Playing college rugby?

Question

I really want to play a sport in college and my things in high school have been cross country wrestling and track and I've been varsity in every one, one of the bigger kids I used to wrestle started playing and said it was the best thing he ever did and he was 6th in state wrestling in a really hard class so that really got me thinking, My deal is I'm about 6 feet and a little under 160 pounds, so I'm far more on the fast side than just hard to move, and strength isn't an issue, wrestling workouts have done me plenty good there so... what possition should I go out for at my size etc, also, how can I best prepare to not get killed by the Poly's that every team has, also, am I going to get targeted if I wear a padded helmet for my ears or should I just tape them down, I'm not likely to be in the scrum but I want to protect my head, ears anyways. lastly the ncaa wont recognize rugby as a sport, should that be a deturrent or not a problem, thanks

Answer 1

I would go out for center (in rugby that's a backfield position) Get a little experience passing, and running with the ball. Maybe, if you have a good boot, you can go to fly-half in a year or two. Forget about the NCAA, they're only interested in the money sports. They do nothing but siphon money, and give the athletes grief.

Answer 2

"Cross country wrestling"

ooh er thats that about then ????

Answer 3

Start off at the wing mate, it lets you see a good bit of ball, if you have a competant back line, and allows you to watch the game to get a grasp of whats going on.  at 160 pounds and 6ft, you are a little on the light side for center, and at center you do need good vision, know your runnig game and ba able to pass both out wide, inside and in an offload, if some of these terms arn't making sense, then you definitly gotta be a winger.  too many people that start playing watch it on TV, think they can go be a star right off the bat and end up picking up bad habits and playing sh*t rugby, take your time, listen to your coach, and go from there.  He'll make the best decision on how well you pick up the game.   Best of luck from a fellow rugger.  (P.S. if what I said pis**s you off, don't worry you'll get this all the time in the rugby world... enjoy).  Also wearing a padded helmet isn't a bad thing, not alot of backs don't wear them, but a few do, the only target you'll become is one of a few jokes from the opposing team, but they'll probably do that anyway, its called heckling, and thats normal too.  with the NCAA not recognizing it as a sport, all it takes is 40 colleges to recognize it as a varsity sport and it becomes NCAA goverened.