In the fall of 2022, Natalie Hill (McCormick ’25) and Maura Madden (McCormick ’25) were freshmen at Northwestern when they began looking to join a women’s rugby team. 

Both had played the sport before and were eager to get involved at the collegiate level. However, upon discovering the team disbanded in 2019 and only a men’s team was available, they were determined to start one themselves. 

“When the club started, it was literally seven or eight people,” said McCormick senior and team captain Naia Daley, who was one of the first team members.

Now, there are almost 30 girls on the roster, according to Daley. The program is ranked No. 9 in the nation out of Division II National Collegiate Rugby schools, and they recently made it to the Round of 16 for the Division II Collegiate Rugby Championship before falling to Binghamton, the farthest they have ever reached.

Women’s rugby across the United States is experiencing a breakout moment.

A full contact team sport involving 15 players per team and 80 minute matches, it is long beloved in countries like New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland and South Africa. However, the sport never quite established the cultural foothold in the U.S. to rival traditionally beloved sports like football or baseball.

But that’s changing. A mix of factors — including the rise of social media star and women’s rugby player Ilona Maher and the introduction of rugby at the Olympics — are elevating the sport to the national stage. 

The women’s rugby team at NU is experiencing a parallel rise. Their success comes from a mix of factors, said Weinberg junior and team President Katelyn Cai, who manages more administrative aspects for the team. 

“For one, we’ve become more established as a club,” Cai said. “Now we can focus on the game, focus on recruitment and strengthen skills we already have.”

Daley said another factor in the team’s growth is the momentum built throughout the season. She said a shock win against No. 5 DePaul early in the season injected much needed confidence into the players, who are typically the underdogs against schools with longstanding programs.

In fact, Cai said most people joining the NU club rugby team have never played rugby before, including Medill freshman Anya Weerapana. 

“I love playing sports, and I wanted some kind of team environment. I was trying to look for a sport that would give me that, and rugby popped up,” Weerapana said. “I was a bit weirded out by it all, but I was like, you know what, I’m going to keep going. And I kept going. And then it just clicked.”

Weerapana described feeling like a “headless chicken” as she navigated her first game, being directed by older girls about where to go and when to tackle. 

Consistently going to practices allowed her to achieve familiarity with the sport, Weerapana said, but it was really the team dynamic that allowed her to feel integrated. When paired up with veteran player Darby Martinez Stapleton to learn how to tackle, Weerapana said she learned that Martinez lived in the same Elder dorm room as her the previous year. 

“Now she’s my Rugby ‘big’ and basically my big sister,” said Weerapana. 

Rookie-vet pairings were one of many planned and unplanned initiatives orchestrated by Daley and Cai to create community this year. Other events include apartment gatherings, team talent shows and even supporting Cai at her orchestra concert.

This commitment extends to how injured players are treated. Rugby is a physically demanding sport, which Cai said causes inevitable injury, including broken bones, sprains and concussions. 

“We try to be very transparent with rookies,” Cai said. “People often come up to us at Club Fest like, ‘I’m interested, but kind of scared,’ which is fair, it’s a contact sport. We try to teach techniques to prevent injuries to the best of our abilities.”

Weerapana said injured players are integrated into the practices and team dynamic, with six injured players traveling with the team to the Round of 16. 

While they may have been knocked out then, the team is just getting started, Cai said. 

In the spring, the team transitioned to 7v7 games instead of 15v15, which they are historically better at, according to Cai. For the spring season, she said the team is setting a lofty goal for themselves: qualifying for nationals. 

“We’ve come close in the past,” said Cai. “I hope we get closer each season.”

Email: [email protected]

Related Stories:

— Men’s club rugby stays motivated and optimistic during the pandemic 

— Why Club Sports at Northwestern?

— NU club sports thrive despite publicity and communication issues