Daytona Rugby

Printer-Friendly Version | Email This Article

Daytona Rugby
Colonizing America One Scrum at a Time
2005-10-26
Article Written by: Bryan Munson

Rugby is one of those sports that have certain stigmas attached to it. No matter what the players, fans or even TV and literature tell the general public, rugby comes across as a violent bunch of Neanderthal men knocking heads, chasing an oblong ball with no discernable pattern at all. It’s a view that probably won’t change anytime soon because, like the sport itself, it’s not native of America, and therefore in the public eye, it’s devoid of any pop culture value. Until baseball implodes, Ron Artest clones himself and football stadiums are swallowed up on Doomsday, it’s likely that rugby will have a smaller following in the states than professional soccer. As it is, there simply isn’t room for it in the marketplace.

Even at the end of that unfortunate bottom-line, though, there will ALWAYS be room for rugby. This is true because what keeps it from being popular in the states is exactly what makes America great in the first place: there is always room in the pie for the next big thing. The pop culture machine of American society that finds the oddest of things and turns them into sensations overnight might just be what the sport needs to establish its niche. How and when that will happen remains a constant, albeit subconscious, pursuit among those loyal to the sport.

Here in Daytona, whether residents knew it or not, there has been a team since 1982. Founded by Jerry Keading, and today helmed by Brian Richardson, the club is in the midst of a season that almost allowed them the honor of being called Defending Champions. We caught up with Head Coach Richardson, and he shared his expertise on the game and what it takes to have a successful team. More importantly, though, he mused over why rugby has gotten such a bad name.

WHD: It’s probably a good bet most folks didn’t know there was even rugby in Daytona. Tell us a little about the team and how things got started.

Richardson: Well, we’ve had a team in the area for almost 25 years, some seasons with a good turnout, other seasons not. It’s a club team, so we draw players who are still in college and guys who have day jobs. It’s a social thing, but the guys who are more serious about it see the most playing time. For some of us, it’s real competitive out there.

We operate under a national governing body called USA Rugby. Within the USAR league, there are regions; we play in USAR South. Now, within those regions, there are unions, and ours is Florida. The league is split into divisions from top to bottom, the highest being Super League, followed by Divisions I, II and III. We moved up to Division II this year.

Everyone that plays is a club team, so each team has a different backing based on their membership, location, how old the team is, alumni, reputation – a lot of that goes into determining how good a team is, because, the better the rep, the more likely it is better people will want to be on your team, either from here or abroad. It’s actually a pretty serious sport for those involved in it.

WHD: So you play as well?

Richardson: Yes. I’ve been with the team two years, and for the last three years have been on the Florida All-Star Team. Players from that squad play against other union all-stars, and the best players from those teams form the USA Eagles – which is the national team that goes on to play in a tournament similar to soccer’s World Cup. I’m a high school guidance counselor and football coach, and I’ve coached snow skiing and Little League before. With my background of playing and coaching, I like to think I’ve been able to bring this team a lot, and I think it shows in how well we’re doing.

WHD: Where do most of the players come from? Have they been able to gel as a unit?

Richardson: About sixty to seventy percent of our players come from Embry-Riddle. I’m trying to bring some more talent over from DBCC, Kaiser, Cookman, and oddly enough, Palmer Chiropractic. It’s weird, but quite a few of the best rugby teams are near chiropractic schools with students as their standout players. For us, it’s more like a college team because the bulk of our players are students. But we get people from all walks of life. Last year, we had a guy who was 48 years old that played.

This year we’ve done really well. Two of our rookies have really taken to the game, though. What’s most funny to me is that even with the high level of expectations and competition some of us have, and the transient nature of the team, you’d think that there might be some infighting or incompatibility among teammates. But it’s not the case. Our group hangs out together, outside of the field. A bunch of the guys train together in addition to what we do at practice. There’s a real camaraderie that has taken shape.

WHD: Last year, your club lost in the Final Four of the National Championships. This summer they were, at one point, ranked 4th in the nation for Sevens (seven on seven scaled down version of rugby), where Super League teams mix with Division III teams, and wound up finishing 20th. What makes your team so successful?

Richardson: Teamwork and heart. You can be the biggest and the best, but if you use good teamwork and techniques, you can run those guys right out of position and out of the game. Our team is fluid. Similarly, there’s teams like Jacksonville that run all over the place and can cause you a lot of havoc, get you to start doing stupid things. It helps to have players that have good hands, that hustle and that have the ability to get low on people.

WHD: Like wrestling…

Richardson: Yes. Wrestlers often make good rugby players because they can shoot in real quick. But you’d be surprised; basketball players do well, too. The game is most like a cross between football and soccer, but it’s real fast paced. Basketball is quick, with turnovers and end-to-end plays, lots of running and stopping short. People think of it like football too because there’s a lot of tackling, but really, it’s not pure tackling. You have to wrap yourself around the player. But it has an element of strategy too, where you want to create mismatches.

Editor’s Note: It was at this point we asked Coach Richardson How to Play.

WHD: If the game is as much finesse as you say, why does it get such a bad rap?

Richardson: Well, it is a violent game, probably more so than football. But in football, everyone is trying to hit everyone. There are more injuries per minute in football than in rugby. Put it this way – I’ve been in a few national tournaments where I’ve played up to five games in one day. There’s no football player that could play five games in one day.

There’s not as much gang-tackling in rugby as people think. It’s more strategy and putting yourself in good position through teamwork than power. Gang-tackles aren’t good for the team. If you miss, your defense is broken and that defeats the whole purpose of the game. You have a lot of people falling on legs, ankle-sprains, things like that, but there’s not as many serious knee injuries as you would think. The main thing is bruises and cuts. It’s the blood that gets people, I think. But that’s what happens when bodies are flailing around. I’ve had one cut to the side of my eye in the eight years I’ve been playing.

I think that rugby, outside of professional sports, ranks as the most intense sport you can do. So we get a lot of guys playing who were at one point, almost professional athletes. The club teams draw either social or competitive folks, and for the latter, it works as a great outlet. Rugby is the second most popular sport in the world behind soccer, and the competitive, backyard nature of no pads, bodies banging and blood is what breeds the negativity, mainly because these guys go so hard.

WHD: Plug opportunities… where and when are the games held, and can we watch you practice?

Richardson: We have practice every Tuesday and Thursday from 5 – dark at the corner of International and Clyde Morris over at Riddle. They, along with DBCC, have helped us tremendously. Riddle is giving us a lighted field on November 15. We have no more home games, but a few more road games. Then we wait for the spring season.

WHD: Anything else you’d like to add?

Richardson: For all the readers out there, check us on the web at www.daytonabeachrugby.org. If you’re interested in playing, we’re always open to having new people come aboard. It can be as serious as you want it to be. Parents, I’m working on getting a youth Sevens league going at some point in the future, so look out for that.

Rugby is a British colonial sport, and as such, many of the best club teams are former British colonies. America, in the wake of her Revolution, sought to establish her own identity while, at the same time, adapting and drawing from English influence. It was an early indication of how America would rise to become an international superpower.

Our national pastime will always be baseball, and so long as today’s youth stays fixated on urban culture and their elders squabble over who’s got the best chili in the parking lot of Giants Stadium, rugby (and other sports) will continue to play second fiddle to basketball and football. But it’s refreshing to see a movement in America that began outside of her borders with the potential to take hold, whether it’s United-Nations slow or not. It shows that, even in the face of pop culture’s lights and clockwork, there remains those robots driven by only one thing: their passion.

Recreation Guide

User Poll

Recent Recreation Articles

Daytona Rugby