By Ellen Darby

On Tuesday and Thursday evenings at Barwise Junior High School, a group of young men gather.  If you wait and watch you will see rucks, scrums, and mauls.  If you’re unfamiliar with these terms, you’re not alone. Welcome to the world of rugby.
The young men gathered are part of the MSU Rugby Club. North Texas is not normally a hotbed of rugby activity but Coach Rod Puentes is trying to change that.
Puentes started playing rugby while he was a student at Texas A&M University.
“I was always too short to play football, with rugby it doesn’t matter what size you are.  Anyone can play,” Puentes said.
As a MSU graduate student, Puentes started the team in 1988.  Rugby at MSU is a club sport, playing other college and men’s rugby clubs.
“This is one of the few sports that you can play for a lifetime, anywhere you go, all year long,” Puentes said.
Puentes said he loves the international aspect of the game.  MSU rugby players come from all over the world, so the diversity of the club is not surprising.
MSU Senior Matthew Cobb plans to graduate in December with a degree in marketing.  He has been playing rugby at MSU two years.
“It’s non-stop action,” Cobb said.  “There are plays, but you never know what’s going to happen.”
As for anyone thinking about coming out to play rugby, Cobb offers his advice to just stick with it.
“When you come out here you don’t know what’s going on,” Cobb said. “The coaches are great. They will do anything you need to help you improve your game.”
Cobb is from the Dallas area, but is not sure where he will go after college.
“I plan on finding a rugby club no matter where I end up,” Cobb said.
Rugby is played with 15 people per team with only one referee keeping an eye on what some describe as a mêlée.  The ball looks like an overstuffed American football with the ends rounded off.  The field is 100 meters long and up to 70 meters wide. The game is divided into two 40-minute halves and the clock rarely stops.  Rugby players play both offense and defense.  Substitutions during the game are allowed, but only seven, so if you have to come out of the game, you don’t go back in.
The object, of course, is to score more points than your opponents. Points are earned in different ways. A “try” is worth five points. To score a try, a player runs into the end zone (in goal) and must place the ball on the ground with their hand.  After a try is scored, the team attempts kicking the ball through the posts for two more points. This is called a conversion. The conversion kick is taken from any distance back on the field, in line with where the try was touched down. To make it easier for the kicker, players generally want to be near the center of the field when scoring the try.  After a conversion, the ball is kicked back to the team that just scored. The final way to score is to kick the ball through the posts, either on a penalty kick or a drop kick for three points.
The game starts at center field with a drop kick. The ball must be dropped to the ground before it is kicked, and must travel at least 10 meters. During play, the team with possession may run, pass, or kick the ball to move it down field.  Players on the other team can tackle, hold or push the ball carrier but cannot obstruct or tackle any other player. If a player on the opposing team is lining up to tackle your ball carrier, you cannot block or tackle him.
A fundamental rule of rugby is that the ball cannot be passed forward. If the ball is passed forward, play stops. To restart play the teams form two groups in a scrummage or scrum.  Eight team members (the forwards) line up in two rows, lock arms and push against the other team to gain control of the ball.  The ball is fed straight into the space between the two front rows (the tunnel) by the scrumhalf. No hand contact with the ball is allowed during a scrum, players try to hook the ball with their foot and move it out the back of the pile.  The ball can then be picked up by the scrumhalf to resume play.
Play also stops when the ball goes out of bounds (in touch). In this case, the ball is tossed in the air between the two teams. The two sides jump or lift a player to gain possession of the ball.
When the player running with the ball is tackled to the ground, they must release the ball. The two teams then push over the ball and the tackled player.  This is known as a ruck.  Again, no hands can be used (unless you are a scrumhalf). If a player is tackled but does not go to the ground, it is called a maul. During a maul, hands can be used to try and strip the ball away from the carrier.
To play, all a person needs is a T-shirt, athletic shorts, shoes (like soccer cleats) and a mouth guard. A mouth guard is important, pads are not worn and rugby is a very physical game.
“Whoever has the heart and guts to play, there is a place for you,” Puentes said.