Written by Jess Ardrey
Last Saturday, Harding’s rugby team, the All Blacks, had a home game against North Alabama. That is, they were supposed to.
Due to a referee not showing up, the game was canceled. The All Blacks then decided just to play each other for a couple of games, but it did not turn out as planned.
Junior Caleb Callari went in for the second game. The first time he picked up the ball, Callari got smashed by a fellow teammate. The play ended with a fractured pelvis for Callari and with all of the tendons torn in freshman Isaac Taylor’s shoulder.
“While unfortunate, frustrating and debilitating, it was a risk I took when I ran onto the field,” Callari said.
Despite the accidents and a loss in their first game of the season against Arkansas State University, the rugby team is pushing forward.
“We knew going into the game that we would befacing a very well-coached and high-ranking team,” junior Hayden Dorsett said. “We were disappointed in losing to them, but the fact that we were able to go out there, score first and hold them to an even score in the second half proved that we can hang with the best of the teams.”
The team is working hard on composure, passing, tackling and conditioning.
The All Blacks are seeing the difference hard work is making in the new players and the general morale.
“The new guys have been a real blessing to the team this year,” Dorsett said. “And we’ve seen a huge improvement in their knowledge and ability to play the game, especially in their ability to support one another on and off the field.”
Fan support is another problem with which the team struggles. Because it is not an official Harding team, the players sometimes have a difficult time with this task.
“We look forward to making rugby better knownand more supported at Harding so that it can be something for the school as a whole to enjoy and participate in cheering us on as we aim for victory,” junior Geoff Box said.
Harding’s next rugby games are Saturday against Freed-Hardeman at 2 p.m. and Sunday against University of Tennessee at Martin, of which the time has not been released.
