Cheatham Central Rugby Football Club

History

December 6th, 2008

CHEATHAM CENTRAL RUGBY TEAMS DO WELL IN REGIONAL SCRIMMAGE

December the 6th saw the first rugby teams from Cheatham County Central High School take part in a regional scrimmage between high school teams from West Tennessee and Arkansas with Cheatham Central being the only Middle Tennessee team present for the contests.

These games also saw the first win by a Cheatham Central rugby team with the men’s team defeat of a Brighton team the first time they stepped on the field of play. This contest was significant in the fact that the Cheatham Central men’s team has not been able to come up to full strength and had to combine with Cabot High, from Cabot Arkansas who was not at full strength either for the win. This was not Cabot’s first contest where it was for Cheatham Central but together both teams were successful.

The women’s team from Cheatham Central while not getting their first win yet stood toe-to-toe with some very experienced teams dropping close contests to Brighton,(#3 ) , and Memphis White Station High Schools. Coach Hartley was very encouraged and enthusiastic about the prospects for her women. Both Coach Lawrence and Coach Hartley felt the teams had achieved some success and pointed to areas that could be fine tuned for the coming season. Players from both teams felt they achieved more than they had imagined.

Rugby is a club sport at Cheatham Central which means an interested player can join rather than “making the team”. “In most cases the “varsity” careers of a high school player end with the close of their senior year. Even with Title Nine most young women cannot play collegiate athletics and all that was done was to establish more scholarship sports which means the majority of young women find themselves still on the outside. Young men have been on the outside for years and even high school athletics is usually pretty much a dead end with the close of the senior year. With a club sport such as rugby a young athlete can start play in middle school and continue through high school and college and even beyond by playing on an adult team, of which there are several. They can literally play until they can’t run-and then they can coach”, says Coach Lawrence

The rugby club at Cheatham County Central High School is open to all students at the school and will be allowed to play so long as there is no conflict with a school sport that is in play during rugby season which is in the spring. Both Coach Lawrence and Coach Hartley would like to see more students join the Rugby Club and can do so by contacting the Athletic Director; Mr. Morton, Student Counselor; Ms. Burnett or Coach Lawrence @ jimlawrence@charter.net.