Page 12
SPORTS
Feb. 3, 2006
Greensboro. N.C.
www.guilfordian.com
ft
Guilford Rugby beats Davidson into consensus
Olivia Honeycutt
Staff Writer
"Ball's out! Ball's out!" the girl behind me
screamed.
"Wow," I thought. "That's an interesting
cheer."
It took me a minute to realize what she
meant. The ball was out from under the
"scrum" and in play on the field.
This game, tiie game of rugby, is about
balls - metaphorically as well as literally.
So, if you don't like the sight of blood,
walk away now. For as you will see, rugby
is a very bloody game.
When it comes down to it, rugby is more
like a choreographed bar fight than a game.
That's what makes it so much fun.
Swollen knees, scraped elbows, a myste
rious scratch on the inner thigh ... ^ese
boys and girls do not play pretty. These
players are tough.
From what I saw on Saturday, Jan. 28,
the nature of the rugby player could be
summed up in one statement I overheard
right before the men's game. "I'm just glad
to be alive, man; any day above ground is a
good day."
During the women's match that day, a
seriously busted nose took one player out of
the game. She refused to leave her team
until after the final play.
On this sunny afternoon the women's
rugby team confronted Duke. It was an
unfortunate defeat.
The men's rugby team challenged the
Gastonia Men's Club supported by
Davidson College.
The game went into overtime with the
score at 10-10. Guilford won.
I got to talk to Tyler Cope who scored
the winning try. I asked him how it felt.
"It feels better than anything. I got to tell
you what ... I mean I'm in seven heavens
right now."
I asked him, "How did you do it, Tyler?"
"It took a determination and courage ...
well, a combination of courage and fear ...
that's what it was," he replied.
Anthea Williams, junior, is a rugby fan
and long-time friend of Cope. "Tyler? Yeah,
Tyler's got the biggest balls of them all. I
heard that he got cut one time and pure
motor oil came out of his veins."
Super-fan Josh Laker chimed in. Josh is a
Guilford alumnus and goes to every game
he can. He is the person who brings the
grill. He says his favorite part of the game is
foe cheer. He got one rolling to pump up
foe crowd, "Fight, fight, inner light! Kill
Quakers kill! ^ock 'em down! Beat 'em
senseless! Do it 'till we reach consensus!"
There are some things I strongly advise
one to consider before attending Guilford
rugby games in order to maximize foe
enjoyment of foe experience.
If you've never played rugby before, like
me, foe game can be very confusing. The
rules are complex and, quite frankly,
explaining them would just be boring.
Besides, foe best way to learn this game is to
witness foe magic it creates for you. But, if
you feel that you must know how foe game
works in order to enjoy it, here is what I've
gathered.
If American football and European foot
ball were put into a blender (on liquefy), foe
rules of rugby would result.
Guilford’s women’s rugby versus Duke
A player can kick or run with foe ball
moving forward and can throw foe ball lat
erally or backward, but not forward.
There are out-of-bounds lines and scor
ing areas and goal posts to kick balls
through.
Continued on page 11
SAAC revives schoolyard classic, dodgeball
Landry Haarmann
Photo Editor
Saturday afternoon reminded
me of foe horrors of elementary
school, foe sound of rubber hit
ting flesh and sneakers screech
ing on floorboards. Saturday
reminded me of foe school-
yard game, dodgeball.
Saturday's game of dodge
ball was different from foe ver
sion I nostalgically recall play
ing. Instead of one kid in foe
center being pegged by every
one around foem, there were
two teams, men's lacrosse com- ,
peting against a combination of
foe men's cross country and
tennis teams.
While foe dodgeball of yes
teryear required nothing more
foan nimbleness or good aim,
foe dodgeball games of today
are a team effort and require
some type of game plan.
Cross Country runner Phil
Newell had a strategy. "Try not
to get too close to foe half court
line and throw low," said
Newell.
Tennis player Mike Muir
found foe idea of a strategy
laughable, "We didn't have
much of a strategy," Muir said.
"It was learning step by step."
Some members of foe
lacrosse team felt they went
into foe game prepared. Gates
"Pain Tram" Benson had one
thing on his mind when he
stepped onto foe court.
"Come out and obliterate," said
Benson. "We're all just natural ath
letes. We followed foe 5 D's of
Dodgeball."
The 5 D's of Dodgeball are
"Dodge, Duck, Dip, Dive and
Dodge," according to foe 2004
comedy Dodgeball: A True
Underdog Story.
Muir felt somewhat like an
underdog in Saturday's game.
"Some teams are better at catching
and dodging balls. In cross coun
try and tennis you really don't do
either," he said.
The lacrosse team, however,
felt really good about foe way
they executed their strategy in foe
dodgeball game.
"We don't feel like we won;
we know we did. It was a mas
sacre," said Benson said.
His teammate Ian MacPhail
felt that foe reason they did so
well is because foe lacrosse
team "works well as a team on
foe court and off."
As far as who won, I really
couldn't tell you. I haven't got
foe slightest idea of how
dodgeball is scored.
But foe game wasn't meant
to be played for a win. It was
intended to be a game that
would help create a greater
sense of community amongst
athletes.
"[The idea came from] foe
Student Athlete Advisory
Council," said Randy Doss,
Vice President for Enrollment
and Campus Life. Doss said
that foe goal is "to better
acquaint athletes from different
teams with each other and pro
vide halftime entertainment."
Saturday I was entertained
by both foe game and feelings
about my own dodgeball mem
ories. On foe court, foe feelings
were different. Muir put it best
when he said, "It was fun."S§
This is not your mother’s dodgeball