Rugby is the fastest growing sport in Sweden. The Rugby World Cup is currently taking place in the United Kingdom. For Lugi Lions Rugby Club, the start of October marks the start of the series.
Rain hangs in the air over Lunds Centrala IP, a stone throw from the railway station. The risk of getting wet seems to be the last thing on the girls of Lugi Lions Rugby Club’s minds. Among many other sport enthusiasts, they have their own corner of the field where everyone is very focused on training.
“Anyone can come to our practices and try rugby for free, you don’t need any kind of prior knowledge”, says Coach Ross Watson.
Lugi Lions Rugby Club is growing steadily, and there are also large rugby teams in Helsingborg and Malmö. Ross Watson thinks that the increase in interest is partly because of the recent increase in the clubs’ recruitment efforts. Team member Martina Vivlund thinks it is also because of the fact that it is now possible to watch rugby on Swedish TV, and that the sport is making a comeback as an Olympic sport next year.
Many of Lugi Lions Ruby Club’s members are students. Ross Watson and Martina Vivlund are both former students at Lund University. They both say that rugby gives you valuable skills, not only on the field, but off it as well.
“Working together with others and feeling like a team can easily be applied to your studies. You learn to not think that ‘I have to do everything and it’s my fault if we fail’, like athletes in individual sports might think, but instead think like a team”, says Martina Vivlund,
Martina Vivlund and her friend were initially interested in American football, but when there were no women’s teams, they moved on to rugby. To coach Ross Watson, from Manchester, rugby was the first choice.
“Rugby’s a popular sport in the UK, I started playing when I was 11 years old. I like contact and teamwork, that’s why I’ve stayed with it”.
By contact Ross Watson means that which rugby is probably most famous for – the tackles, the tripping and wrestling matches to get the ball.
Is it that rugby players enjoy getting their aggressions out on the field?
“Well, yes. If you’ve had a bad day at school or at work, then it might be nice to get to the practice and release all your energy, just running on adrenaline. To go from athletics, where there’s no contact at all, to rugby, where you manage to get that first perfect tackle out on the field… it’s priceless”, says Martina Vivlund.
The women’s team gather on the field and the practice begins. They work on jump-tackles, alternating them with push-ups. It is obvious that all the problems of day-to-day life have been left by the side line.
Article: Hedvig Wrede
Translation: Emily Eriksson
