Rugby team drawing players from all over
By Nathan Deen, The Brunswick News, Ga. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
Taylor is built more like a defensive lineman, but is actually a second-year member of the Golden Isles Hammerheads, a rugby squad that has been around since 1979 and fluctuated in popularity.
At present, Hammerheads head coach
"It's starting to pick up," said the 62-year-old Thornton. "We've been recruiting as much as we can."
His club currently has 18 members who all come from diverse backgrounds.
Taylor, known by his teammates and friends as "Thurst," is one of four black players on the team,
"We've had a female on the team the past five or six years," Thornton said.
Taylor is there for one reason:
Outside of the love they share for rugby, Skarpalezos and Taylor are nothing alike. "Skarp" is 44 years old and about 5-feet-6 1/2, but not afraid to ask anyone twice his size if they'd like to give rugby a shot.
"Everywhere I go, if I see someone who might be an athlete, I walk up to him and ask him, 'Hey, are you an athlete?'"
Taylor was tending bar at
"I didn't know what to think of it at first," Taylor said. "After I played my first match, that's when it started to become clear."
Taylor is exactly the kind of guy Skarpalezos looks for -- one with an athletic background, most likely in football, who didn't play beyond his high school or college days.
"I want guys who don't play after college," Skarpalezos said. "I say, 'Hey, come join us.'"
Race Jensen, a 21-year-old who was introduced to the sport three months ago, fits that mold as well. Jensen played football and baseball at
"I finally said, 'OK,' and I've been here ever since," Jensen said. "I love it. I missed playing competive sports, and this sport is pretty hard-nosed."
And as Foster has shown, rugby can even serve as a lifelong sport. Foster, an insurance agent, has played it for 40 years in numerous countries, including England and
"It doesn't matter what your level of experience is," Foster said.
"If you listen, you can learn this game. But you won't learn it in a lifetime as much as you would like."
Foster and Thornton said they've been pleased to see several younger men come on board recently, but their goal is to find a way to teach the sport to youths.
"If you get guys in their 30s, they have to learn very fast," Thornton said. "Sixteen- to 18-year-olds will soak it all up. If we can get kids that age, we could get them in here and get them under training."
For a few years in the early 2000s, Thornton couldn't find enough interest to field a team, and the activity of the Hammerheads was limited to just practice sessions.
"We went through a period where we could not recruit," he said. "We went probably six or seven years without a competitive side. In about 2007, there was an interest of young guys wanting to get back together."
Thornton said that interest led to a peak of popularity in 2010, and the coach is hoping to see something similar this season and in the near future.
"We were really built up in 2010," he said. "We had 28 to 30 guys, and that made it competitive. We had a bunch of folks to choose from."
Taylor said he would like to see more people give rugby a try and that it shouldn't be the misunderstood sport it is. It does, however, take a certain type of person to stay committed to it, he said.
"It takes a will and a lot of heart," he said.
"If you've got an ounce of that, you'll be fine out here."
The Hammerheads open their season at
-- Sports Reporter
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