The Most Brutal Sport in the World? Rugby League makes a splash in SoCal

The Most Brutal Sport in the world comes to SoCal?  An interview with the OC Outlaws

written by Vincent McLeod IV


Rugby league is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field.  One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated as a split from the Rugby Football Union in England in 1895 over the issue of payments to players.  Its rules were then gradually changed in order to produce a more entertaining game that would appeal to spectators.  A game that is closer resembling to American Football then Rugby Union, it has been cited numerous times as the most brutal sport for 80 minutes of play.  Any game that has 13 beasts colliding at full speed with no pads in the hopes of scoring countless tries (touchdowns only this once folks) is a sport we can cite as truly insane and heroic.  SCRN caught with the President and Chairman of the OC Outlwas RLFC, Mr. Fred Lewis, to get his take on Rugby League in SoCal and the future prospects to the spectator friendly game.

Interview with President/Chairman Fred Lewis:

SCRN:  How well has your club been received in the area of SoCal Rugby?

FL:  One of the main reasons that we selected Orange County as the club base was that the OC is a fantastic beach community that supports its business & sporting associates.  The entire Orange County Outlaws Board has worked very hard and in a very short time is establishing ourselves as the leading Developmental Rugby League Club on the West Coast.  We are very pleased with the feedback and support that we have received from the Orange County Community...and with that we are extremely excited about commencing a marketing plan for the end of 2011 that will propel us into the 2012 campaign in the USARL.

SCRN:  What needs to happen for Rugby League to take-off and succeed (like it has in Hawaii and the East Coast) in the SoCal Area? Are there any major hurdles you foresee currently?

FL:  Rugby League has been played in the US for roughly 14 years and the majority of the clubs were established on the East Coast.  The (USARL-AMNRL) constituents and  identities involved in establishing this new sport did and continue to do an amazing job in establishing the level of play and expansion of this great game of Rugby League. Thus, we and all the clubs involved in this RL expansion on the West Coast have a tremendous amount of work ahead of us to mirror what has been done on the East Coast.  Hawaii to their credit has worked some magic in developing so quickly.  We would be remiss if we didn't follow the module of successful clubs both on and off the pitch such as the newly crowned USARL Champs, Philadelphia Fight and the Jacksonville Axemen. The expansion of Rugby League in the US is a Win-Win for all parties!  The major hurdles at this point are more associated with the business components of operating a club such as corporate sponsorship and funding to assist subsidizing operational cost.  The key is to create a product that potential sponsors and partners believe in and see as a viable marketing vehicle for their brand.  We have been fortunate to have established a partnership with the UK based RLC National Club, Nottingham Outlaws, called "Outlaws Unite" which has been highly received and provides both clubs/players/personnel shared global opportunities via the game of rugby league.  In addition, we have an alliance with the Western Sydney Outlaws of the New South Wales Physical Disability Rugby League Association, further illustrating that this great game does not discriminate and is played and enjoyed by all.

SCRN:  Concerning recruitment, very few players in the past have made a success switch from Union to League and vice versa. The Chris Ashton's of the world are unique. With a base of 80 clubs and right under 4,000 players registered in the SoCal area for Rugby Union, do you feel pulling from this base is your ideal recruit?

FL:  The recruitment of players is quite an unique blend of as you alluded to your core of Rugby Union Players, ex-pats or students(UK/Australia) living/working in Southern California, and your development players or Cross-Over Athletes transitioning from other football codes and sports.  The bottom line for the Outlaws is that we want athletes that are excited about learning rugby league with the main objective being to develop them into solid rugby league players.  One of my goals when I created this club was to do all I can to facilitate playing opportunities for Select- US-born players abroad in the UK, Australia and New Zealand.

SCRN:  How do you convince an American Football player that Rugby League is really the most brutal sport in the world currently? Do these cross-over athletes play a big part in your team?

