How Rugby Changed My Life

By: Andrew Isbell

 Motlow Buzz reporter

            I have always played a sport of some kind from baseball to football and in between. I didn’t find my real passion until rugby came into my life. 

Sports in My Life

            Earlier in life, basketball was my passion (or so I thought). I was on my grade school team and played in a summer league as well. Of course as most young kids think, I thought I was going to go pro because I was a decent player. Baseball just simply wasn’t my thing. I played for only a year and was absolutely terrible, so I had to drop that really quick. Then high school came, and as any kid who is interested in sports, I had to play high school football. I was obsessed with football early in high school and couldn’t think of anything else, but there was always one constant in my life that started in middle school and lasted the entirety of high school.

            I started playing rugby in seventh grade at Siegel Middle School, and it wasn’t anything special to me until high school. My sophomore year of high school, I quit football because I honestly wasn’t any good and knew I wasn’t going to play, but I saw and had many people who told me I was going to be a well-rounded rugby player at the time. So I turned all of my focus toward the sport. It turns out that it was the best decision of my life.

            Rugby broke me out of my very shy lifestyle and helped me branch out. I gained a new confidence because of how well our team was playing. It’s crazy how if a group of people are all helping each other to succeed on the field, brings you confidence. It’s great knowing off the field you that have at least 20 guys having your back at all times. I also started to get in the best shape of my life. By my senior year in high school, I was the strongest and most fit I had ever been.

            My senior year we were playing our rival Oakland high school. Oakland had beaten us the previous year to win the state championship. We went into the game the most prepared and intense I had ever seen a team at the time. We played a very well-rounded game, and I scored in the second half to solidify our win. I felt a sort of redemption after that game, and that paved our way to the state championship for a third straight year.

Now in college, I continue to play rugby for Middle Tennessee State University and have a close group of friends that even off the field hold me true. At Motlow, I along with two others are playing with MTSU, and we all see quality playing time. One of the game’s biggest aspects is the comradery that comes with it. I will have friends for the rest of my life because of rugby, and I am forever thankful.

The Game of Rugby

            Now if you don’t know the game of rugby at all, it is very entertaining and action-packed. Unlike football, the players have no pads or helmets but make the same tackles. Instead of passing forward, you must pass lateral or backwards. Also, you can kick at any point of the game.

Every person on the field plays both offense and defense during this entire 80-minute game consisting of two, 40-minute halves. A “try” is similar to a touchdown in football except that you must touch the ball to the ground. It is worth five points, and the conversion kick or points after try is worth two points. Field goals, penalty kicks, and drop goals (practically all the same) are worth three points.

There are 15 players on the field from both teams, eight in the forward pack, a “scrumhalf” and six in the back line. The game also consists of scrums, which are similar to the line of scrimmage in football. Lineouts which are similar to the throw in at a soccer game. And rucks, which are similar to nothing, which makes the game unique. A “ruck” is when the ball carrier gets tackled to the ground and he must release the ball back towards his team. Then his teammates will rush over him to protect possession of the ball until the scrumhalf can pass it out.

Learn More

            Visit www.mtrugby.com to learn more about how to get involved at MTSU and come out to a practice or two to see all the hard work we put in and the fun we have doing it. You can also learn more about the game and see how the USA national team is doing at www.usarugby.org.  

MTSU Rugby Opens Spring Semester With Dominating Win Over Memphis

By Andrew Isbell

Contributing Writer

            MEMPHIS -- The Middle Tennessee State rugby team traveled down to the University of Memphis on Feb. 4 and came out victorious by a score of 37-5.

The Moosemen started the game slow but steady and proved dominance over the ball. In the fall semester, the MTSU Moosemen ended with a record of 4-0 and picked up right where they left off. There had to be a change in leadership, and the team elected a new captain in Mason Hubbard. The first game of the semester, it was expected for the Moosemen to be a little rusty and out of shape, but that was not the case this time around.

            During the Christmas break, the team was held responsible for their conditioning by weekly sessions on three out of five days of the week. It proved to be the X-factor in this game as Memphis died down in the second half, and that is when MTSU exploited the weakness.  Twenty-two of the 37 points were scored in the second half.

            “You could tell in the second half who has been conditioning and who hasn’t,” starting lock and Motlow State Community College student Deshun Richardson said. “The field was a big problem because it was just hard dirt, and I couldn’t keep traction at all.”  

            The field was not in ideal condition. It was hard, and the little grass that was there did not soften the fall. I heard multiple players before the game make negative comments about the field. The field may not have been up to par, but the crowd made up for it. The crowd filled up the sideline and made themselves known. Everybody except for a select few were on the side of Memphis. MTSU did a great job at keeping the crowd out of the game and not letting them become a factor.

            Another factor that could have affected the Moosemen was that Head Coach Jody Hensley was not present. The assistant coaches took full responsibility and had the players executing the game plan to a tee. Despite all the possible factors that could have ruined the day for MTSU, they were not rattled.

