Akilah Cathey confessed that her relationship with rugby did not begin with "love at first sight." In fact, the Memphis, Tenn., native needed a bit of badgering before finally adding the sport to a long list of high school activities. But it wasn’t long before Cathey became internally motivated to thrive in the sport, and today she's midway through her freshman year at NIRA DI Brown University a prominent member of the USA U20 pool.
Cathey grew up in an athletic family, and from age three, dance had been her top passion.
"Rugby wasn’t really popular in . . .