FL:  answer in previous question but to add to this.....Yes, the Cross-Over Athletes will play a significant part in OC Outlaws Squad...     We want athletes whom want to challenge themselves to Rugby League...as some describe as "The Toughest 80 Minutes in Sports"

SCRN:  Why Rugby League over Union?

FL:  Personally, I enjoy and have played both codes overseas.  There was an opportunity to start a team from scratch and the challenge of establishing rugby league on the West Coast was very appealing.  Rugby League is probably from a learning and spectators point of view an easier game to pick-up and understand vs. Rugby Union where there are many more rules and interpretations.

SCRN:  Do you have a venue established yet for home games? Is a practice schedule ready for release?

FL:  We are discussing training/home field options with a few venues within  Newport Beach-Costa Mesa, Orange County.  The venue and training schedule will be released in the very near future.








SCRN:  What is your vision for the OC Outlaws? Will the LA Raiders be your major cross town rivalry?

FL:  The vision for the OC Outlaws...Rugby League is a tremendous sport ready to assume its place in the American sporting arena.  Through the medium of education and increased visibility, the OC Outlaws and the USARL intend to promote Rugby League at all levels. We invite you to share in our vision of developing this game throughout our community.  OC Outlaws will provide Rugby League players on the West Coast, the opportunity to compete through the highly competitive, Rugby League in the USARL.  The OC Outlaws are dedicated to the development, promotion and expansion of professional Rugby League in the United States. As part of the global expansion of Rugby League, it is our aim to present to the American sports fan and even more specifically, the Southern California sports fan, this exciting action sport.

Regarding the LA Raiders...We at this point see the LA Raiders as partners in this quest to establish Rugby League on the West Coast...both clubs need to work together to gain traction in the sporting landscape as we develop others clubs on the West Coast.  The close proximity of the clubs makes for a natural rivalry which is good for the game…yet to me a rivalry is based on a history and we have to first establish our existence to commence this rivalry...but we do look forward to the Local Derby...against our Cross-Town Rivals...


Notes on Rugby League:

The American National Rugby League (AMNRL) is a rugby league football competition for semi-professional clubs in the United States. It is the country's first domestic rugby league competition. The AMNRL is recognized as the governing body for the sport in the United States by the Rugby League International Federation (RLIF), and oversees the United States national rugby league team.  The competition that became the AMNRL was established in 1997, with six teams competing in the first season the following year. It grew to eleven by 2010, with future plans for westward expansion. On January 12, 2011, seven teams announced they were departing the AMNRL to form the new USA Rugby League.

The USA Rugby League (USARL) is a semi-professional rugby league football competition based in the United States. The league was founded in 2011 by clubs that had broken with the established American National Rugby League (AMNRL), plus expansion franchises. The USARL began its inaugural season in 2011.

Queen Elizabeth & the Spanish Armada: An Interview with Kirstin Hartos
written by Vincent McLeod IV

Queen Elizabeth of England (7 September 1533 – 24 March 1603) ruled during the so-called "Golden Age" of the British Isles. She was not just an excellent female leader, she was ruler of all English subjects and one of the most highlighted rulers in British & European history. In SoCal Women's Rugby, there is argueably not a bigger name circulating then Kirstin Hartos. Griffins All-selection, numerous honors and awards and still contributing to the reign that is San Diego Surfers Women's Rugby; the Spanish Armada. As a SoCal Rugby supporter and general supporter of the game outside of the region, Women's Rugby is rarely given even a quarter of the coverage that the Men's game recieves today. Sadly, to this dismay, quality talent in the game far too often goes missed through our Rugby brains. SCRN sits down with Kirstin Hartos to ask some in-depth Rugby questions about her personal growth and development in the game and to see if the Spanish Armada can in fact get a Championship this season in the WPL!

          

SCRN:   First off, congrats on the dominance that San Diego Surfers Women's Rugby Club is bringing to the USAR Women's scene.  D1 Champs back to back in 2009 and 2010......what are the "obvious" plans for this season?  Does SDSW look just as strong as in the past seasons? What seperates SDSW from other Women's clubs?

