“Business on the pitch and camaraderie off the pitch” — that’s how Arts & Sciences sophomore Lauren Ward describes rugby.

“We play for 80 minutes at our hardest,” she said. “We run as fast as we can and make solid tackles, but after the game, we not only socialize with our own team but the other team as well.”

Ward is one of 10 returning players on Creighton’s women’s rugby club team. Though it is technically registered as one club with the men, the women run their own practices and play their matches against other all-women teams.

Tasha Mitchell, a second-year Occupational Therapy student, started the club last spring. She posted hundreds of fliers around campus and relied on word-of-mouth to recruit players. Ward was one of the players who responded.

She learned how to play from a few of her male friends and just a few days later, found a flier on her door about the women’s team.

“I jumped on the opportunity to play,” she said.

Returning players like Ward made recruiting for this year’s team easier.

“We encourage players to bring out a friend who they think might be a good asset to our team,” she said. “This year we actually have vets, so it is easier to answer questions from all perspectives (positions) of the field, not just from the scrum, as Tasha was portraying to us last year.”

One of the people Ward reached out to was her friend Carli Culjat, Arts & Sciences sophomore .

“I actually had never seen or thought about rugby until Lauren told me I was going to play,” she said. “She said this jokingly, but I ended up going to a practice just last Tuesday and really found a great sport.”

The women practice in their own positions and as a team. If a men’s team is practicing, the team will stay to observe. “We are all encouraged to stay and watch the player in our position; it is one of the best ways to learn,” Ward said.

Culjat’s favorite thing about rugby, like Ward’s, is the community.

“I have never felt so accepted by a group of people,” she said.

Playing also taught her a lot about trust.

“If one person doesn’t support or isn’t giving their all, then literally everything falls apart,” Culjat said.

There are about 25 players overall, though all may not be present at any one time.

“They too have a life outside rugby, and I fully support their decisions,” Mitchell said. “The most important rule on my team is that school comes first!”

Mitchell’s short-term goals include getting enough players to register the women’s team as its own club and better attendance at away games so she doesn’t have to recruit players from other teams.

Her long-term goals are more ambitious.

“My goal for the upcoming year or two is to build up a strong team, where we would pose as a serious threat to those around us and head to National Rugby,” she said. “This is a strong possibility due to the strength and perseverance of the girls who are on the team already.”

Creighton plays its matches against other Midwest colleges, like the University South Dakota.

The competition will be fierce, but group bonding is sure to follow.

“As they would say, we beat each other up on the field, but afterwards we are the best friends in the world,” Mitchell said.

To find out more about the team, e-mail Mitchell at [email protected].