Rugby league looking for a few good players

Rugby players don’t just say the mantra, “play hard or go home.”

They live it.

In addition to making bruising tackles on the field, members of the Kitsap Rugby Football Union are ramping up efforts to raise funds and recruit new players off the field.

“We’re really looking to get local players interested in this sport,” said Tev Friedman, fund raising officer for the KRFU.

What many athletes in Kitsap don’t know is that the local rugby team is not new according to the club’s officers.

“There’s been rugby in the area since longer than people can remember,” said Scott Kirvan, president of the KRFU.

The club, which has enough players to field a men’s team, is hoping to find additional players for its women’s team, and recruit for its youth girls and boys teams.

“Most of our players don’t even get exposed to the sport until they’re out of high school,” Kirvan said. “It’s an important part of the future of rugby in Kitsap, that we get the high school program going.”

The main obstacles to generating interest in rugby are dispelling myths and educating potential players about the sport.

“People think it’s one of those funny sports they play over in England, or that it’s too dangerous to consider,” Friedman said.

While injuries do happen, KRFU coach Deane Shephard is quick to mention they are usually minor and avoidable, as in other sports.

“Injuries come on contact,” Shephard said. “In rugby, you can only have contacts in the vicinity of the ball. There are very stringent rules about how you can make contact; all sorts of rules that make rugby safer.”

According to Kirvan, many players are not involved in contact on each play. Most teams even have a few svelte players who rarely make contact and focus on running the ball rather than bowling people over.

Kirvan says the club trains people how to hit and be hit before throwing them into the scrum. But, he adds, having a desire for adrenaline also helps players overcome fears and forget about the potential to get hurt.

“You get pretty bruised up, but that sort of stuff heals pretty quick,” Kirvan said. “For me, it’s usually broken fingers, and even that stuff is pretty minor.”

Despite the bumps, scrapes and occasional lost tooth, rugby culture dictates that players keep it friendly on and off the field. Teams see opponents as like-minded competitors, not enemies, and regularly treat each other to drinks after the game has ended.

“The level of camaraderie on the rugby team strikes me as being very different than with other sports,” Kirvan said. “On the pitch, I get hit really hard and the guy will pick me up and get me back on my feet, and I’ll pat him on the back and say, ‘Good hit.’ ”

For more information on the KRFU, visit www.kitsaprugby.org.

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