KH:   We have been improving every season since Richie Walker took over Head Coaching responsibilities in 2007. That first season with him, we narrowly edged out Belmont Shore for the SCRFU Championship and our first trip to Nationals, where we finished in the bottom four. We improved our finish in 2008, and continued that trend finishing an undefeated 2009 season with our first Division I National Championship, and we were lucky enough to repeat in 2010. From there, we got promoted to the Women’s Premier League and will be competing in our first season there this fall.

Our team continues to get more competitive each season, which is a reflection of the quality of coaching and our collective mentality that we can’t be comfortable with where we are – we have to keep striving to improve. Our younger players are continuing to develop, and we’ve had an influx of experienced players join the team this fall – so we will have even more competition for starting positions this season. And that is a really good thing for us because it will push us all to work harder and improve.

I think rugby players in general are a unique breed. But what I think sets the Surfers apart from other ‘premier’ women’s clubs is that we have always been an underdog, and we are used to having to prove ourselves. We’re heading into the WPL as the 8^th seed (out of 8 teams), and we’re going to have to fight for everything. But coming from SoCal, we’re used to that. We are not a team of individual stars with all kinds of accolades and capped players that we rely on to win. Sure we have stand out players (and I could name a handful), but I think what truly makes us different is that we are a great team together. We respect each other, play for each other, and have fun playing together. Of course we want to win and be successful, but we are determined to have fun doing it.

SCRN:   You are a UCSD alumni. Been playing Rugby for over 8 years. What did the playing expereince at UCSD (however much) do for your game development?

KH:   I started playing rugby in 2001 during my freshman year at UC-San Diego. We had a new coach that season, and about 12 rookies. I think that about half of our starters were rookies, actually. I was lucky enough to earn a starting spot in my first season with the team. We had some great leadership from experienced veterans that really helped the new girls get up to speed and learn quickly, including WNT Player Mari Wallace who has played in the last two World Cups. We ended up beating UC-Santa Barbara 3-0 in the final seconds of our last league game to earn our first trip to Collegiate Nationals in the Spring of 2002. I think we were certainly excited to earn a spot at Nationals, but I think that was a pretty pivotal point for me. Prior to playing in the National tournament in Florida that year, our coach at the time had gotten her hands on an email from the coach of another team in another territory that was particularly degrading toward SoCal teams. I recall one of the lines from the email said something to the effect that “SoCal doesn’t even deserve a seed at Nationals.” That’s a statement that’s stuck with me throughout my playing career, and has made me feel like I’ve always got something to prove.

In college we were lucky enough to win the SCRFU Championship for four consecutive seasons and to get to compete at Nationals. It didn’t really seem like a big deal at the time, just seemed like that was what we expected of ourselves. In 2003, we actually made it to the Final Four and played at Stanford’s Steuber rugby stadium for the first time – which was an awesome experience. I learned so much in college, and was fortunate to get to play U-23s with some great players from SoCal and I think that despite some setbacks (like losing both games and playing with only 12 girls at my first U-23 National All-Star Championships in 2002), it has helped me develop as a player and see the possibilities to continue playing rugby beyond college. There aren’t too many sports that women have an opportunity to play beyond college at such a competitive level, and I’m glad I’ve had that opportunity. If I wouldn’t have had a great experience playing in college, I doubt I would have continued to play after that. Not to mention that some of my best friends are girls I played rugby with in college.

SCRN:   For those who do not know Kirstin Hartos outside of the Griffins U-23/15s/7s all-star, what should supporters of the game know about you as a Rugby player that we have not already seen on the pitch?

KH:   Due to my stature, most people think I am a prop, so it usually comes as a surprise to see me line up with the backs. But I kind of like it that way.

