Pennsbury senior Imani Nero outraces a South Jersey defender in a recent battle for the Hibernian Rugby Club Banshees. (photos by John Gleeson)
“I first joined because I had a friend who got the urge but didn’t want to go alone. I think what caught me initially was the fact that it was contact. There are not a lot of female contact sports out there. Next, was the adrenaline rush and the game itself. I’m in love with the game.” A former dancer who spent a good deal of her elementary school days at Newtown Friends School, Imani might not seem to possess the background normally associated with such a potentially violent activity. She does, however possess all the requisite moxie. She knows that a successful rugger, “needs a certain level of toughness.
“You can’t let everything get to you because stuff gets said on the field and you just have to let it go. If someone hits you, you have to let it roll off you.” She also realizes you need to be in top shape to survive the rugby wars. “With that toughness, you have to train so you don’t get hurt. We don’t wear pads so getting hurt is a prominent concern. You have to go to practice and work out and make sure you are physically fit.”
Having met the necessary physical and emotional requirements, the neophyte rugger must learn her craft, lessons that include techniques, strategy, and team awareness. Imani found the finesse part the most challenging.
“I think the toughest part was definitely getting my passes down and working the ball around the field. Tackling, once you do it the first time, is pretty easy but getting clean passes is pretty difficult.” Imani eagerly wanted to absorb as much about her new athletic love as possible.
“I learned by listening to ‘Murph’
(coach Mark Marseglia) talk. He throws stuff out there and you have to ask
a lot of questions. If I don’t know what’s going on, I’ll ask a ref.
Personally, in the beginning I looked a lot up online so I’d know what I
was doing.” Imani tested her research during the Banshees’
biweekly practice sessions held at Falls Park in Langhorne. The sessions
varied and focused on conditioning and learning the different positions.
“Every practice is different. We always run and do the basics like
passing and tackling. What we do the most is work on separating between
our forwards and backs. Imani’s strength, agility and speed landed
her a spot in what ruggers call the pack. “During practices, the pack
which I’m a part of works on scrums and the back line gets to work on
passing the ball out and getting ready to run up the field. Different
members of the team do different things at practice. I work a lot on
line-outs and scrums.”
Line-outs in essence require two girls to hoist a teammate into the air
where she battles an opponent for possession of the ball. It is a
treacherous play at best, one that suited Imani perfectly. “I got
picked because I did a lot of dance in my life so jumping wasn’t that
difficult. Most of the girls who do that have really long legs so they can
get higher.”
To perform her task smoothly, Imani needs complete faith in her base
players. “The people who throw me in the air are usually the two
strongest on the team. For me, I have a close bond with those two because
I’m putting my life in their hands when they lift me up.” Once
getting possession, Imani and her Banshee teammates set their game plan in
motion.
“We have set plays in the back of our minds. On the field, you tend not
to have the space to perform with precision. You can’t really see what
the other team is going to do. You have to get a feel for the game and
think of the plays as the game is going on.”
The Banshees appear to be masters of adjustment. Presently, they hold an
unblemished 5-0 mark as they enter the Eastern Pennsylvania Rugby Union
Under-19 playoffs. Imani credits strong team chemistry for her squad’s
success.
“We’re a good team this year. We work
together. We all have played together for two years. We have some new
girls but they’re strong. Together as a team, we should be able to push
forward and hopefully, we’ll make it to the finals.”
Imani’s rugby commitment will not end when the playoffs are over. A
senior at Pennsbury High School, she is designing a college career that
will definitely include rugby. “Right now, my focus is the Hibos
but then I want to play in college. I want to take rugby as far as I can
take it. I’m 110 percent committed to rugby. Next year, I am going to
start at the community college and then figure out what rugby school I
want to go to.” This is one stout-hearted warrior who is truly
dedicated to her sport.