Westborough High School’s spring sport season is just around the corner- with this comes the return of the Westborough rugby co-op with Algonquin. Although this will be the fourth year of the boys co-op with Algonquin, it will be the first year that girls interested in rugby at WHS will be able to participate in a co-op as well.

For those who don’t know much about rugby, it can best be described as a combination of football and soccer. Assistant coach Benjamin Wallace explains, “You pass, catch, and tackle like football, but it is open and continuous play with kicking like soccer.”

Because of the variety of skills embedded in rugby, people of all sorts of athletic backgrounds can contribute to the team. Coach Wallace includes that, “The good thing about rugby is that players need all kinds of athletic abilities, including size, strength, speed, and endurance, but no one player has all of these abilities. So, the players really have to work together as a team.”

Players of all sorts of ages are continuously joining the rugby program. Whether it be freshmen or seniors, the coaches know that players are new, and unlike most high school sports, kids can join the team without ever having played before. 

Most weeks, practices run from Monday through Wednesdays, with a game on Thursday, followed by a light practice on Friday. Signups for rugby are the same as any other sport, and can be completed through FamilyID by March 12th, with the season officially beginning on the 13th. Those interested in playing should also plan on attending the spring sports meeting at Algonquin High School on 3/12 at 6:00 p.m. For more information, you can contact head coach of the boys team Dominic McNeil at [email protected], or head coach of the girls team Emily Philibin at [email protected].