By John Kelly
Daily Bruin Contributor
Question: Where can someone find a bound hooker at UCLA?
Answer: The Bruin Rugby Team.
Describing a rather large and burly gentleman as a "hooker" is
often bad for one’s health, but it is a weekly event on the
Intramural Field.
The hooker, the center of the rugby scrum (which is somewhat
analogous to the offensive line of a football team), "hooks" the
ball and the scrum-half (the quarterback) receives it and tosses it
in-between the scrums of the opposing teams.
The scrums, which are groups of eight players "bound" onto one
another by circling their arms around each other, push and shove in
an attempt to gain possession of the ball.
The remaining seven players line up on the sideline across the
field, hoping that their scrum will gain possession of the ball so
that they can advance it up the field.
In past years, finding enough players to put two scrums together
to practice was a problem for the Bruin ruggers.
Since the heyday of the sport at UCLA, when the team won 11
national championships between 1967 and 1981, both the number and
the quality of the players has declined. A series of scandals
struck the team, ending its status as one of UCLA’s NCAA
sports.
However, the Bruins have rebuilt under head coach Darren
Maloney, who has put together a set of players that have become the
backbone of this year’s team.
"We’ve built an infrastructure for the team," Maloney said.
"We’ve also built a common understanding among our players, a sense
of the game that can be very difficult to acquire."
Sense of the game is a big problem in rugby, since most
Americans have little experience with the flow or the feeling of
the game.
The style of play, with its tackling and running, is similar to
football. The passing and teamwork have clear parallels in soccer,
the game that rugby evolved from.
The lack of a forward pass and emphasis on kicking, however, can
make the transition tough for many former soccer and football
players.
The Bruins are a far cry from the elite rugby schools such as
West Point, Stanford and Cal. They will have to work hard to
improve their league record from last year, a disappointing
1-6.
Making that job more difficult is the departure of several key
players, among them Dave Burton, a standout who played impressively
for the Bruins at scrum-half.
"We’ve only lost two starters," Maloney said. "Our core group is
composed of juniors, and they have grown together as a team.
"In addition, we’ve got a set of four or five coaches that are
providing a lot of energy. Our last game was a win over Long Beach
State, the first time we’ve beaten them in 10 years. So, our
prospects are good."
The Bruins will most likely have problems with UC Santa Barbara,
UC San Diego and San Diego State, which are all on UCLA’s league
schedule.
Also on the schedule for this crop of ruggers is an
international tour, scheduled for spring break, through England and
Ireland.
The game is widely played at both the amateur and professional
level throughout the former British Commonwealth. Some of the best
teams come from England, New Zealand and South Africa.
The UCLA club is in the process of lining up matches against a
variety of British teams, and should face stiff competition on the
international circuit.
The Bruins’ best chances for victory will probably be in the
SCRFU, the Southern California Rugby Football Union.
Maloney will start finding out on Oct. 8, on the I.M. Field,
when his team meets for the first time.