            Naturally the game got physical. When asking Captain Mason Hubbard about it, he said, “I just kept making sure everyone kept their cool. When anything got chippy, I made sure to step in between it and calm down our players.”

            The one minor problem the Moosemen had were the points after tries. After scoring seven tries, MTSU only made one PAT.

            MTSU will take on Georgia Tech at 1 p.m. Feb. 11 in Murfreesboro. It will be a rematch of last semester when MTSU beat GT, 62-0. The Moosemen will look to stay undefeated and keep their aim on the division championship.

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MTSU Rugby Wins 24-12 in Physical Game with KSU

By Andrew Isbell

Contributing Writer

            KENNESAW, Ga. – The Middle Tennessee State University rugby team beat Kennesaw State University on Feb. 18 by a score of 24-12, surviving a physical match.

            MTSU and KSU are sitting numbers one and two in the South Independent Rugby Conference north standings. MTSU was 6-0 going into the game, and KSU was 4-1.

            This rivalry matchup had plenty of promise coming in, and the teams delivered. With physical and fast-paced play, the two did not disappoint the crowd.

            Big hit after big hit kept the tempo and excitement up and left everybody wanting more. Among the physical play, the number of penalties was held to a minimum, which led to an impressively clean game.

            When asked about how much defense the team had to play, former Motlow State Community College student and Prop Ben Bergeron said, “After they scored a lucky try off of a missed kick, we knew we couldn’t give up anymore points the rest of the way, so we tightened up defensively and shut them down.”

MTSU seems to always be a size disadvantage. KSU’s forward pack easily outweighed MTSU. In turn, the Moosemen had to be smart and use their conditioning to their advantage. 

             “As far as the team, we know we are more conditioned. We train all the time knowing that we aren’t the biggest, and it has helped us this year and in years past to excel” former Motlow State Community College student and Second Row Trevor Wingerter said.

            Defense was the theme for this occasion, although MTSU squeezed out four tries. Andy Pan (Inside Center), Anthony Godwin (Outside Center), Brennan Boykin (Flanker) and Eugene Elliot (Scrumhalf) were the try scorers. Ben Bergeron and Patrick Brouillette converted on two of the four tries.

            With this win, MTSU solidifies their number one spot in the North side of SIRC, and remain undefeated at 7-0. MTSU has one remaining game against Georgia Southern in two weeks, then will take on the SIRC playoffs in Orlando, Florida.

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MTSU Takes Big Win Over KSU

By Andrew Isbell

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Middle Tennessee State University rugby team grabbed a big win over conference rival Kennesaw State University at 1 p.m. on Nov. 5 by a score of 39-10.

            MTSU and KSU are both in the South Independent Rugby Conference and have developed as big rivals. The two teams are incredibly physical, which made for an exciting match. This time around, the MTSU Moosemen took the victory.

The game of rugby is big internationally, a main sport for many countries including New Zealand, Fiji and Ireland among many others. It is often described as soccer and football combined. It’s football in the sense of tackling and passing, but without the pads. It’s soccer in the way of kicking. Passes are only allowed to go backwards or lateral, and a player can kick virtually whenever.

A match involves scrums and line-outs. A scrum looks identical to the offensive and defensive lines in football. A line-out looks almost like the ball being thrown back in soccer with a couple extra rules. A “try” is worth five points, and the conversion kick is worth two. A field goal is worth three points.

            The beginning of the game favored the Moosemen, who scored three times within the first 20 minutes. Scores came from MTSU starting Wing Devante Beasley, starting Second Row Trevor Wingerter, and starting Flanker Marcus Leuluai. The back end of the first half was more of a stalemate with both teams scoring once, which made the score at half time, MTSU 20, KSU 5. The last “try” in the first half came from MTSU starting Second Row Deshun Richardson.

            “The first 20 minutes of the game were fantastic for us,” MTSU Forwards Coach Jeff Pittman said. “We looked incredible.”

            In the second half, the Moosemen seemed to slow down, although almost doubling their halftime score. Conditioning is a huge part of the game, and being the beginning of the season, both teams started to tire out. The kickers seemed to shine in the second half, converting on three scores and making a penalty kick.  

            “In the second half, they (KSU) started to realize they weren’t going to win, so they started to hit us a lot harder, and I was gassed,” Richardson said. “It seemed like they were trying to hurt us.”

            The atmosphere during the game, although a small crowd, was electric. The fans loved to see their Moosemen score again and again.

MTSU has two remaining games this semester. The first will be played at 7 p.m. on Nov. 12 against Georgia Tech in Atlanta. The second will be played at 1 p.m. on Nov. 19 against the University of Memphis in Murfreesboro.

            MTSU remains undefeated on the season and is in first place in the SIRC Conference. They will take time off for Christmas break, then start right where they left off playing conference games to try and advance to the championship in May.  

            For more information about how to get involved either as a player or a spectator, visit www.mtrugby.com.

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