As the rugby scene continues to grow in the southeast, the Eastman Warriors are looking to form a women’s team.
Isi Masi notes that the Steinbach Regional Secondary School’s women’s rugby team is performing exceptionally well, and he hopes to give those players a chance to continue competing beyond high school.
“Winning games, tournaments, and I think it would be great to provide that opportunity for those girls to have a local club instead of going to Winnipeg. And so, I have put my hand up to coach this year and looking to just have a few exhibition games, few tournaments, and then next year, we want to include ourselves in the league to compete.”
He says the response to this initiative has been positive so far.
“I've had a few people that emailed and messaged on Facebook, which is great, [we are] looking for more people, the more the better. So, if you're interested in trying out a new sport, contact sport or maybe somewhere you're looking for something to do, run around and come join our women's rugby.”
The team is open to any skill level and encourages those who are interested to try it out.
“You don't really need any prior sport or rugby knowledge, just come on out if you think, ‘Hey, that's very cool’. You'll see that in rugby we have all different kinds of people on the rugby field.”
Masi says it’s exciting to see more women getting involved in rugby and thriving at the international level.
“I have to make mention of this, Canada women's, we're dominating in world rugby. Just in the last couple of weeks, we’ve beat some of the top teams, New Zealand and Australia. I think we're ranked number one probably right now.
“We're building very strong women in Canada, I guess.”
Masi says rugby is more than a sport, it's a community that welcomes everyone, no matter their background.
“There's a lot of people that have joined our programs that do have those challenging backgrounds, and they come, they're accepted into a community where you don't have to have X amount of things. You just come as you are, which is a beautiful thing, and the rugby community is very supporting. Those that have joined it, you stay friends for a very long time.”
He adds that once you are part of the rugby world, it opens doors everywhere you go.
“It's one of those things when travel, and you begin to find rugby friends and right away, it's just like I'm always being invited somewhere when I'm travelling, as soon as they hear about rugby,” says Masi.
Anyone interested in joining the women’s team can come out to practices at A.D. Penner Park on Mondays and Wednesdays.
“We have our training. 6 p.m. I would encourage you to bring any kind of rugby or soccer cleats, along with a water bottle, and we're good to go!”
To stay up to date, check out the Eastman Warriors Rugby Club on Facebook.
With files from Carly Koop
