Rugby is a staple sport at Wayne State College. This year, men’s rugby won a national title and the women’s team made it to regionals.
With such a successful year for both the women’s and the men’s team, it can be hard to keep track of all their accomplishments.
“The dynamic of the men’s team has improved a ton over the past few years, and they’ve really grown,” Mary McKulsky, a junior on the women’s team, said. “The women are in a spot where we’re sort of rebuilding ourselves and finding dedicated players.”
The women’s team, aside from making it to regionals, found great success in their most recent season.
“We had five girls including myself be selected for the sevens All-Star team for our conference to compete in Atlanta against schools from across the country,” McKulsky said.
Besides McKulsky, those selected to compete in Atlanta were Faith Todd, Grace Cruise, Sydney Thomas and Shae Wiederien.
Women’s rugby at Wayne State is broken into two seasons, sevens and 15s. These two versions of rugby are differentiated by how many players are on the field, seven or 15. The halves in each game are also shorter in sevens and longer in 15s.
It is typical for the women’s team to play sevens rugby in the spring and 15s in the fall. This makes for a slightly more relaxed spring season.
“In an average season, there would be games almost every weekend,” McKulsky said. “We travel around the Midwest to compete, and we have team bonding the night before games. Morning conditioning is twice a week, and we practice every day. We really take 15s seriously, but also love to make it as fun as we can.”
The same practice schedule is typical for the fall with the exception of no proactive Fridays.
Women’s rugby, like most clubs, advertise themselves at the club fairs in both the spring and fall.
“I joined rugby after meeting the girls at the club fair my freshman year,” McKulsky said. “They were so welcoming and encouraging.”
People might be discouraged from joining the sports team if they have never played before.
“Rugby is for everyone,” McKulsky said. “I had never played a contact sport and definitely never imagined myself playing rugby. A lot of the girls we have would say the same. It’s a really special culture, and not a lot of people realize that it truly can be for anyone.”
