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After a loss, most teams put their faces down and shut out the world.
The Lady Ruggers of Fairfield University’s Rugby team walked off the field, looked at each other and smiled, high fived, and congratulated each other.
The game Saturday at Randall’s Island was the first of the season. Fairfield faced Fordham at 4:30 p.m. and then after a 10 minute intersession, took on Drew. After both losses the girls gathered around Head Coach Ryan Birge.
“This is just a glorified practice,” said Birge. “We don’t want to lose – we don’t lose, we were undefeated last fall.”
Last fall, the Fairfield Lady Ruggers literally did not lose. They were undefeated in regular season, finishing 6 – 0. They then moved onto the semi-final and defeated Columbia. The Ruggers moved on to the MET and beat long time foes, Sacred Heart, 5 – 0 in over-time. Finally, they moved onto Nationals, losing to the eventual National Champion team, the Bentley Falcons.
With this record, a loss seems out of character. But in reality, “at times we only had 3 returners on the field” said Birge. This isn’t the same team from last fall. This spring, 11 of the 15 starters went abroad. “We are so used to success, to lose 11 of our starting 15 is discouraging…but this spring we are developing new players, gaining match experience, adding depth, and making the team stronger,” said Birge.
This huge loss of players in the spring semester puts the newcomers straight into the action. Many of the starters yesterday had never played before, while others were still inexperienced.
“ We had one official week of practice,” said Birge when reflecting on the game. With one week of preparation, the girls were thrown into one of the highest intensity, full on contact sports.
“We [returners] were so used to being with our old team…having all these new girls is an opportunity and they all stepped up…it’s a great precursor to the future,” said Forward Captain Fiona Barbour.
For the future, Birge has a clear plan set out for his new team. “We are going back to the basics, the fundamentals, getting everyone on the same page.”
This loss doesn’t reflect the heart of the Fairfield Lady Ruggers but their “lack of experience, we played a handful of players that had been playing for a week…it [rugby] requires all players to be on the same page this can be difficult for new players…they [Fordham and Drew] capitalized on our mistakes,” said Birge.
“We bleed together,” said Barbour. Before the match, the ladies exchanged nervous looks and pats on the back. During the game, they were communicating. The returners were helping the new players throughout every step of the game. After every half the team rang out a unified “good job”. The team’s greatest strength is “team camaraderie. We are a close knit group…we are the definition of a team and it shows on the field,” said Birge
This newly put together team has a bright future. The team is hitting the ground running (literally) and learning on their feet. When asked about the team’s future, Barbour answered simply , “back to nationals.”
Brittany Goldrick, a newcomer to rugby, was the team’s wing in a portion of the game. “I liked it – it was a lot of fun. The girls were so helpful – teaching me what… to do,” laughed Goldrick. The future for the team looks promising and we will “come back stronger,” she said.
To watch this “kick-ass and exciting sport,” Barbour has advised students to take a walk up to Alumni Field on April 28th, when Fairfield faces cross town rival Sacred Heart. Fans won’t be disappointed and she concluded, “where else are you going to watch girls wrestle in the mud?”
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