Rugby football runs rampant in Jacksonville

At the University of North Florida's jam-packed Hodges stadium, more than 5,000 rugby fanatics and newcomers to the sport, watched a heated battle between the Leeds Rhinos and the Salford City Reds.

On Saturday, Jan. 17, the reigning world champion rugby league team, the Leeds Rhinos, and the United Kingdom national champion team, the Salford City Reds, played 80 minutes of intense rugby in an exhibition match. This match was a preseason preview of a future match between the two teams in September of this year.

The match was an even match-up with both teams wrestling each other to the ground fighting each trying to recover the ball. In the last few minutes, the Leeds Rhinos came back from a 10-0 deficit to win 10-12.

Last year, the Leeds Rhinos beat the South Sydney Rabbitohs, who are partially owned by actor Russell Crowe, in a match that brought 12,000 fans to the stadium.

Greg Hrmr, a Leeds native who owns a villa in Davenport, Fla., is one of the fans who is very appreciative of Jacksonville's effort to house international rugby events.

"It's fantastic for me. Just keep 'em coming," said Hrmr in reference to the rugby games being housed at UNF.

However, the game at UNF isn't just meant to bring rugby fans together to cheer on two of the best teams in the world. Many hope that the game will also encourage Jacksonville natives to learn about the sport of rugby and to support one of Jacksonville's four rugby teams.

Randy Dewey, a 20-year-old FCCJ graduate majoring in communication, plays for both the UNF Deadbirds rugby union team and the Jax Axe rugby league team.

Dewey was also the only rugby player from Florida to try out for the USA national rugby team. He made the team as an alternate, and he is going to Atlanta in March for the USA South Collegiate Tryouts.

"I play semi-professionally for the Jacksonville Axemen, but I do see a future with me playing rugby professionally in the United States or Ireland," said Dewey. "I hope to study abroad at Leeds [Metropolitan University] and play rugby for them."

Leeds Metropolitan University also came to FCCJ's North and South campuses on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively, with information about studying abroad and rugby.

Mark McKinley, a business management graduate from Leeds Metropolitan, and Laura Clarke, a sports science graduate from Leeds Metropolitan, taught a few dozen students about how to play rugby.

After teaching the FCCJ students on some of the basics of rugby, the students played a pick-up game in the field. After the game, several students were itching to play again.

Other students at FCCJ are already playing rugby for teams. Adam Mackoul, a 22-year-old business management major, and Ben Conner, a 21-year-old exercise science major, both play for the UNF Deadbirds rugby union team. The team is open to all Jacksonville college students.

"This past season, in the fall, was my first year playing. I hung out with all of them and over the summer I saw the Axemen playing and I fell in love with the sport," said Conner. "We are all a big family out there, I mean you are playing and putting yourself on the line for each other."

"The games are definitely getting bigger and bigger. Right now we have over 200 fans at every game," said Mackoul, who is hoping to try out for the Jacksonville Axemen during the summer.

Some students love the game for its ferocity.

"We, the learning center people, used to play like every Friday. If they hit you, you're gonna die. They hit you and you're done," said Malick Seck, a computer science major at South Campus.

At the University of North Florida's jam-packed Hodges stadium, more than 5,000 rugby fanatics and newcomers to the sport, watched a heated battle between the Leeds Rhinos and the Salford City Reds.

On Saturday, Jan. 17, the reigning world champion rugby league team, the Leeds Rhinos, and the United Kingdom national champion team, the Salford City Reds, played 80 minutes of intense rugby in an exhibition match. This match was a preseason preview of a future match between the two teams in September of this year.

The match was an even match-up with both teams wrestling each other to the ground fighting each trying to recover the ball. In the last few minutes, the Leeds Rhinos came back from a 10-0 deficit to win 10-12.

Last year, the Leeds Rhinos beat the South Sydney Rabbitohs, who are partially owned by actor Russell Crowe, in a match that brought 12,000 fans to the stadium.

Greg Hrmr, a Leeds native who owns a villa in Davenport, Fla., is one of the fans who is very appreciative of Jacksonville's effort to house international rugby events.

"It's fantastic for me. Just keep 'em coming," said Hrmr in reference to the rugby games being housed at UNF.

However, the game at UNF isn't just meant to bring rugby fans together to cheer on two of the best teams in the world. Many hope that the game will also encourage Jacksonville natives to learn about the sport of rugby and to support one of Jacksonville's four rugby teams.

Randy Dewey, a 20-year-old FCCJ graduate majoring in communication, plays for both the UNF Deadbirds rugby union team and the Jax Axe rugby league team.

Dewey was also the only rugby player from Florida to try out for the USA national rugby team. He made the team as an alternate, and he is going to Atlanta in March for the USA South Collegiate Tryouts.

"I play semi-professionally for the Jacksonville Axemen, but I do see a future with me playing rugby professionally in the United States or Ireland," said Dewey. "I hope to study abroad at Leeds [Metropolitan University] and play rugby for them."

Leeds Metropolitan University also came to FCCJ's North and South campuses on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively, with information about studying abroad and rugby.

Mark McKinley, a business management graduate from Leeds Metropolitan, and Laura Clarke, a sports science graduate from Leeds Metropolitan, taught a few dozen students about how to play rugby.