SCRN:   Concerning Women's Rugby in SoCal, what if anything needs to change to promote the sport more to a bigger pool of Women? Does lack of coverage ever make particpants in Women's Rugby feel obsolete?  If you had to make any changes to Women's Rugby, what would your ideal league set up look like?

KH:   Our Division II teams play a Spring season, but then the winning team doesn’t advance to the National Championship until November. I think it might benefit the teams more to play a competitive league season in the fall (like the rest of the DII teams do around the country, and as the DI and WPL teams do) leading up to Nationals so that the qualifying team peaks at the right time. I’m also not without bias that it would make things much easier and more sustainable for our club specifically if our developing players could play on a DII side during the same season (so we could field two teams).

For women’s rugby on the whole, I think that the new WPL and DI structure has exponentially increased the costs for travel for teams in both divisions. Obviously for the teams that want to improve and get better, it’s important to get as many competitive games in as you can during the season. In the last two years, SoCal and Pac Coast DI teams played in a combined league. I would argue that this has been a tremendous benefit to our teams to play a wider variety of opponents and be exposed to different styles of play before reaching a national tournament. I think I can fairly say that we, along with the other DI women’s teams (Belmont and Tempe), had gotten sick of playing each other all the time. Sometimes things get stale when you’re always playing the same teams – so it was great to change things up a bit and expand the league. But the costs and commitment are staggering. The men’s DI and DII teams furthest league games are a few hours drive, rarely an overnight trip. In the last two seasons, we’ve had to travel all the way up the West Coast to Seattle for a league match. And this season we’ll fly to New York for our first WPL match. The financial burden to the individual player is tremendous. And it’s tough to find sponsors interested in supporting a women’s sports team. I think we’ve definitely benefitted from the expanded competition, but I worry that it’s not sustainable to get players to contribute upwards of $2,000 from their own pocket just for travel expenses in one season.

Of course if there were some league sponsor to help offset the financial expenses, that would certainly help ensure that the best players continue to get to play (and not just the players who can afford it).

If there were more coverage and exposure of the women’s club teams, I think that would also help get the word out to younger girls who are interested in playing. I don’t think girls in high school are looking to be the first one to start playing a non-mainstream sport, but the more exposure there is locally, the more that can help grow the game.

SCRN:   As stated earlier, the game is growing rapidly at the U-19 and below level. Females like Jamie Garcia and Megan Pinson are emerging and showing they can compete at a high level with players like yourself.  What advice do you give to future Female Rugby players about their development in the sport?

KH:   The best advice I have for future and younger players is that they just need to take advantage of the opportunities at hand. When you have a chance to tryout for any Griffins Select Side, go to the tryout and work your butt off. I guarantee you will learn something from the coaches or other players that are there. And if you don’t go, somebody else will. You’ve got to work hard, and take advantage of the chances that you get. Rugby isn’t a sport that us older girls grew up watching for the most part, so the best thing you can do is just play as much as you can.

SCRN:   Fun Questions for Kirstin Hartos!

1. Prince Harry or Prince William?
Can I say neither?

2. Mission Bay or Point Loma?
Mission Bay

3. Who will win the Rugby World Cup in 2011?
   If I didn’t say New Zealand, I would likely be sitting on the bench for the entire season. So I’m not going to take any chances.
4. If you could have the chance to play one Men's team in SoCal...who would it be?
   The Chargers. Oh wait, did you mean rugby?

5. Favorite Professional Rugby Player? Since no answer was provided....SCRN will answer with Dan Carter:)

6. Chances of SDSW club winning the National Championship this season?
Any given Sunday…

7. Todd Clever, Chris Wyles and Tai Enosa have been asked this by SCRN, so we will keep it going here...Justin Bieber or Justin Timberlake?
JT… Is Justin Bieber even 18?

8. Biggest rival in Women's Rugby for SDSW?
Those pesky gophers who call Robb Field home during our season… you know who you are. Oh, and Flag Football.

9. Favorite San Diego food joint?
The Local, and not just because of the lobster tacos.