Occidental Rugby Club traveled to Las Vegas Feb. 22 to play the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) for their fourth game of the season. Co-field captain Jade Crichlow (sophomore) said the teams’ games have been against DII schools in the Pacific Desert Rugby Conference (PDRC) league, and rugby’s gains in popularity have made the semester’s competition stronger.
“Everyone’s getting a lot better at rugby,” Crichlow said. “The games are a lot more fun, and you get to learn a lot more.”
According to co-president Cleo Welch (senior), the team has three coaches: Critical Theory & Social Justice Co-chair and Professor Malek Moazzam-Doulat, City Councilmember Mayra Jimenez and Occidental Rugby Club alumni Tori Halote ’13. Crichlow said all coaches had high aspirations for the team this semester.
“[Our coaches] are really invested in the success of our team,” Crichlow said.
According to social chair Anna Knight (junior), the season has been going strong, especially because there are many participants.
“We are all working very well,” Knight said. “Even the games that we have lost, I never walked away feeling like we didn’t play our hardest.”
According to Crichlow, the team does not travel far often. Crichlow said that prior to UNLV joining this semester, all teams in the PDRC were in Southern California. Alisa Clayton (first year) said traveling to Las Vegas was the highlight of her season and that she is amazed by the team’s cohesion. Clayton said she was concussed during her first 15s game in the fall and getting to play this semester has been a confidence builder.
“This is me actually figuring out what’s going on,” Clayton said. “Being able to play multiple games consistently has been a really great experience.”
Crichlow said UNLV did not have enough players for the game, so Occidental had to lend some of its own. According to Knight, being a lent player comes with difficulty.
“It’s a really hard mental transition to switch playing with your team,” Knight said. “All the players that did [so] did a very good job stepping into that role.”
Clayton said she was a lent player, the only one to play the entire game on the opposite side. According to Clayton, the UNLV players were primarily rookies, and seeing Occidental from the other side was intimidating.
“We are a strong force to play against,” Clayton said.
Welch said she was excited to see rookies thrive during the game. According to Welch, Avi Rowland-Roth (first year) scored two tries, and Clayton was able to show off her hard work and rugby knowledge.
“This was the first time where I was able to see [Clayton] fully step up and lead,” Welch said.
According to Welch, the final score was 63-0, Occidental. Welch said there is a post-game rugby tradition for teams to designate a man of the match and individual standout forward and back of the match players for the opposing team. Welch said this allows both teams to commend their opponents for specific performances.
“You celebrate each other while still having that competitive edge,” Welch said.
According to Knight, the UNLV team hosted a social with Occidental after the game, which Crichlow said is an important part of overarching rugby culture.
“It’s a good time to make new friends and build community within the rugby teams,” Crichlow said.
According to Knight, gathering with the opposite team and participating in the social tradition of singing rugby songs is a special experience.
“It’s always a really cool environment,” Knight said. “It’s [my] first sport where I feel like you really connect with each other on a personal level.”
According to Knight, there are some standard rugby songs across teams, but many shift as individual team traditions develop. Welch said it is intriguing to compare versions of songs and see similarities in social practices.
“It’s fun to see rugby norms on other teams in a social space,” Welch said.
Clayton said the social was especially fun, because being a lent player made her friendly with the UNLV team, giving her a different perspective from other Occidental teammates. Clayton said the difference between being physical during the game and social afterward was interesting. Knight also said this contrast was unique.
“You don’t really see that [combination] in many sports, especially for non-male dominated spaces,” Knight said.
According to Welch, the team has upcoming games with MiraCosta College and the Claremont Colleges team before the season ends. Crichlow also said there is a tentative senior game March 22, which will be attended by alumni and parents. Crichlow said she is ecstatic to be creative in gameplay and have fun throughout the rest of the season.
“I’m excited to continue to see how we mesh together as a team,” Crichlow said.
Welch said although players enjoy rugby, most people join completely new to the sport and come for the community aspect.
“Rugby is a mode of connecting to each other,” Welch said.
Contact Zoe Pedvis at pedvis@oxy.edu
