypes.

“It’s just a game where a girl can compete in a contact sport,” Schnieder said. “We’re tough, just not mean.”

Indeed this team is tough, but what’s wrong with that?

If you are interested in either joining or sponsoring the Women’s Rugby Club you can reach Hillary Gatlin at (916) 966-6066 or Dara Schneider at (916) 721-4659.