The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) is contesting its rugby championships this Saturday, and reigning titleholder Belmont High School will face Lincoln-Sudbury for the girls’ trophy. The teams have toughed out two single-digit decisions this spring, so expect another thriller in round three. 2018 marks the second-ever MIAA championship for rugby, and the finalists are quality examples of programs looking to grow the sport in their own schools but also the state.
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Lincoln-Sudbury is the longest-standing girls’ high school team in Massachusetts and has been run by coach Sarah Greeley since its inception in 2006. Greeley co-founded the Massachusetts Youth Rugby Organization (MYRO) and then served on the committee that advised the MIAA on rules, regulations, schedules, etc., as the sport readied for varsity status. The MIAA continues to tap that council on which Greeley still serves. Belmont on the other hand is relatively young, and coach Kate McCabe was quick to credit the work of both Greeley and Algonquin Regional High School coach Laurie Bourdon.
“They essentially started and kept girls’ high school rugby going in Massachusetts,” McCabe praised. “They run the strongest and most consistent programs in the state, and are our best competition.”
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McCabe (Boston University, Boston Women) joined Belmont when it was still a club program and competed in MYRO. Girls had been training with the boys’ team, but when 10 signed on in 2015, McCabe joined the boys’ coaching staff and pulled the girls out once per week for their own sessions. Once it became known that there was a dedicated girls’ coach, more players started to come out.
The MIAA then adopted rugby as a varsity sport beginning with the 2017 spring season, and McCabe, a social studies teacher at Belmont, welcomed the transition.
“It makes it so much more marketable,” the coach said of rugby joining the traditional high school sports lineup. “[Being an MIAA varsity sport] clearly throws the school in support of rugby. It’s treated just like any other sport, not some renegade sport. The parents understand what’s happening, and being a classroom teacher, I see the benefits for the kids. They can walk in with that legitimacy and talk about what they’re doing every day. They explain it to classmates and teachers, and they come out and support it.”
The players had even more to talk about after winning the first MIAA state championship 17-14 over Algonquin. That buzz turned into a strong freshmen recruitment class, which was needed after a host of graduations and injuries. The team was anticipating a rebuilding season in spring 2018 but got some pleasant surprises out of the younger players.
Additionally, two more teams were added to the league in 2018: Needham, which existed as a club program and successfully lobbied the high school to commit to varsity status; and Weymouth High School, whose athletic director discovered rugby and did the leg work to get the teams added.
Supporting the squad are “two solid pillars,” per McCabe: Jess Rosenstein and Kiera Booth. Both seniors are part of the first four-year class of Belmont rugby players. Scrumhalf Rosenstein has committed to Lindenwood, but has played flyhalf and flanker and “is just an all-around driven player,” the coach praised. “She’s quiet but is definitely one of those players who others want to play like.” McCabe said center Booth is all heart. She’s the voice on the field and the team falls in line behind her.
Junior Gabriella Viale, who moved from fullback to flyhalf this year, is the lead scorer. She’s incredibly dynamic, especially now that she’s fine-tuned her kicking her game. She seeks out opportunities and takes advantage of them. On the power end of the spectrum, McCabe noted junior forwards Grace Christensen and Madeline Mulkern, who are big-hitting work horses on both sides of the ball.
These leaders among others helped cultivate this all-in culture, and one of the results this year was a 6-0 regular season and finals berth after defeating Needham in the semifinals.
“My players have really bought into and love rugby,” McCabe said. “Outside of our time together, they devote time to learning and playing more rugby.”
The coach talked of players heading to collegiate varsity programs, attending summer rugby camps, and consuming women’s rugby games when they’re streamed online. The players texted their coach as t.v. cameras showed McCabe in the stands of the 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup, and organized viewing parties for the eastern club championships, when assistant coaches Deanna Nash and Julie Athanasiadis traveled to Ohio for 15s playoffs. They understood that Nash’s inclusion on the Northeast Academy team that featured in Chula Vista was a big deal, and had that tournament been streamed, they surely would have tuned in.
The seniors are especially invested. They ended classes in late May and graduated on June 3, and yet they’ve been attending practices every day, often the first ones there to set up the pitch. Booth, the recently graduated center, even delayed her flight to Europe and will join the family vacation late, so she can play in the state final.
Take that dedication and reinforce it with the mutual respect that the two finalists have for each other, and a good game Saturday is guaranteed.
“One benefit from being one of the MYRO Select Side coaches is that I get to meet the girls from Lincoln-Sudbury and know they have a really healthy relationship between players,” McCabe said. “Both teams want to win, and when the whistle blows both sides will really compete. But they’re appreciative of what each other puts on the field.”
That said …
“They are a tough-hitting team, have really big, speedy players on the outside, and hard-running players that crash up the center,” McCabe added. “They have great coaches who use their kids in dynamic ways. And they’re great in the ruck. They pose a challenge for us there.”
Saturday is also special for Belmont because the boys’ team is heading back to the championship. Under head coach Greg Bruce, the boys have enjoyed a very successful lifetime with multiple MYRO championships in its past, but 2018 marks its first foray into the MIAA final.
There are still some kinks to work out in terms of the MIAA schedule and other opportunities in the rugby world. For example, MYRO was unable to supply an all-star team to the Northeast Regional Cup Tournament because it fell between the MIAA state semifinals and final. There’s hope for some 7s round robins, and McCabe’s home club, Boston, is looking to field another U19 summer 7s team. There’s also hope that club teams keep working toward high school inclusion, so that rugby can become a natural fixture in the state’s sports offering.
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