Strength in Numbers

Photography by Rebecca Martin

Recruiting the Next Generation of Girl's Rugby

Strength is most usually celebrated in young women when it looks graceful - when it sticks the landing in gymnastics, wins the tournament in soccer or breaks a record in track. However, there is another side to a young girl’s strength – a side that is loud, bruising and unapologetically physical. For that side, there’s Rugby.

At Tennessee Lady Raptors practice, a girls' Rugby team based in Williamson County, hesitation is not an option. The players sprint across the field, collide in tackles and get back up with grass-stained knees. Rugby is one of the most physically demanding and fastest-growing sports in the world. For the girls, the Lady Raptors have become far more than just a team, and they’re struggling to stay alive. The Lady Raptors, founded in 2006, are facing a challenge that has nothing to do with on-field performance: their numbers are dwindling. In recent years, participation has declined, leaving the program's future uncertain. Without new players joining the roster, the team could disappear altogether. For current players, that possibility feels deeply critical and personal. For many of them, Rugby offered something that they struggled to find elsewhere. Some came from traditional sports and were drawn to Rugby’s intensity, and others had never played a contact sport in their life. As Coach Boone said while watching his team warm up for practice, “Rugby is for anyone and everyone – all different shapes, sizes and backgrounds.” The sport has a wide range of needs in terms of players, and because of this, it is exceedingly inclusive. On a Rugby pitch, or field, there is little room for self-consciousness. Players must learn to trust their bodies, trust their teammates and trust themselves enough to charge forward.

The lessons Rugby offers can be transformative for young women. Girls are often taught to make themselves smaller - physically, emotionally and socially. Rugby asks for something entirely different. It rewards aggression and fearlessness and teaches girls that taking up space is not something to apologize for. Despite the sport's rough reputation, Rugby fosters a remarkable sense of community. Teammates rely on one another in a way that creates deep trust on and off the field. For many of the Lady Raptors, that bond has become one of the most meaningful parts of the experience, and that is exactly why the team’s fight to survive matters.

At a time when women’s sports are gaining long-overdue visibility, smaller programs like the Tennessee Raptors remind us that growth does not happen automatically. It requires young girls to be willing to try something unfamiliar, and parents to be willing to let them. The Raptors are actively recruiting new players in hopes of preserving the team for future athletes who may be searching for the same confidence and strength that the current players found through the sport. As Talulah “Lu” Stinson, current team captain of the Lady Raptors, says, they are looking for girls who want to try something new, and in terms of experience, they are happy to take anyone who “hasn’t even seen a game before.” The team, as well as Coach Boone, is incredibly patient with their learners and simply glad to share the joy of the sport with newcomers. As Lu said, plain and simple, “we just want people.”

The Lady Raptor’s message is straightforward: come out and try Rugby. You may leave with a bruise, and you will certainly leave exhausted, but you may also leave realizing that you are far tougher than you ever imagined. For these girls, that realization is worth fighting for.

To get involved or find out more about the team, visit raptorrugby.org and follow them on Instagram to keep up with the team and meet the players,  @ladyraptorsrugby.