University of Virginia Library

Ruggers Ready For Fall,
Expect Winning Season

Last season the Ruggers fielded
one of the finest college
sides in the cast. They were so
good that they travelled to
Europe where the team was
decimated by illness and injury
until a listing contingent of
beaten Americans returned to
Charlottesville. Then the Ruggers
suffered through a few
embarrassing matches, finally
ending the season with a losing
effort in their own Commonwealth
Cup Tournament. But
the Ruggers had fun.

To go along with the unique
technical aspects of the game,
the Ruggers have borrowed from
the English a unique attitude towards
the sport that makes Rugby
such a joy for players and spectators
alike. The training table is
usually groaning with the weight of
several kegs of beer which are also
the halftime energy booster. And
win or lose, the party after the
game turns into a well-oiled songfest,
with both sides singing chorus
after chorus of traditional Rugby
ballads, most of which are unfit for
printing in a college newspaper.

The Rugby club maintains no
formal ties with the University Athletic
Department. They have no
coaches and no mandatory practice
schedule. Those that are not tied
down by commitments practice
and coach each other in the spring
and fall behind Memorial Gym
(Nameless Field). Rugby's status
also permits it to open its doors to
any member of the University community.
The spectrum of players
ranges from first-year men through
Law and Med students, up to a
member of the English department
who is at least as old as the Pepsi
generation.

The game that these men play is
the father of American football and
a descendant of English football, or
soccer. In practice it combines certain
aspects of both, plus a touch of
several other sports, including basketball.
The object of the game is
to advance the ball which resembles
a bloated football, into the opposition's
end zone. Such an accomplishment
is called a try, and is
worth three points. Scoring a try
enables a team to attempt a conversion,
worth two points. A field
goal, which is worth three points,
must be drop-kicked from the flow
of action.

Because the club is composed of
three teams, most anyone who
practices will get a chance to play.
New blood is needed, literally and
figuratively.

No one the CD contacted was
certain when Rugby practice would
begin, but the most common answer
was "whenever club president
Terry Danis gets the balls", which
would probably be around the third
week of September.

Hot And Heavy Rugby Action At Nameless Field Last Spring

Ruggers Begin Season In Latter Part Of September At Carr's Hill