Photo: Suzanne Sausville/WBZ NewsRadio
ROCKLAND, Mass (WBZ NewsRadio) — The U.S. is entering the women’s professional rugby world this month, and Boston has a team to represent.
The Boston Banshees are one of the six teams in Women’s Elite Rugby, the first professional women’s rugby league in the United States.
Head Coach Kittery Ruiz wanted to let sports fans know that they are joining the scene as the real deal, not watered down at all compared to their male counterparts and they’re giving it all they got.
“We have the same size ball, we have all the same laws, we get to be full contact,” Coach Ruiz said. “80 minutes, nonstop, hard-hitting, you should see really great tackles; our goal is to have a lot of misdirection and play fast and have fun.”
Coach Ruiz was holding practice at the HardKore Athletic Performance Center in Rockland, where the team prepares for their league debut.
Player Yeja Dunn talked about how wild of an experience this was for her and her teammates.
“It’s a little surreal, let’s put it that way, it feels a little surreal,” Dunn said.
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She also mentioned being able to call themselves professional athletes was itself a massive moment.
“This’ll be the first time I think many of us can call ourselves that, and that’s history, that’s legacy,” she said. “It’s definitely a dream come true to be a part of this legacy; and my background, I was actually part of the first time at Dartmouth that went varsity, so it’s been really cool to be part of a legacy of firsts.”
Player Jenny Kronish, standing at 6’2”, said that she’s the tallest woman in world rugby. She hopes that this massive step forward for the sport inspires others to be a part of it.
“My hope is that we inspire young boys and girls to start playing rugby,” Kronish said. “The more grassroots rugby we can start and inspire kids to pick up a ball and play, then that would be a huge success.”
The team plays in their first match in New York on March 22, with their first home game happening at Veteran’s Memorial Stadium in Quincy on March 29.
WBZ NewsRadio's Suzanne Sausville (@WBZSausville) reports.