Since introducing club rugby, SIU has seen nationally ranked teams on both the men and women’s sides.

While the men have continued their prevalence in the sport, the women has been successful but not to the extent they were a decade ago.

Assistant Director of Intramural Sports and Sport Clubs, Shane Bennett, remembers a time when women’s rugby was one of the most popular clubs on campus.

“When I was an undergrad here, in the early 2000s, the women’s team was ranked nationally,” Bennett said. “They were a legit squad.”

Bennett said the team has seen some years of low recruitment in the past, but women’s rugby is ready to return to greatness.

Alisha Pritchett, a senior from Chicago studying psychology, is also Women’s Rugby Club president. She said they finished third in conference in the fall season, and thought the team is back.

“We play in the Illinois Thunderbird Conference,” Pritchett said. “We played against Western Illinois University, Northern Illinois University, Illinois State University and Lindenwood University, some very good teams.”

Besides the victories on the field, the club also provides some valuable life lessons to the women, as well as a support group for them to fall back on.

Team captain Kristen Mundinger, a junior from Wildwood studying radio and television, said playing the sport gives her a big boost of self-confidence, not just physically, but in all facets of life.

“I focus on how fun it is to play but the other half is becoming a better person,” Mundinger said. “You find your strength and your power not just in being able to tackle, but in class or at work or in social situations.”

Team members said the sport increases strength and conditioning as well. For them, it is more than a sport. Rugby is a way to improve their lives and health habits, as well as how they spend their free time.

“I always tell everybody, come to a practice just to see what it’s like, even if you don’t like it, just come to get fit,” Mundinger said.

Although rugby is considered a rough sport, Pritchett said injuries are not that common.

“People think rugby is a really tough sport, and it can be, but players don’t really get injured like some people think,” Pritchett said.

Mundinger said the sport helps all the girls get in better shape and is not too hazardous.

“A lot of girls may be afraid at first but eventually they realize this sport isn’t as scary as they thought,” Mundinger said. “They realize they can do this.”

Mundinger said the team is all about getting more people interested in the sport and creating a sisterhood among the players.

Mundinger said her grades have gotten better because of the support from her teammates and the organizational skills the team gives her.

“We support each other inside and outside of school and that’s what kept me coming,” Mundinger said. “Aside from the fact that I love the sport itself, it was having someone be there for me.”

Coming off a relatively successful fall campaign, the team is gearing up for the tournament-intense spring season. The team travels all over the Midwest, playing schools in their conference as well as University of Illinois and Loyola University. The team has competed at seven universities during the past year.

However, they are still two players short to be qualified for tournaments, said Kota Graziano, a sophomore from South Elgin studying speech communication.

“As of right now I think we have 13 members who show up consistently, but we need to have 15 to get into a game,” Graziano said. “We’d like to have 3 or 4 ready to play in case anyone gets hurt.”

Liz Villagran, a junior from Chicago studying mortuary science and funeral services, is the recruitment chair for the club and agreed the team could use more players.

Like most of her teammates, Villagran had never played rugby before coming to the university, but said that should not hold back any potential participants.

“A lot of the ladies that we come across on campus are really scared of the sport and think they’ll get hurt,” Villargran said. “I had those thoughts too, but you get taught all the skills you need so you don’t get hurt.”

Villagran said that most of the team was made up of former high school volleyball, badminton, soccer, and softball players as well as swimmers and divers. They have all transitioned over to the contact sport and now love the team like a family.

“I’m new to the team and I had never touched a rugby ball beforehand so it was different,” Villagran said. “I used to be a volleyball player but now I learned rugby and now I love the sport.”