The USA women’s rugby team, the Eagles, took home bronze at this year’s Summer Olympics thus helping the sport grow in America and giving the USA a name in the rugby world. As a rugby player myself, it gives me a sense of hope for the future of rugby in the USA Watching all-star player Ilona Maher run down that field was so inspiring. Ilona Maher is not only an Eagles player but also an impactful influencer and body positivity advocate with a total of 4 million followers. With her help, the Eagles went to the Paris Olympics with more fans than ever before, especially young female athletes. She is currently on a tour competing in Dancing with the Stars.
Contrary to popular belief, rugby is a sport that originated before new-age American football. It is a high-intensity, full-contact, tackle game played by both men and women. Although the USA has a wildly successful football league, this summer’s bronze medal proves that USA rugby is still on the rise. To some, bronze may seem like a disappointment but it’s quite the opposite. No American rugby team has won any Olympic medal in rugby for 100 years, and for the women, this was their first Olympic medal ever.
I know from personal experience that this win drew interest from many young girls. Last year the Morris rugby middle school team, which I had previously played for, had a total of two players and this year there are up to fifteen girls.
Rugby in the USA started off quite niche with most people saying that it was practically football. In 2016 only 35,000 registered high schoolers played rugby. That number has now escalated to over 50,000. A huge cause of this increase had been the Summer Olympics.
The Eagles team is filled with many talented, independent women and I even had the opportunity to meet with Tess Feury who is not only an official Eagles player but she had also grown up playing for The Morris Lions which is the team I currently play for. Originally from Morristown, Feury attended Villa Walsh High School and continued her education at Penn State University where she got her Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She is a natural leader and captained the USA Women’s Youth Olympic Team in 2014.
Feury is clear about the impact rugby has had on her life. “ For me, rugby just gave me a really big sense of community and it kind of taught me that I can have family, you know, outside of my family. Some of the people I’ve met playing rugby 20 years ago are still some of my best friends. And I think that’s really unique. And I also think that rugby is a home for everybody. Nomatter where you’re from, like how tall or short you are, no matter what you bring to the table, rugby accepts it” stated Feury. A sport that includes every body shape as well as background, it draws teens to this sport. Fortunately, the sport requires an array of skills and types of players.
From the time between Feury playing for Morris to playing for The Eagles, the sport has skyrocketed. Feury recalls, “I started playing just sevens. We never had enough for fifteens and the whole first year we only practiced. And then by my senior year we finally had like 20 girls and we could have a season. So now to see you guys like with so many players and traveling to tournaments is really eye-opening.” Considering Feury only started college in 2014, this was very recent. When she was in college, the opportunity to play NCAA rugby wasn’t a real opportunity yet.
When it comes to the future of the game, Feury has a positive outlook. “ I definitely think the growth is gonna be in the women’s game, especially because we don’t have many full contact sports just for women” said Feury This is very true. On most female rugby teams, a handful of players will say they started playing because they couldn’t play football. When it came to the next ten years, she said “In about 10 years I think you’re gonna be able to see it in like high schools, which is gonna be really exciting.” Every year more and High Schools are joining the trend, especially for the girls game.
This professional rugger said, “ My biggest advice is to take every opportunity, big or small. You know, if someone says, Hey, come out to rugby practice, I know you don’t know anybody, just take the leap and go do it”. The sport truly is so welcoming and many coaches love training and going over basics because those “basics” are the core of the game. The fact that it’s getting more popular in the USA isn’t only exciting for Americans but also other countries. Now the USA Eagles are playing teams not many imagined they could play before.
The USA Women’s Eagles are going to strive to get gold in the 2028 Olympics to not only make history but to also teach young girls everywhere that hard work and strength can get them far. In the words of Tess Feury “ It’s gonna keep going up and up.”
