What’s a Scrum?
By: Brittany Mapes
Many students here at Platte Canyon High School have only heard about rugby, but don’t know exactly what it is. The sport originated at Rugby School in England by a man named Webb Ellis. There are many controversies of whether or not he actually came up with the sport. It’s said that he was in the middle of a soccer game and got tired of just kicking the ball around. So to solve his problem, he picked the ball up and started playing. A few other students caught on and Rugby evolved. It turned into a huge world wide sport. A lot of parents are concerned that Rugby is too violent because that is how it is portrayed in the United States . To many young athletes, Rugby isn’t about violence. It’s more about passion and the adrenaline rush the game gives you. In Conifer, Hugh Miller coaches a rugby team between Platte Canyon , Conifer, and some kids from Evergreen. It started back in 1999 and in 2003 they took the Club State Championships. Rugby isn’t a part of the actual school because it’s not a part of CHSAA and is under the Colorado Youth Rugby league. It is now called PAC Rugby, formally known as Bailey Youth Rugby. It started between Bailey and Conifer, who decided to put their school feuding in the past and join as one whole team. The rivalry was quickly over and done because the devotion of Rugby was more significant. Soon after Bailey and Conifer joined together, Evergreen kids were sent over. Just this year, PAC teamed up with the Denver Harlequins for the U-19 team. Terms like scrum, maul, ruck, line out, drop kick, and getting the boots are all used in rugby. A scrum is where the play restarts because a penalty is called and restarts the game. A ruck happens after the runner has come into contact with another player and the ball has been sent to the ground. If at least three players bound themselves a ruck has been set. The difference between a maul and a ruck is that a maul occurs when the ball hits the ground. A Rugby line out is when the ball goes out of bounds and they have to put it back into the game. A drop kick is almost self-explanatory except it helps make the goal. Overall, Rugby is a fun, contact sport that you need no experience in, just aggressiveness. For Girls, you can sign up for a Scrugby team in the fall in the main office.
