It’s 6:30 p.m. on a Tuesday night. The stadium lights over the gazebo field glow orange in the misty twilight. The air is heavy and the ground squishes from recent rainfall. Everyone is avoiding the grassier areas of campus. That is, everyone except the Lady Clamdiggers.

The members of the UNC Wilmington women’s rugby club are out practicing tackling drills, covered from head to toe in mud. Nonetheless, they are smiling from ear to ear—when they’re not growling, of course.

A little over a year ago, this scene would have been unheard of on UNCW’s campus outside of the annual Oozeball tournament. But what began as a joke for captain Amber Wright quickly became a university-recognized collegiate women’s rugby club. 

“I joked about starting a team before I left for school in August,” said Wright. “In my junior and senior years of high school I played for a team in my community. Once I got here, I talked to some of my old teammates about their new teams and was a little jealous. So I started talking to my friends (at UNCW) about starting a team.”

After spreading the word and gauging interest, Wright and friend-of-a-friend Leah Stilwell went to a UNCW men’s rugby practice. The men’s coaches explained to the girls how they could go about forming a women’s rugby club.

Two of the best assets the girls gained through talking to the men’s rugby team were their coaches, Gareth Hoernel and Brandon Smith. Hoernel and Smith were both seniors last year. Hoernel offered to coach the women’s team with help from a few of his other fellow men’s players.

Smith joined the team this year. After tearing his ACL, he was unable to finish out his rugby career last season. Knowing that Smith still loved the game, Hoernel offered his friend an opportunity to help coach the women’s team. Smith accepted.

“Our coaches are a huge asset,” said captain Wright. “Without them, the team would not be at the level we are at now. The girls listen and respect them more than they would another player. It’s possible that (without the coaches) the team would not have taken off.”

According to Wright, after that, everything fell into place. The team was formally recognized as a university club sport in November 2010. Like most novice teams, the Lady Clamdiggers suffered at first, finishing their first spring season with a record of four losses and one tie.

“We lost 40-13 in our first match last year against Chapel Hill,” said rugby alumna Lizzy Ward after Tuesday’s practice. “After that match, Chapel Hill became our number one rival.”

Records and rivalries aside, the UNCW women’s rugby club will not be recognized in the national collegiate Rugby Union until spring 2012. Currently, the women are raising money for dues that will allow them to play in officially ranked matches. Until those dues are paid, the team will continue to participate in friendly matches they arrange with other women’s rugby clubs nearby.

Regardless of their pending national ranking, the Lady Clamdiggers take every practice and every match seriously. “All of our matches are a big deal,” said Maria Canepa, one of the team’s original members. “We want to prove that even though we are a new team, we can still compete with the other ones.”

Many players agree that commitment is what has helped this team grow the most. “This year we have more dedication,” said Canepa. “Last year was a learning year, but this year we can really improve on our skills.”

Recruiting new, dedicated players has expanded Amber Wright’s core group from last fall. In fact, the team has shown so much improvement, they tied in their match against Chapel Hill this year. “We tied 17-17, but they’re state champs so it felt like a win” said Canepa. “They saw we improved so much. It was a turning point for the club.”

Coach Brandon Smith believes the cooperation between teammates is another strength.  “The team has a really high morale and a great friendship between each other,” said Smith. “This allows the team to effectively communicate as well as trust each other on the pitch.”

Historically, teamwork is a key component of rugby. In many sports, standout players can make or break a team, but according to Smith, on this team that is not the case. “On a rugby team, everybody is a standout player in my book because for those few that have scored, they only did so because of what the rest of the team did,” he said.

Even with a strong foundation of unity and determination, the Lady Clamdiggers know they still have a lot to work on concerning conditioning, lifting and “rucking.” But at the end of every practice or match, this unique group of young women chooses to tackle each other in the mud and persevere in the face of adversity for one reason.

“Our heart,” said Lizzy Ward as she watched her former teammates perform countless crunches, push-ups and sprints after two hours of running and tackling drills. “Our heart is our greatest strength. No matter how far behind we are, everyone always pushes all the way to the end.”

The Lady Clamdiggers have a few home matches coming up. The first is against Duke Nov. 5th. If you are interested in learning more about how to get involved with the UNCW women’s rugby club, head out to one of their practices at 5 p.m. on Tuesday or Thursday nights at the gazebo field.