Rugby is not for everybody, but almost every body is good for rugby, according to Kirk Neubauer, the player-coach of Chattanooga’s 34-year-old club for the rough-and-tumble sport.
“What I always tell people is that unlike other sports, rugby has a position for everybody and every body type,” Neubauer said recently. “You can be 6-5 or 5-10 and 250 pounds or 5-2 and 100 pounds. There are 15 positions, and almost every one is for a different body type, and there’s a spot whether you’re fast or slow.”
The Chattanooga Rugby Football Club, nicknamed “Nooga Rugby,” went undefeated in the MidSouth league regular season last year for the first time but lost in the first round of the playoffs. The team had a fall match at Huntsville and won 49-15 but now is starting to prepare for the spring season and is making a push for new blood.
While practices normally are held on the East Ridge High School practice field, the tryouts this week will run from 8 to 10 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday at the D1 Sports indoor complex near Hamilton Place. Candidates are asked to arrive by 7:45, and Neubauer emphasizes that rugby experience is not necessary.
“We’re looking at men in the 18-to-35 years range,” he said, “maybe guys who played sports in the past and are still looking for something competitive. It helps if they have a contact-sports background, but that’s not necessary.