Be Aggressive

Rugby offers women a contact sport

Story by Brandon LaChance

In high school, there isn’t a contact sport for women. Softball, cross country, golf, basketball, volleyball, soccer, and track and field are all options, but nothing like football, where aggression and physicality are showcased in every play.

Then high school graduation happens, and rugby is offered in college.

“Rugby is definitely a lot different than other sports I’ve played,” said Nickey Edgcomb, who was involved in cross country, basketball, and track at Mendota High School before grad-

Mendota native Nickey Edgcomb (standing, center) awaits the snap during a Chicago Lions rugby game. The Lions are a club team founded in 1964.

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Nickey “Newtro” Edgcomb, 38, began playing rugby as a senior at Southern Illinois University in 2004 and hasn’t stopped since. The Mendota native now lives in Berwyn, 15 minutes from the Chicago Lions’ home field.

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uating in 2001. “There are not a lot of contact sports for women. It’s off the charts in rugby. You’re basically playing football with no pads, and then you mix in some soccer. You have fitness with all the running. You have to have strength and agility. It’s everything combined together that isn’t really in women’s sports. Growing up in a small town like Mendota, there was basketball, track, and soccer for girls. There was nothing contact like rugby.”

Edgcomb, who goes by “Newtro” on the rugby field, attended Southern Illinois University after Mendota. While at SIU, she was introduced to rugby and fell in love. Now, at 38, Edgcomb has been playing for 17 years and is currently a captain of the Chicago Lions Rugby Club.

“My first rugby club was the Morrigans in Manhattan, Illinois. There was a girl who played at Southern and she brought me to that team. I played for them for about 14 years,” Edgcomb said. “That was the first non-collegiate team I played rugby for. I was very dedicated to that team. They’re a great club, all of them are really fun, and it was a great time.

“I was seeking something more. I wanted to be more competitive. The Morrigans are a Division II club, and the Lions are Division I. The Lions have been to nationals seven out of the eight years the team has existed. My first year on the team, we went to nationals and placed fifth -- fifth in the entire country.”

The Lions have many teams, including the women’s seven-player team, founded in 2013, and the 15-player team, formed in 2018. There are also two men’s Lions teams, high school teams for both boys and girls, and youth teams.

Edgcomb now lives in Berwyn, so she is only 15 minutes away from the Lions’ field. Before her move, she was located in Ladd and Mendota where her drive time was almost two hours.

It didn’t matter how far she had to commute, Edgcomb didn’t miss the two or three practices per week.

“It’s a lot of the culture and camaraderie that you get coming into this sport,” Edgcomb said. “In basketball, you need to be super tall to be successful. In rugby, they put you in a position where you can dominate in that position for your physique and your set of skills.

“Along with that is all of the people who want to bring you up, help you, and want to make you better. They’re always around. They have helped me out so many times and have become some of my closest friends. It’s not only the team you play on; it’s the opposing team also. After games, we will grab dinner and drinks. It’s a community.”

Through the numerous rugby scrums, Edgcomb has had some injuries. Injuries might keep coming as the years go

See RUGBY page 18

Meiya Carter (No. 2) shows why she loves the aggressiveness of rugby as she makes a tackle. Carter began playing at Northern Illinois University during her senior year in 2017-18.

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Rugby

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by, but the love of the sport and the community is fueling her drive to continue playing.

“I’ve been through three knee surgeries – two ACL reconstructions and then I cleaned out my meniscus – I’ve only broken one finger, and I’ve only had one concussion in the entirety of my career,” Edgcomb said. “The mechanics of rugby tackling as opposed to football tackling are a lot better. It irks me watching football when they’re tackling people in the air and they use their heads. Their technique is just to get them to the ground. Yes, we want to get them to the ground also, but our play isn’t done even though the ball is on the ground. You have to still be conscious after you hit someone because you have to get up and continue to work.”

Even though she may not have many playing years left in her, Edgcomb is eyeing her other options to stay in the game.

“I still feel good. I feel like I’m still making gains. When I was in college, I was a tiny, tiny person because I ran cross country. Leaving cross country, I weighed 120 pounds. At 120 pounds, you’re going to die on the rugby field. So, I worked to get to a better weight. I’m 150 now. I’m still gaining muscle, I’m learning new things about the game, and I still feel good,” she said. “I probably only have a good couple – three or four – more years left in me. I’ll play until I can’t anymore, and then

I’ll probably go into coaching because I have my certificate. And I can referee now. I want to stick with it. You give a lot back. I’ll never fully be done with rugby.”

Edgcomb is not the only one who yearns for a life full of rugby skills and hits.

Meiya Carter, 25, of Peru, began playing at Northern Illinois University and hasn’t even thought about life after rugby. Actually, in her mind, there won’t be one.

“I started playing in college. I went to IVCC, and then I transferred to Northern Illinois University,” said Carter, who graduated from LaSalle-Peru in 2014. “I was at an involvement fair and somebody came up to me and said, ‘You look like you played sports. Have you ever heard of rugby?’ I said no, they asked if I wanted to learn about it, and I told myself I’d give it a week.

“I didn’t know anything about the sport and had never heard about it. I told myself, ‘I’ll go to practice for a week and then decide. I ended up falling in love with the sport over the first week. I’ve never looked back. I’ve only been playing for four years, but it seems like I’ve been playing forever.”

Carter plays for the Chicago Sirens as a forward. It doesn’t matter whether she’s scoring points or tackling foes to the ground, the player known as “Goose” just likes to play rugby.

“My mother (Jean Carter) didn’t allow me to play youth football when I was younger. But, as soon as I got there (to the college rugby team), the people welcomed me in, and I felt like I belonged. When you start college, you’re trying to make new friends. The rugby community is amazing. They’re so accepting of every background. It’s a giant family, and I think it’s super cool. It’s different than any sport I’ve ever played.”

While she enjoys the whole sport, there are aspects of it that she likes better than others.

“I like scoring. I don’t do it often since I’m a forward, so I do the grunt work like a lineman in football. It’s exciting when you get a breakaway. Just playing the game, the atmosphere, and having your teammates rally around you is a lot of fun,” she said.

Carter also coaches for the Illinois Valley Coal Miner Rugby Club.

The Coal Miners, who partner with the Naperville Crusaders, began camps in 2018 and had its first season in 2019. There are three different levels – 3-4 grades, 5-6 grades, and 7-8 grades. The Coal Miners continue to grow in numbers and could add more teams.

“I never thought I’d coach, but I like it a lot. I got into it because my brother-in-law, Garet Dinges, heard they were starting a youth rugby team in the Illinois Valley,” Carter said. “I reached out and said, ‘Hey, I play.’ I was kind of just helping out for a little bit. Then I started getting more involved and realized I love it.

“I thought about stopping playing rugby and coaching full-time. But then why would I want to stop playing? I think coaching is very rewarding, and it definitely changed my perspective of how I play the game in a good way. When I’m done playing, I’m going to stick around the game with coaching.”

Edgcomb said she has contemplated getting involved with the Illinois Valley club because she is excited rugby is finally hitting her home turf. Maybe eventually, both Edgcomb and Carter will be Coal Miner coaches. Until then, they’ll be tearing it up on the field in any way they can.

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