Keene State Rugby hit Joyce Field for the first time this season on Saturday, Sept. 19, to begin their season. Men’s and Women’s Rugby, both club teams, play seven and six games, respectively, through their fall seasons, potentially ending playoffs in November.
As club teams, rugby is entirely organized by students, who have to work within a club budget and fundraise. Students organize their own matches, find their own EMTs and athletic training staff, and book the use of local athletic fields for games, practices and scrimmages.
Corinne Kinson, the women’s rugby match secretary, is responsible for organizing the team’s matches and fixtures against other schools. Kinson said that while she is responsible for it, she does not organize all the matches alone. “There’s this overseer of northeast rugby teams, they kind of facilitate a meeting with all the coaches,” Kinson said. “After, they send out an email to everyone, and then reach out individually to each and every school. We coordinate with their match secretary and president, sometimes coaches here or there, and chat about what time they want their kickoff, what time they want the game, where they’ll have it, and we go back and forth.”
Most Owls rugby players come into the sport with little or no prior experience with how the sport is played. Senior Jackson Kany said that some of the players for men’s rugby come in with experience in football, but he is one of only a few players with prior experience. Kany himself grew up around the sport; his mother played for the United States Women’s Rugby team and participated in the 1994 Rugby World Cup.
Hannah Todd-Rogers, the president of women’s rugby, said she did not know what rugby was “at all” when she first joined as a first-year. “I didn’t even know about the team when I got here,” Todd-Rogers said. “One of the rugby girls was my CA. We were having a little floor gathering, and she said, ‘You know, did you ever think about rugby? I heard you quit the basketball team, we’d love if you’d come and try and practice.’ I said no, and I kind of blew it off. […] In the Spring of my freshman year, I finally decided to try and practice, and I fell in love with it.”
Of the women’s rugby schedule, Todd-Rogers said she is most excited about playing against Bentley University. Todd-Rogers described the match as a “hard-fought battle” and a tough matchup when the Owls travelled to play last year. “We drove there with all healthy girls, and left with a few less,” Todd-Rogers said. “It was just a battle. It was just a great game for both teams altogether. I feel like we all just like that game and I’m really excited to see the new girls that we have this year play this team again, to see if the same kind of magic might happen.”
Out of the men’s rugby schedule, Kany said he is most excited for the Owls’ away match against Saint Michael’s College in Colchester, Vermont, close to where he grew up. “It’ll be the first time I play in my hometown,” Kany said. “So I’m pretty excited for that one.” The Owls play Saint Michael’s in late October, at the end of their season.
Keene State Men’s Rugby won their home opener against Western New England University, burying the Golden Bears by 20 scores and winning 105-5. Keene State Women’s Rugby opened their season against Providence College and UMass-Lowell, winning 24-12.
Frank LeBlanc can be contacted at
fleblanc@kscequinox.com
