Maya seized and ran right through the opportunity to travel to Nairobi, Kenya for a three-day rugby tournament over the past weekend. For those close readers of past posts, you may recall that she’d just been on the outside looking in at the 12-player travel roster when the cuts were made back in December. Her coach, Jack McRobert, wrote in an email after the cuts were made that he hoped she made him regret his decision. So she kept practicing. And improving. When the chance arose to join that roster just one week before the tourney, Coach McRobert called to ask if she still wanted to come along. There was no hesitation in Maya’s response, even though I made sure we had time as a family to confer.
The results were impressive.
The young women from ICS not only won the Championship. They dominated. Seven wins, no losses. Four shut-outs. ICS scored 187 points, while only allowing 19 points throughout those seven games.
The team got home Sunday afternoon. Maya’s recaps have been entertaining us since then. We revisited a few in the following. Our Second Sporty Season Recap Q and A - The Rugby Edition.
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Question: OK. Let’s talk rugby. We were able to see many of the games (streamed online - thanks ISSEA). Which of the games was the most memorable? And why?
Answer: The ISU (International School of Uganda) game was pretty memorable. Just because, there were lots of penalties and it was really difficult, overall. It was an intense game (ICS won 17-7 and it was the last of three games on the second day). Don’t you want to know what was the best game?
Q: Yes, of course. What was the best game?
A: AISJ A (American International School of Johannesburg’s A Team) in the Finals. They improved so much after we beat them on the first day (29-0). Their defense was so much better. Their tackling was intense. And they scored a try (a 5-point scoring play, akin to a rushing touchdown in American Football).
Q: Did you have a goal for rugby? Did you make that goal?
A: Well, yes. I got to go to ISSEA (the tournament for eight schools in seven countries from east and south Africa). But I also wanted to be able to score some tries.
Q: And you scored two tries in the tournament? (Admittedly…a rhetorical question)
A: Yes (Imagine a proud, entirely-justifiable eye-roll).
Q: (Since I’m still learning even the most basic parts of rugby) - What do you call the kick after a try?
A: That’s the conversion.
Q: And you kicked the conversions?
A: Yes, I kicked all of them when I was on the field.
Q: What sucked about the whole tournament?
A: It was pretty muddy. You’d get totally disgusting when you’re warming up. And they’re 14-minute games (two seven-minute halves on the clock). So you have what seemed like seven hours until your next game. You just kind of have to chill. You can’t really shower so you’re just there. You’re sore. There’s a lot of in-between time.
Q: So what ruled?
A: Everything. It was super cool to hang out with these girls. I was already close with a few of them before we left. And then I got close with a bunch more of them. Throughout the tournament, we got to hang out together. You get to meet all sorts of new people at ISSEA and make new connections. It was just great.
Q: Who do you think you’re more like - Brett Favre (former Green Bay Packer quarterback) or the Greek Freak (NBA 2019 MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo)?
A: That’s a question from the last time.
Q: OK. Moving on. Do you think you’ll play rugby when you go back to America?
A: I hope so. I don’t know if there will be a real chance.
Q: Do you identify a new goal after one season of rugby that you’d like to work on?
A: I’d love to work on speed. We obviously had so many great runners. I wasn’t the main person scoring tries, but it feels really good to do so. It would be cool to do some hand-offs and push through people and get down to that.
Q: For this team, did you have a fight song?
A: Not really. We just had a lot of great cheers.
Q: Can you give us one of the cheers?
A: Either before a game or during halftime, we all get in a huddle or in a circle. We all put our arms around each other. Then we sway back and forth. And shout “Eagles” five times, getting louder as we go. There are actually a lot of great cheers.
Q: What is the most satisfying thing that you do in rugby?
A: For me, it’s getting a conversion. But scoring a try is pretty cool, too. Or getting a super good tackle - just taking someone down.
Q: Can you sum it up with one word of encouragement to anyone considering rugby (as a sport to play)?
A: One word? Maybe, “ouch.” And it’s a really cool sport. If you’re down to play rough, it’s for you.
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A small mixture of photos follow. Everything post-ICS departure was taken by others. Even in posting about rugby, success requires teamwork. Ciao.
