Rugby forward Gilbert Marquez says when you finish a football game, you feel like you were in a really good fight, but when you finish playing rugby, you feel like you were in a car accident.
Because of injuries last semester, the women's and men's teams now each have 15 players - exactly the amount it takes to fill out one side of the field. Players have to be ready to tough out an entire 80-minute game said Joe Lane, assistant coach of both teams.
"Right now we're a little bit limited," he said. "The 15 guys that start the game are going to have to finish the game. They're going to have to be fit, be ready to play ball and hopefully, we don't get any injuries."
Lane said though all of the team's members are important, one of the its strengths is the international players, including Fraser Leavasa from Samoa and Dumile Jijana from South Africa.
Leavasa has been playing rugby his whole life, Lane said, unlike his American teammates who began in other sports. The international recruits, he said, bring valuable experience to the field.
All but one of the players on the women's team are from New Mexico, and head coach Shannon Robinson said he expects them to have a good season.
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"Every girl has wanted to score a touchdown," he said. "We figured that out, and we asked every incoming freshman that question, 'Have you ever wanted to score a touchdown?' and if they said 'yes' then we invited them in. It's an opportunity for them to experience what it's like to play a brutal game."
Robinson said the teams need more players right now, and skills from soccer, basketball, baseball and football transfer well into rugby.
"It's like the grandfather of football," he said. "Everything in football came from us."
Both teams have qualified for the first round of the National Western Conference tournament in early March. But first, Leavasa said, the teams have other things to focus on.
"Right now, we're just trying to get through every game, just beat every team one by one," he said. "We're not concentrating on nationals."
The men's team is, however, thinking about the televised Feb. 28 game against defending national champions Air Force Academy, said team captain Scott Kinsella. Last spring, Air Force beat UNM by one point in a 15-16 game by scoring a try during stoppage time. Air Force is also a rival for the women because the team is nearby and plays UNM often, said forward Nicole Kyser.
"I just love playing a good team," Kyser said. "They stomped us last season, but it was our first game, and they are No. 1 in the country. I think we might just give them a run for their money."
On Feb. 28 the women will face off against Northern Arizona University. Both games will be under the lights of University Stadium.
