Women's rugby finishes season ninth in the nation

When the University of Northern Iowa’s Women’s Rugby Club began in 1994, head coach Steve Murra thought he was leading a group that was just playing for fun. But after winning three Division II Midwest titles and qualifying for nationals, Murra realized he might be onto something bigger.
   
“When we won the national title in 2001 that was kind of the moment that things changed for the team and me,” said Murra. “I kinda went ‘well this could be a big thing,’ and then we started taking things more seriously.”
   
This spring, UNI Women’s Rugby qualified to play in the Midwest D1 Final Four Championship in Bloomington, Indiana and won the Midwest Division I Championship. Collegiate clubs play at either the Division I or Division II level and are placed in their level depending on how well they performed in the previous year. The team also met its goal of qualifying for nationals this year, and achieved a ranking of ninth in the nation in Division I for its season.
   
Although women’s rugby has nabbed national attention for its program, Murra feels the UNI community may not realize how talented some of the players are.
   
“Since we are a club, I think one of the misconceptions is they are any run-of-the-mill athlete,” he said. “There are four Division I varsity rugby teams in the

United States, and any one of our starters could be a starter on their team. People don’t realize that these kids could be playing and getting scholarships at another school that has rugby as a varsity sport.”
   
In order to participate in women’s rugby, club members actually have to pay to play because it is a student organization. The cost depends on the amount and type of travel the club participates in each season.
   
“We try really hard to offset the cost to the players by doing various fund raisers all year long,” said Jennifer Murra, the club’s adviser.        Women’s rugby has fund-raised in the past through candy bar and clothing sales, raffles, sponsorships, silent auctions and hosted fund-raising nights at Cold Stone and Pizza Hut. The Club also receives funding from a program though the U.S. National Guard.
   
“Pretty much, you think of it, we tried it,” said Kelsey Oswald, fifth-year member and club president.
   
“These kids, they actually pay to play rugby,” said S. Murra. “So the idea that I get to coach kids that are actually motivated enough to pay to play the sport and they are not getting their school paid for and they are not getting paid for anything else. They are actually paying to get the privilege to play a great sport.”
   
However, the dollar amount hasn’t kept many devoted players away.
   
“I pretty much fell in love with rugby from the first game I played,” said Oswald. “It’s a sport that was so different that regardless of the money, I had the passion to play and I wanted to be on the field. I wanted to part of a team not just to play rugby, but because of the friendships that I’ve formed, the people that I’ve met. The different things that I’ve experienced.”
   
Despite women’s rugby’s status as a club, Murra keeps his players motivated by treating the group as if it was a varsity sport, complete with rules and expectations the players must meet in order to stay on the team. The members have practices every Tuesday and Thursday evening, as well as cross-conditioning Monday and Wednesday morning. The club also plays in both spring and fall seasons.
   
“I think there’s a mental toughness you need to have,” said Oswald. “You have to be determined, you have to have the grit to play. You gotta want to play and have that determination that you’re going to go out and work your tail off so you can succeed.”

3 comments

jerry Hageman

Tue Dec 22 2009 21:52

I used to play men's rugby in the seventies for UNI. We met some great women's teams at tounaments in New Orleans...sound like our own UNI womens team could kick some serious behind out there on the pitch Jerry

Bobby and LaRonn Jones

Mon Aug 3 2009 11:36

Steve, Congratulations! Good Article.

Met you and the team on the flight from Atlanta GA in April.

Yes, our granddaughter, Allie Johnson, will be attending UNI this fall!

Chris White

Thu May 7 2009 16:58

Good article. Congratulations on a great season. You ladies are all true champions!

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