A new phenomenon: Monty Tech boasts numbers for club rugby team
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FITCHBURG – Rugby? What’s rugby?
Those were the first questions a year ago from most of the student-athletes when they heard about signups for the inaugural Monty Tech rugby team.
Now, a year later with 52 players (boys and girls) on the school’s popular club team, the Bulldogs have many more answers than questions about the sport which dates to the early 1800s in England and returned, after a long hiatus, to become an Olympic sport at the Rio Games in 2016.
During a break from a recent practice, Monty Tech boys captains Noah Johnson and Sam Hill, both seniors, explained that rugby is kind of like soccer with the continuous action and ball movement, but you can use your hands, and it’s kind of like American football with tackling and passing, but you can’t pass the ball forward, only backward. Plus, the rugby ball is slightly larger and rounder than a football.
Hill added a couple of other key differences: “We have 15 players on a side, and we wear cleats and mouth guards, no pads.”
And let’s not forget the oh-so-watchable scrums, a mosh pit of athletic togetherness, determined pushing and grunting. Without the music.
“Run fast and have fun” is the mantra from Katie Sullivan, the team’s coach and a graphic design teacher at Monty Tech who knows her stuff, playing the sport for 14 years now and currently playing for the Worcester Shamrocks women’s rugby team coached by her husband, Everett, also a rugby player.
“Rugby is gaining in popularity. Our numbers nearly doubled this year. Boston now has a professional men’s team and a professional women’s team.” Sullivan said.
Praising the inclusivity of rugby, especially on the high school level, Sullivan said, “The best part about the sport is that there’s a spot on the field for every body type, every skill set and every ability.”
She added, “We have girls who think they’re too tiny to play or girls who think they’re too big to play or boys who think they’re not strong enough. But all of that is not true. We have some kids on our team who felt they didn’t quite fit into playing another sport, but they feel comfortable playing rugby.”
Kendra D’Ambrosia, a junior, and Gianna Wallace, a senior, are the girl captains, eager for each practice and match.
“I knew nothing about rugby before last year,” said Wallace. “I liked the idea that it was an aggressive sport but friendly, too. I love it. We’re all friends and we hit just as hard as the boys.”
Added D’Ambrosia, “I love being on a team where we all support each other. And size doesn’t really matter. Gianna is significantly shorter than I am but she can really tackle hard, and I know that because she’s tackled me many times.”
This spring, the Bulldogs have played some co-ed matches against other schools. Upcoming on Senior Night, the Monty Tech girls’ squad will face another girls’ team from Malden Catholic and the Bulldog boys will take on the Malden Catholic boys’ team.
Sullivan, who is assisted by coaches Ben Robinson and Marc Bowden, listed Riley Roche, Gianah Jimenez, Naiyla Cruz, Kaleb Swan, Cam Garcia, Tyler Miller and Leo Leandro as some other standout players for the Bulldogs this season.
At a recent practice on the Monty Tech home field, Worcester Rugby team president, Nicholas Ducey arrived to help the players with kicking techniques. Ducey said that Monty Tech, although a club team, has joined Algonquin Regional and Worcester Public as the only high school squads in the North Worcester County area, although there are over 30 high school teams competing throughout the state.
Sullivan is also encouraging interested players in the area to give rugby a try this summer by joining the Worcester Rugby Youth Program which begins during the first week of June.
“We have divisions for players age 4 to 18,” said Sullivan who advised interested players and parents to visit the program website at www.worcesterrugbycommunity.org.
This article originally appeared on Gardner News: 'Run fast and have fun': Monty Tech rugby thriving in second season
