UNITED STATES QUAD RUGBY ASSOCIATION

November, 2001

Major League Rugby meets the USQRA
By Ryan Nichols

About six months ago while watching my buddy, Joe Indrieri of the Las Vegas Blackjacks, play in a Major League Rugby (MLR) event in Newport Beach, I had the opportunity to get to know many of the other players on his team. It soon came to their attention that I played Quad Rugby, and this of course sparked an interest to learn more about our sport. First question they all seemed to have was “How do you guys scrum”? At that point I realized that I needed to explain the differences before the similarities. They became intrigued by the modifications and especially liked the idea of full chair-to-chair contact.

Thanks to the success of the US’s Paralympic and International Wheelchair Rugby teams, some players were familiar with our sport and mentioned that they’d like to see a game sometime. Anthony Hunter, President of MLR suggested an exhibition match to help us gain more exposure for the USQRA and the MLR organization. He invited us to play a few games during their Championship in Las Vegas, where over 500 MLR players from teams all across the US were to compete on November 2-4, 2001.

It all sounded great to me, however when we checked the dates on the Rugby Calendar it didn’t look good since three other tournaments were already scheduled in November. On top of that, the USQRA’s High Performance Training Program athletes were going to be away for a training camp that same weekend. Fortunately, several other players  expressed interest and soon we had enough people to form approximately three teams. The ideal would have been to have had 6 to 8 teams, but players decided that Vegas was a great place to be no matter what, and a little rugby during the day would only make it that much better. Playtime would not be tough to find.

Players arrived on Friday night with the opportunity to watch a late night MLR rugby match in Buckskin Basin. Some people attended the game to learn more about the sport we claim to splinter from. Others just had a good time gambling and well…doing the Vegas scene.

Saturday morning we all met at the University of Las Vegas gym to play a few games against each other and just have a good time banging around. San Diego had almost their full squad along so they played as a team and used the time to practice lineups for the approaching Best of the West tournament. This day was meant to be casual without much MLR interaction since they were playing at another remote field. We scrimmaged against each other for most of the day, making small changes in lineups for Sunday until about 3pm. From there, we all traveled over to Buckskin Basin, a huge series of fields, to watch and learn more about conventional rugby.

Once we arrived many Quad Ruggers had a great time trying to figure out the game. Unfortunately, we came ill prepared for the change in temperature and some had to leave a little early. Most of us had left the gym when it was still about 80 degrees outside. Within a few hours the sun had set and we were quickly reminded that the desert temperature changes rapidly. There we were on the sidelines, wind blowing, tank tops (somewhat wet), trying to watch the game. For some it just got too cold and the only way to recover was to head back. We were invited to attend the MLR’s party at the Hard Rock Hotel, which some of us Quad Ruggers decided to do. We met with other ruggers and had a great time.  It was a very late night…as it should be in Vegas.

On Sunday morning we again met at the UNLV gym. On this day we planned to have more MLR interaction since they were playing on local fields near to us. We started off with a game, but in the early afternoon we decided that it might be more fun to have the Las Vegas Blackjacks and other ruggers play with us rather than just show them. We quickly mixed it up and put a few of their players into rugby chairs so that they would have the opportunity to experience our version of the sport firsthand.

Terry Luxemburger of Casa Colina volunteered to referee the game and explained some basic rules to the rookies. Soon we were banging chairs and everyone was having a great time. More importantly, the able-bodied ruggers learned a new appreciation for our sport. Wesley of the Blackjacks, said, “Its definitely harder to play than it looks”. Larry Doiron, class 1.0 of Casa Colina said,  “most of the able-bodied players commented about how difficult it was to throw an accurate pass to another person in a chair. They soon realized that passes needed to be accurate and well-timed because there was such little room for error”. 

The Blackjack players often were reminded that each player has different advantages or disadvantages. For example, when we had a .5 inbound the ball, they were often past half-court, barely open and asking for a “line drive” pass. We had to explain that a .5 doesn’t have use of his triceps so they would need to get closer in order to receive a less risky pass. “This is pretty cool—wish I could play a lot more often- I’m gonna be sore tomorrow”, said Joe Indrieri of the Blackjacks.

Overall, everyone seemed to have a great time in Vegas whether we were playing rugby, scrimmaging against the able-bodied ruggers, or just partying till dawn and winning at the tables. Anthony Hunter has invited the USQRA to come back each year and said, “I hope that this might grow into an annual event where two of the biggest forms of rugby competition could be played along side each other”.  “With more advance notice there is no reason that this couldn’t grow into a major event with some of the best teams in the USQRA playing here each year.  This partnership can only benefit both parties and bring more exposure and credibility to the seriousness of our sport and athletes”.  

MLR will have dates for next year’s event set soon so keep your eye on the Rugby Calendar at www.quadrugby.com for details. Special thanks are extended to Ed Suhr and the USQRA for their financial sponsorship; Mac Hayes, director of the UNLV gym for his rate reductions and help; Anthony Hunter, President of MLR for organizing so much; John Bishop, webmaster for the USQRA for his help with postings and contacts. And of course, to all of you who played and gave their support during the weekend.

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