One sport is considered to be barbaric-filled with broken noses, busted eardrums and hits so hard that snot bubbles come out your nose.
The other sport is considered to be an elegant gentleman’s game that requires teamwork and can gain one friends for life, one where the most likely injury is a little soreness.
Yet these sports are one and the same: rugby.
The MSU Rugby Football Club, or RFC, has been around since 1977, when it was founded by Calvin Beasly, Bobby McGee and Rick Martin. MSU Rugby is a non-scholarship club sport sponsored by USA Rugby rather than the NCAA.
USA Rugby is categorized according to previous success instead of student population.
MSU is DIII due to the fact that, unlike other schools in states that have high school rugby programs, most of the students are newcomers to the sport. Eight of State’s 25 CIPP- certified players are newcomers.
The RugbyDawgs are warriors, though. Last year they lost to the Jackson Rugby Club 43-3, and this year lost a defensive battle 15-5.
A loss is a loss, but city clubs are superior to college clubs because of their cohesion.
Because of the long distances between schools, the universities that make up the Southeastern Conference are divided into five different rugby unions.
However, this weekend the SEC tournament will return after a more than 15-year hiatus.
The RugbyDawgs will face the Alabama Crimson Tide and, if victorious, the UT Vols.
Second year Gulf South players Matt Willis, Chris Rogers and Tyler Golden are some of the key players for MSU this weekend, along with first-year All-GSRU All-Star freshman Drew Fruge.
“He is a natural,” Pannell said. “It is unheard of for a player to come right in and be so good.”
The GSRU All-Star team will compete regionally at Wake Forest University later this season.
The sport of rugby football or just rugby is a sport that dates back to 1823 when, according to legend, William Webb Ellis picked up a ball, started running. The rest is history.
“Rugby is a cross between American football and soccer,” MSU rugby coach Randy Pannell said. “It is like football in aggressiveness, tackling and toughness but moves at soccer’s pace.”
The rules are simple.
There are 15 players on each side, and each match lasts for two 40-minutes halves. There is one referee, but there are two side judges who assist out-of-bound calls.
There is no blocking for the ball carrier, and tackling is only allowed on the ball carrier, which is said to cut down on knee injuries.
“Rugby encompasses all physical skills-speed, kicking, everything. There is no prototypical size,” Rogers said. “It does not matter if you are 150 pounds or 350 pounds, there’s a niche for you. It does not take long to learn the sport, and in about a semester one can become pretty good and players usually play well into their 40s.”