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Indiana’s HS Girls Embrace Touch 7s

  • 07 Oct 2020
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Michigan’s Rogue Ridge went undefeated in Indiana

Rugby Indiana began its fall season last Sunday, and the first of four October tournaments looked very different from years’ past. It’s touch 7s instead of tackle 7s. There are temperature checks and masks mandated. But perhaps most notably, there are no high school boys’ teams playing this fall, only high school girls. With that said, the most important game-day feature was still present.

“It’s a reminder of why we do this,” Rugby Indiana Executive Director Wayne Eells said of happy faces on the pitch. “The day started off cold, wet and rainy, but the parents and coaches were so happy to see the kids outside and being active and having fun, and just doing stuff. … For a couple of hours on Sunday, Covid disappeared from the front of everyone’s minds. We were back in rugby land.”

Six sides – Carroll (3), Carmel, Noblesville and Michigan’s Rogue Ridge – met in Fort Wayne for Sunday’s tournament and played three games apiece. As always, scores aren’t kept for the first three weeks of play, so recruits can learn and enjoy the game first. Teams will be seeded at the fourth tournament and a champion will be named.

“The kids had a blast running around, but there was some disappointment that more programs didn’t commit,” Eells recounted conversations with the players. “The kids were saying that they’ll have an advantage in the spring season, because other teams won’t have touched a rugby ball in two years. It was interesting to get their perspective, especially when compared to the conversations I’ve had with adults.”

The Carroll boys’ team was on hand Sunday supporting the girls and running touch. Their disappointment was palpable, according to Eells, as the boys watched 60-70 girls run, pass, loop, laugh.

“I’ve heard all kinds of responses,” Eells said of teams abstaining from the touch 7s season. “Some of the schools’ restrictions meant they couldn’t play at all. Other programs don’t feel like it’s rugby, or are disappointed that there’s no tackle. There are other people who feel, ‘It’s Covid, we shouldn’t be doing anything.’”

Whatever the reasons, they’re not Eells’ focus right now. He’s in “delivery mode” and putting all attention on game day.

“Yes, everyone was rusty to an extent, but remember that touch – competitive touch – is new for all of them,” Eells said. “It’s six phases then a turnover. If the dummyhalf is tagged, it’s a turnover. If the ball hits the floor, it’s a turnover. It’s a different game and it makes them think differently when it’s not union. The game changes when you have to make something happen in a set amount of phases instead of just ‘crash and reset.’ They’re playing with a different sense of urgency.”

Eells said that by the second half of the teams’ first games, players were getting the flow of competitive touch. He also noticed that the absence of the tackle promoted more experimentation on offense.

“When you introduce people to 7s, the first week is a little rusty, but by the fourth week, it’s some amazing 7s rugby because the learning curve is crazy steep with three games in a day – and it’s the same thing with touch,” Eells said. “By the end of the month I expect a completely different rugby game to be on display – faster, clearer, sharper – because their understanding will have developed while playing it.”

The Rogue Ridge team from Michigan showed well and went 3-0 on the day. Erin Ball, Kiersten Becker, Ashley Cowdrey, Charlotte Dauser, Olivia Male, Lily Nowak, Emily Schroeder and EmmaRae Vanderbush all scored tries for the Sparta-Rockford-based team.

“Having a team from out-of-state helps me round out the competition nicely,” Eells said. “But it’s also nice because, one, we’re one big rugby family and it’s nice to interact with other teams as much as we can during Covid; and, two, they’re seeing different players and a different style of play that they wouldn’t have seen otherwise. Playing in-state, you learn every team’s style. With a new team in the mix, especially a team with some experience, it forces everyone to look at the game a little bit and figure out how to adjust. From a game standpoint and an experience standpoint, I think it’s great to have a new variable in there.”

This weekend, the field will assemble in Pendleton, Ind., but Rogue Ridge will sit out until the series returns to the northeastern part of the state on Oct. 18.

“I just want to see them continue having fun, working on their communication and experimenting with their ball handling,” Eells said of goals going forward. “Maybe it sounds simplistic, but the girls are playing rugby and having fun, and I count that as a win.

“Do I have the numbers I wish I had? No. But Covid has forced us to change the metrics of how we measure success,” Eells closed. “We can’t use the same gauges anymore. But is the game safe? Are there happy faces? Is there an opportunity to learn and increase skills? Yes. I’m not saying that winning and losing and trophies are bad, but it’s important that we make sure we’re feeding the needs of the players.”

For more information, visit https://www.rugbyindiana.com.

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