Your Scrumhalf Connection - Women's Rugby Blog

When do you plan on retiring from rugby? 25? 35? 40? I think it all depends on when you starting playing rugby...I have only been playing 6 years and I can't wait for each season to begin. But the toll that rugby takes on the body can be a brutal one. Most players are battered and tired after ten years or so. Very few make it past the 20 year mark.

I think it has a lot to do with when you started playing rugby. I started playing rugby when I was twenty. Sometimes I wonder where I would be if I had started playing in high school. These kids that are in high school touch leagues and even on teams have no idea how lucky they are. In fact, today in Oklahoma is the Annual Fourth of July Booger Game and Fireworks at the pitch. This is the first year I haven't attended, and it makes me sad. The legends of Oklahoma Rugby come every year and they play booger. Tarzan, Larry Naifeh, Michelle Core, the Velie Brothers and so many more...bless the pitch with their presence.

I remember when I first started playing rugby and I heard about all these players and I saw their pictures in our clubhouse. It was mind blowing to think that they had STARTED rugby in Oklahoma. That Michelle Core had started Women's Rugby in Oklahoma and that she was still involved. Amazing really! And then that first year I went out to the pitch and saw those legends play...it was incredible. Made me realize that I want to stay with rugby for my whole life. It is one sport that doesn't kick you out after your prime. It really is the sport that keeps giving. My boots will hang in the Oklahoma Rugby Clubhouse when I die...

From Total Flanker:

Check out this guy who has been playing 70 years! He trains 3 days a week! Crazy!