A combination of competiveness and camaraderie continues to drive the Fresno State rugby players this semester, as both the men’s and women’s teams enter their respective conference play.
The women’s team is participating in the West Coast Rugby Conference for the first time, something member Breanna Torkelson calls a “big deal.” Despite being an established club sport for the past three years, the team has only been involved in pick-up games.
Meanwhile, senior Brennan McCormick is excited for the men’s team to re-enter the Pacific Western Rugby Conference for the fourth-consecutive year. Playing a scrumhalf for the past three years, he’s seen the popularity of the game grow at the university and in the wider Fresno area.
“Heck, every year we’re getting more and more people to come out,” McCormick said.
With rugby recently starting up in a handful of local high schools, more new players have experience in playing rugby coming into college. However, recruiting on campus and word of mouth has also proven to attract newcomers to the sport, with around 80 players currently involved either in practices or games.
Unique to rugby, all players are able to touch and play with the ball, an enticement its counterpart American football lacks.
McCormick maintains that’s how he recruits “the big guys, the linemen,” asking them, “You ever get to touch the ball? No? You come on over, we’ll give it to you plenty!”
For Torkelson, a draw card is the uninterrupted nature of the game, admitting she dislikes “the stop and go of football.”
“I love the consecutive play, and it’s anyone’s ball at all time,” she said. “It’s more entertaining to watch just because the play never stops.”
McCormick also believes the physicality and speed of the game are what interests recruits, coming along to watch aggressive games and deciding, “I want to be part of that.”
However, the physical side of the sport is not just restricted to the men’s game. With only two experienced players out of the 25 on the women’s team, Torkelson revealed a lot of practice time is designated to tackling and teaching the fundamentals to newcomers.
“Surprisingly, they’re not that timid, and the ones that are, usually don’t stick with rugby,” she said.
After watching the women’s team play, McCormick agrees, come game time, there are “definitely a few girls who have that flame.”
“There’s a mindset about it. You have to be dedicated to switch it over and go crazy!” he said.
When the million-dollar question about rugby versus American football is asked, Torkelson is quick to reply her preference is rugby, while McCormick is still sitting on the fence, enjoying aspects of both sports.
“I know it’s going to be apples or oranges, everyone either likes football or rugby, but I’ve grown up around football and like football, but more playing rugby,” he said.
Yet both McCormick and Torkelson agree that rugby brings people together and creates unusual camaraderie.
Calling the men’s team a “big extended family,” McCormick asserted the importance of knowing your teammates while playing.
“You got to know their tendencies and every little thing about them on and off the field to keep everything flowing,” he said.
The relationship with other universities in the conference is also strong, with social events being put on by the host team after every game.
“You’re aggressive, and you play to the death match,” Torkelson said. “Then as soon as you get off the field, you’re like best friends.”
Eddie Dominguez, the Fresno State club sports administrator, believes having students participate in a club sport is key to “giving them that opportunity to represent their school.”
“Our first objective is to provide a club sports program that will assist students in being connected to the university,” Dominguez said.
The rugby teams play games on Saturday, representing Fresno State both home and away as they travel around California, playing the likes of UC Santa Cruz, Humboldt State and Santa Clara.
