In 1823, Rugby is said to have started at a Rugby School in Warwickshire, England. It was during a game of football a guy by the name of William Webb Ellis picked up a ball and went with it. There’s not much information to support it but it’s said that the Rugby World Cup trophy is named after him. Once the rule set was created, in 1871, the rugby football union was officially formed and in that same year, the first-ever international match was played between England and Scotland, with Scotland taking the win. In 1900, it was introduced into the Summer Olympics!

Although rugby isn’t particularly popular in the United States, The Rugby club hosts, Mr. Wallace, and Miss Johnston have revived the sport here at Frederick.

Mr.Wallace himself has a Scottish background and has been playing rugby from a young age. He thinks it’s a great sport with many challenges and he enjoys the adventures rugby has to offer. Mr.Wallace and Miss Johnston wanted to give students here at Frederick an opportunity to experience rugby.

For those who aren’t familiar, the objective of Rugby is to ground the ball behind the enemy’s try line or what’s called the in-goal area. In rugby, you carry the ball in hand and the only way to pass it is to throw it or hand it off backward. A touchdown is five points, two points are scored when kicking it after the touchdown, and 3 points can be scored by kicking a field goal.

Rugby requires many players to form a team. There is 15 total. 8 players are located in the tight scrum while 7 players are spread out all over the field which is called backs.

The team attaches to the Boulder Rugby Lions, which were last year’s state champions! They attach to the Lions’ for players that are interested in playing games and or in taking it further. Although they do non-contact, they do allow for some contact to get the real feel of rugby.

Mr. Murray explained that It’s a perfect opportunity to join this club because The Rugby World Cup is coming to the United States. The men’s cup in 2031 and women’s in 2033. Colleges also have rugby clubs. Japan held the last Rugby World Cup with South Africa being the previous winner, 32-12 against England in 2019. New Zealand and South Africa currently hold the most rugby World Cup titles. The next rugby World Cup will be this year! It will be held in France with many countries participating.

Mr.Murray says that you should join because it’s “fun, challenging, new experience, social, and it’s the greatest team game in the world, and a relatively inexpensive lifetime sport!”

If you’re interested the rugby team meets on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 3:15 pm-4:15 pm in the area behind the main bleachers, west of the stadium!