The Gaston County Rugby Club recently welcomed teams from Tennessee, Georgia and South Carolina to Martha Rivers Park for a weekend tournament.
The event included games for both women and men in divisions two, three and four.
The Gaston County Rugby scene is growing, according to Allen LeCroy, the men’s director of D4 rugby for the Carolinas Geographic Rugby Union.
In January, the Gaston County Rugby Club announced that it had recently formed a women’s team and was looking for players.
Since that time, the club has continued to grow, according to Gaston County Rugby Club Secretary John Lenti.
Considering the growth and the space to host players and spectators alike, the Gaston Rugby Club put in a bid to host this year’s regional qualifier, and they won the bid, LeCroy said.
The division two winners, including Charleston in the women’s division and Atlanta Old White in the men’s division, will advance to the Gulf Coast Super Regional competition, which is to be held in Austin, Texas May 4 - 5.
The winning teams at the super regional competition will advance to the Club National Championships, which will be hosted May 17 - 19 in Rock Round, Texas.
For LeCroy, arguably the best part of hosting the Gulf Coast Super Regional competition is the atmosphere of the sport, he said.
“The thing about rugby, and this just goes across the culture of rugby… everyone that actually plays the game respects everyone else that plays the game,” LeCroy said. “Yeah, we want to beat the other team, but we also really respect anyone that comes in and plays the game with us, because it is such a physical and rough sport. The culture really demands that you respect the other team and the other players.”
After a game, the home team generally treats competitors to a drink at a local bar, giving the teams an opportunity to get to know one another.
“It’s just a matter of sort of celebrating or developing that camaraderie in the game,” LeCroy said.
He added that the sportsmanship on the field is clear even to spectators.
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