And rugby's officially back in session

If this Saturday was any indication of how my rookie season with the Stingers is going to be, you can expect me to be quite the happy Pink for the next few months.

Exhausted.

But happy.

Our first game was an A-side match versus Chesapeake, played at the so-called Holocaust Field located next to the Smithsonian Holocaust Museum, across the street from the Washington National Monument. I haven't played on the mall since Cherry Blossom sophomore year, so that was quite a treat.

Apparently, the last time the Stingers played Chesapeake, the results were not so good, and everyone was determined to come out and show them who the better team was. I'm proud to say that we did, with gusto. The Stingers kicked ass 39-0, scoring six tries by six different people, with Heather kicking three conversions and one penalty. We worked at the early-season kinks as we played, improving the further into the game we got - at the half when the score stood at 12-0, Maddy insisted on another 30 points, and we did our best by adding 27 to the score board.

As for myself, I went in at lock in the second half, and ended up coming out a bit early when I hurt my shoulder [nothing serious, fine with a good stretching]. However, in the thirty minutes I was in, I managed a pretty decent showing - one of those six tries was mine. My first game, too! It was a "support" try; a few of my teammates had a good breakaway, and all I did was keep up with them in time to pick the ball out of the back of the ruck and dive the few meters into the tryzone.

Following the main event was a two-thirds Pax River/one-third Stingers side playing the Furies B. Pax River is a small side that has trouble getting a full side out to games (thus the Stinger supplements), but played a pretty decent game, though our motley didn't score any tries. I played the first twenty of this match as strong side flanker.


After the match finished up and we all slapped off most of the dust from the pitch, we headed to the Bottom Line for pasta and beer. With representatives from all four teams - Stingers, Chesapeake, Pax River, and Furies - it was a pretty busy time. I got to know my own teammates better, sat down and chatted with players I'd never met before, and reconnected with acquaintances I rarely see off the pitch.

Post-social I ended up heading straight to Baltimore for a teammate's bachelorette barcrawl - rugby-themed, so no need to stop home to grab clean clothes! It was a diverse collection of friends, from rugby, work, and school, and all of us did our best to give her a proper send-off before she heads into the wilds of matrimony.

All in all, a good Saturday to start the season.