Monday Morning Ruck

Opening Whistle

Here we go…

The first installment of the Monday Morning Ruck on the new Bottom of the Ruck Substack. This is a much better fit for this type of content than the website. I aim to make this a weekly or bi-weekly post.

BOTR Recap

• Bottom of the Ruck Hits the Road - Here’s a look at our plans, over the rest of the spring/summer, for attending grassroots rugby events.

• New Bottom of the Ruck Substack - You’re here already, but if you want to learn a little more about “the why” behind starting it then follow the link.

From the Touchline

I love the business-end of the season in the grassroots. Most of the Northern Hemisphere competitions are reaching the end of their seasons and with that the payoff for all of the hard work from players, coaches, admins, and all of the volunteers that make it all happen. Without an entire club pulling together, none of it is possible.

Celebrate the victories and reflect on the defeats, but don’t forget all of the people that helped make it happen.

This week, I’m headed off to the Bahamas to take part in the Freeport RFC 60th Anniversary. The club has overcome so many challenges over the years due to their location and isolation, but they continue to thrive because of the hard work of many passionate volunteers. I look forward to getting on the ground, seeing everyone, playing a little rugby and documenting the occasion.

Keep an eye on the BOTR socials for plenty of content from paradise. Hell, I might not come back. ;)

I’ll follow with a full feature article and additional edited videos (hopefully with some interviews) after our return. One of my goals is to start visiting rugby clubs (around the world) and having some sort of format for showing off their clubs and culture.

I’m also testing out a new POV camera so that should be interesting.

Grassroots Realities

I posted up a video on the BOTR Instagram page from the National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) 7s Championships that was played in Maryland this past weekend. The venue was absolutely gorgeous! I’m a sucker for any rugby pitch, but a well groomed one scratches a special itch in my brain.

Anyways, the event had 144 teams (men and women) in eight separate divisions, hundreds of games played, and 2000+ players in attendance. A fantastic display and a testament to the growth of rugby in the USA.

The problem is that we collectively do a poor job transitioning these players to the Senior level. Last I checked there was less than a 5% conversion rate for HS/College players moving on to the Senior level. That’s an abysmal statistic. Some of it may be related to the American culture where sport ends after High School or College, but that isn’t the entire story.

I’m not sure what that number is in other nations, but something tells me this is a growing problem all over the world. I plan to delve into this in a future feature article for the website, but I’m curious as to the thoughts of others out in Clubland?

Final Whistle

Around 8.6 million people worldwide are registered rugby participants. Fewer than 0.5% will ever play professionally.

For millions upon millions of people, rugby is about so much more. It has the power to change lives in a positive way forever. The real product of grassroots rugby isn’t professional players.

It’s better people and stronger communities.

Keep Rugby Grassy!