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Rugby team tackles recruitment

More women sought to help boost Las Vegas Slots' ranks

By Maggie Lillis - Southeast View - December 22, 2009

The Las Vegas Slots -- a local women's rugby team -- is fighting an assault on two fronts, neither of which takes place anywhere near the field of play.

The club has been facing opponents since 2001, but team members said it's been a much longer struggle to build U.S. exposure and recruit female players.

"Awareness is very low," team president Jenny Kramer said. "You don't see it on TV or in the local high schools."

But those obstacles haven't stopped the Las Vegas Slots from inviting newcomers to lace up their cleats and join.

"It's hard to get girls to come out, but when people make it out, they end up staying," said Kramer, who has been playing rugby for eight years and serves as an "8-man."

The team is a diverse mix of ages, skill levels, brawn and backgrounds. There are women who have played with the USA National team, college students, schoolteachers, professionals, moms and even those who just "love to tackle hard like it's her job," Kramer said.

There is a woman who played the game growing up in Kenya and recently picked it up again with the Slots.

  And rugby is a game that takes all types. The Slots play 15s rugby, meaning that during each match, 15 players cover both offense and defense during two 40-minute halves. There are no timeouts or breaks in play. All players on the field must be able to tackle and defend as there are continuous possession changes of the ball. "You're either running, hitting or getting up," team member Lo Stender joked of the game. Stender is the Slots' scrum half, which she describes being "like a quarterback, but we still get hit."

The 27-year-old began playing with the Slots in 2005 and has advanced to the national women's team, the USA Eagles.

During her three tours with the Eagles, she has visited parts of the world where rugby is more popular, such as Barbados and Dubai. It was the passionate fans that stood out most to her, she said, noting a tournament when it rained for 10 hours straight, yet not a single fan left.

"You go to a sporting event here, and as soon as a cloud comes into the sky, the stadium clears out," she said. "These fans had trash bags on and were sloshing in the mud. You couldn't even hear our coach because they were so loud."

The Slots say cries to popularize rugby back home are being heard in some ways. An estimated one-fourth of all U.S. rugby players are women. Rugby has been added as an Olympic sport and will be played at the 2016 games. And the recently released film "Invictus" is centered around the 1995 Rugby World Cup and stars big names such as Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon.

"It's not at the level it could be at," forward Tiffany Updike said, adding that people often have false impressions of rugby. "It's a misconception about how dangerous it can be," she said. "If you don't play it right, you can get very hurt."

The Las Vegas Slots are affiliated with the Southern California Rugby Football Union. They square off against women's teams from around the West, including California, Arizona, Utah and Texas.

Kramer said the players from both teams often gather after matches to hang out. Stender and Updike agreed that the social aspect stands out to them, as well.

"It's a good outlet for women," Updike said. "They should definitely try it. It's not a sport for everybody, but even if you don't like playing, you can still watch and hang out with us."

The team is currently on a brief offseason, but it'll kick up again in February, which will coincide with the pro league USA 7s Tournament at Sam Boyd Stadium, 7000 E. Russell Road. The Las Vegas Slots will play in the Las Vegas Invitational Tournament during that time. The team will resume practices in February. It meets at 7 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday at the intramural fields at UNLV, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway.

Rugby players work to establish league for high school athletes

By LAURA EMERSON
VIEW STAFF WRITER

Rugby players based in and around Las Vegas are working to establish the game in the lives of local high school students.

Thus far, four teams have formed to play in the under-19 division of USA Rugby, including those based around Liberty, Palo Verde and Desert Pines high schools and a group centered around Sunset Park, 2601 E. Sunset Road. Eric Heinicke, a former Blackjack Rugby player, said teens who hail from other schools are welcome to join the teams near their neighborhoods.

"We're hoping to have a regular season and be in a league by next January," Heinicke said.

Along with Heinicke, volunteer players from Sin City Irish Rugby, the Las Vegas Slots ladies team and members of the Royal Air Force who are working at Creech Air Force Base are helping establish high school teams in their own league, along with players from Southern Utah.

As of now, Heinicke said the high school season will last until about April. The high school rugby players will reconvene in the summer to enter the Midnight 7s tournament, set for June 19. Then, Heinicke said, the high school groups will start training in the fall, hopefully in their own league.

Cindy Cregier's 15-year-old son Nate, a freshman at Liberty High School, is co-captain of his team. His family lived in England for two years, and when they moved to Las Vegas, Nate was interested in playing rugby.

"I like the people that are in and around rugby," Cregier said. "I'd love to see more of it in Vegas."

Cregier said the game has had a positive effect on her son and is a fun outlet for him.

Heinicke, who has played rugby since 1977, feels it's important that the game be readily available to Las Vegas youth.

"I got a lot from this game, and it's just a way of giving back to it," Heinicke said.

At their first game in mid-February, 15 players, many of whom had never touched a rugby ball, played a team from Southern Utah. The Las Vegas team included players from the Summerlin squad and students based in Green Valley.

"A lot of those kids hadn't played before, so it's kind of a baptism by fire sort of thing," said Jamie Meighan, a Royal Air Force officer working at Creech Air Force Base and an avid rugby player. "They did well for a first game."

Training for the high school rugby teams takes place Mondays and Thursdays at Summerlin Centre Community Park, 1800 S. Town Center Drive, and Silverado Ranch Park, 9855 Gillespie St. All the teams are seeking sponsorship from the community.

For more information about high school rugby or to join a team, e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .