The Malta women’s rugby team placed 13th in the Women’s 7s European Championship this year. When you consider that there are only around 40 female players to pick a team from, this result is even more of a success for the country. Women’s rugby is a new sport in every country, so our team stands a great chance of progressing.

But why rugby, of all sports?

I met the women of Birkirkara Alligators Women’s Rugby Football Club at the Linfetti training ground before their Tuesday training session, all in black shorts and T-shirts. My first question was: why choose rugby over other sports? Sarah, who has been playing rugby for six years, says: “It’s fast, it’s fun and it’s all about team spirit. In fact the best player is the one who makes the team better.”

Deborah: “I admit that my friends dragged me along, but I really enjoy it and find the team work helps me in everyday life too.”

Annabelle: “My brother-in-law had encouraged me to try it. I stopped football due to an injury and tried other sports. I like rugby because it’s aggressive and fun.”

Nadia has been playing since the sport’s early days: “I’m a PE teacher and I’ve tried all sorts of sports and nothing beats rugby. Unlike football, where there is only so much you can do, say, in a tackle, in rugby you keep on fighting until you get the ball. Rugby helps you get rid of any pent-up stress and gives you a real sense of achievement because everyone gets to handle the ball, the chance to score a try and tackle.

“You end up as fit as a fiddle. Mentally you have to be there too, there are a lot of tactics to learn and techniques you have to get right so you don’t get hurt. It’s very focused. Injuries only happen in freak accidents or if a technique hasn’t been executed correctly.

“Possibly the biggest plus of rugby is the social life. You play abroad, you get to play against foreign teams which come over quite regularly, to enjoy our weather. The Alligators have played against Oxford and Cambridge universities and a Welsh team.

Then there are the ‘three halves’ in a match: two 15-minute sides and the one that takes place in the pub afterwards. The ‘home bar’ is a bar that is the main sponsor of the team, in this case Lo Squero, and both teams end up there afterwards for a drink.”

Looks dangerous, but isn’t

Apparently you don’t have to be aggressive to play rugby, and nor do you need to have a certain figure type. Rugby has its roots in the army, so the terminology is war-based. It’s all about the team gaining ground together in a territorial way. The “forwards” tend to be shorter, stronger and a stockier build because they are like a “fortifying wall”, while the “backs” need to be faster, and can be thinner because they are the “shooting soldiers”. So whatever fitness level and build, you can find a position that suits you.

The thought of voluntarily crashing into a number of other people is frightening. How dangerous is rugby? Sarah explains that because you are trained to do it, you don’t get hurt. She has never had an injury in the six years she’s been playing.

The Rugby Board doesn’t allow play in summer, however the team still has fun by playing beach rugby, which is actually a more demanding game. On 1 August the Alligators raised e500 for Puttinu Cares in a beach rugby match and they will be doing it again in October.

The team is making an appeal for more sponsors. Although they have Lo Squero and Cisk Lager as main sponsors, more money is always needed.

Monies go towards renting the pitch, medical expenses, touring abroad and the kit. The kit has to be good quality and strong because part of the game is grabbing the opponents by the top. Once a design for the kit is decided on, no other team in the world can have the same one, which explains why it is pricey. The team has three kits, one to train in, another for playing and the last is a social kit, worn by the team when they go to the home bar after a match, whose function is to create a group identity.

The Birkirkara local council has been extremely supportive to the team and will be providing the Alligators with their own training ground in December. At the moment they play at Hibernians for national games, train at Birkirkara Linfetti on Tuesdays and league matches are played at Marsa on Saturdays. “We’d love a quality pitch. You can imagine what state the pitch gets into with all the teams playing there, including the men and youths. There is also a lack of changing rooms or showers and seating capacity.”

A great time to join

Women’s rugby has been played in Malta for only six years. There are four women’s rugby teams: Birkirkara Alligators and Valletta Lions will both be playing their first seasons, while the more experienced teams are Cavalieri Hamrun and Falcons Marsa. For the first time, women’s rugby will have two leagues this year, a 7s league and one for 10 players. Birkirkara Alligators women’s team players range in age from 18 to 36 and are coached by Phil Gibbs.

For any woman looking for a new sport to take on, rugby appears to have many attractive qualities. “At this point in time, the main concern of our team, the other clubs and the union is that all players get a chance to play. It’s not about winning,“ says Sarah. “Especially during a 10-a-side, we play rolling subs where players are on and off. We play everyone.”

So even though you might be a novice player, don’t imagine that you will be spending all your time looking on from the sideline.

No previous sport experience is needed, nor is a high fitness level – that will come from training. All of the players agreed it is a very rewarding sport because you get fit, you burn fat, it’s social and you can go far, even branching out into coaching and refereeing: “You get up close to the men’s action…” someone explained.

Sarah: “This is a good time to join because our team is still a novice one and Valletta is too. Having another team at the same level is more encouraging. The last novice team which used to lose all the time actually ended up disbanding due to a lack of morale. This won’t happen to us.”

The whole team is keen to press another point home: they are constantly battling the mistaken idea that there is a stereotypical type of woman who plays rugby. So let’s kick that one out the window.

Now I can’t think of a single reason not to play rugby.

Anyone interested in sponsoring or joining Birkirkara Alligators can call Sarah on 9985 8797 or email: [email protected]. The club’s website is www.alligatorsrfc.com