Growing rugby in the Midlands

While youth rugby is very popular in neighboring North Carolina, there are few teams in South Carolina.A group of USC rugby connected volunteers are working to change that.

Last month, the group founded the Midlands Youth Rugby Association (MYRA) and began reaching out to area recreation departments, prospective coaches, and sponsors. MYRA plans to host two rugby clinics in February to teach high-school aged boys the game. In March, the players will be split into teams and games will be played in April and May. All the games will be held in Columbia.

There will be little or no cost to players as sponsors will cover field, equipment, referee, and uniform costs.

“There is no greater sporting community than rugby,” said John Hinks, Jr., a branch manager for Lending Path Mortgage, who is spearheading the effort. “Rugby is a tough game, but it teaches resilience, teamwork, and accountability. It changes lives for the good and we want to expose more young people to this incredible game."

Community volunteerism is not new for Hinks. He is a founding member of Camp Cole, currently serves on the advisory board for Camp Kemo and is a past member of the Carolina Rugby Foundation (a group that supports the University of South Carolina Men’s rugby club).

Other members of the board include Robert Balmer (chairman of the Carolina Rugby Foundation), USC head rugby coach John Roberts, assistant coach Matthew Shoemaker and Brandon Tillman, a wellness coach and trainer.

While a standard rugby game is played with 15 players per side, the first MYRA teams will play 10-a-side rugby. It’s a faster paced game that will give the organization the flexibility to form more teams.

“The biggest barriers to forming new teams are travel, costs and recruiting enough players to play a season,” said Hinks. “Our model eliminates those barriers. This year, we hope to get a handful of teams to compete in the Columbia area. As we grow the league, we can expand to form bigger teams that are capable to traveling to Charlotte, Greenville, and Charleston to play against youth teams there.”

The first rugby clinic will be held Feb. 3, 10 a.m. to noon at Owens Field Park (1401 Jim Hamilton Blvd.) and will be led by USC Coach John Roberts. Prospective players should wear athletic gear and cleats.  Players and volunteers can sign up to attend through the Midlands Youth Rugby Website.