THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 30, 1996 TAG: 9606300230
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 72 lines
Although the phrase started with just a couple of teammates, within seconds the words swept through the rugby pitch Saturday at Little Creek Amphibious Base until virtually every one of the 100 or so players and enthusiasts on hand focused on Sabrina Gean and picked up the refrain:
``Shoot the boot, ooh-ah! Shoot the boot, ooh-ah!''
Gean beamed as the chant reached its crescendo, allowing the words to cascade upon her like a warm shower. Then she hoisted teammate Kimberly Nicado's cowboy boot and commenced guzzling the 12 ounces of beer contained inside.
``Awesome!'' Gean said. ``I've been waiting since March to do that.''
The peculiar charm of this ritual, reserved for rugby rookies after they notch their first score, couldn't have been experienced by Gean or any of her teammates when the year began.
But when Annie Collier helped form the Tidewater Storm club team in late February, local women quickly discovered they had a new game in town, not to mention a fresh outlet for any pent-up frustration.
``You don't need a therapist,'' said the 5-foot-2, 125-pound Gean, a school teacher at the Jewish Community Center in Norfolk. ``Just go out there and tackle someone.''
Women's rubgy isn't really a new phenomenon.
At least 10 Virginia colleges provide the sport, with more expected to follow suit. The U.S. team has placed first and second in the two most recent World Cups.
And club teams in Northern Virginia have been around for years.
But the Storm's novice status wasn't noticeable during Saturday's Virginia State Games competition. Team members, who partied postgame like seasoned veterans, also acquitted themselves well when the ball was in play.
The Storm's second-place finish included a 31-5 drubbing of a college team from Radford and a respectable showing in a 20-0 loss to a powerful - and physical - squad from Northern Virginia in the championship game.
``I got punched in the face - not once, but twice,'' the Storm's Kam Kelly said.
Left unsaid was the fact that Kelly, while not a dirty player, apparently gives as good as she gets.
Her teammates, who range in age from 20-34, consider the 5-1, 105-pound Kelly the team's best hitter.
That the diminutive Kelly, who played four years of rugby at Old Dominion, can succeed in such a physical sport helps shatter the myth that only the big and musclebound rugby hopefuls need apply for the women's game, Collier said.
``If you're a big, thick, strong woman, they don't want you in soccer, but sure, that's just what we're looking for,'' Collier said.
``But if you're small and fast, we'll put you out on the wing. We've got a position for every size and body type.''
Neither, say the players, is rubgy the sole domain of women with an extreme masculine bent. But on this score, the players refuse to waste much time straightening folks out.
For example, Gean will launch an offensive against anyone questioning her sexuality.
``I mean, who do they think they are?'' Gean said. ``What gives them the right?''
Added Collier, ``Let's just play.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photos
L. TODD SPENCER
The Norfolk Blues ``B'' rugby team, solid shirts, battles for
possession against the West End Old Boys in the State Games. The
Springfield, Va., team won the match and the division title.
The West End Old Boys, striped shirts, begin to make their move
after a scrum in Saturday's championship match against the Norfolk
Blues ``B'' squad at the Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base. by CNB