Entering its second season, the Eastside Lions high school rugby club is part of the burgeoning rugby scene.
“It’s so inclusive,” said Josh Young, first-year head coach of the Lions. “It’s not like basketball, where being tall helps. Any talent you have helps, because there are so many positions.”
The game itself appears on the field as 80 minutes of controlled chaos. In reality it’s an orchestra of teamwork, blending skills from many different sports.
Rugby is widely acknowledged as the fastest-growing youth sport in America. The sport is blooming not only at youth and prep levels, but also on the collegiate ranks, too. USA Rugby said in a press release that rugby “is currently the fastest growing sport on U.S. college campuses, with a rapid participation growth rate of over 25 percent each year within the last five years.”
Matt Hudson, who will become the head coach of the Washington State University rugby team next year, created the Eastside Lions. The club draws players ages 14-19 from Bellevue, Kirkland, Mercer Island, North Bend, Seattle and Redmond.
Eastside is part of Washington Youth Rugby, which has seven girls clubs and 15 boys clubs around the state. The season runs January through June.
Eastside will play two preseason games and 10 regular season games. There will be a state championship tournament in May and another tournament, the Cascade Classic, in Ellensburg June 5-6.
Young’s mission with the young club is clearing up fallacies about the sport and boosting the already-growing fan base in the area.
The biggest misconception about rugby is the games’ level of violence.
“It’s nowhere near as violent as American football,” Young said. “You have to wrap up your tackles. It’s kind of like wrestling in some ways.”
He said the tackles happen at a slower speed than football and players focus on tackling instead of hitting. Young has been involved in rugby for 12 years and he hasn’t seen many serious injuries.
“You get bumps and you get bruises. It’s a contact sport,” Young said. “You leave the field pretty sore a lot of the time. But you don’t see the major injuries.”
For the future, Young would like to see both U19 and U17 leagues, along with international tournaments for his team. He’d also like to see every area high school have its own independent rugby club.
“If you like to have fun, come out and give it a try. If you like to be active, come out and give it a try. If you’re somebody who’s used to being on the sidelines, come out and give it a try,” Young said. “The kids aren’t in right field anymore, they’re in the game.”
Eastside’s first preseason game is Feb. 21 at Magnuson Park. The Lions’ first regular season game is March 7 at Marymoor Park.
Rugby basics:
Each team has 15 players on the field for two 40-minute halves. Players score by converting a try. A try is when a player goes over the goal line and touches down with the ball. A penalty kick is good for there points, a conversion kick is good for two points and a drop goal is worth three points.
The Eastside Lions high school rugby club is accepting players anytime through the season. For more information, got to www.eteamz.com/eastsidelionsrfc or email Josh Young at eastsiderugby@yahoo.com.
