Rugby in Arkansas – Legends and Leagues

Editor’s Note: The following is the first of two parts of the history of rugby in Arkansas and is provided to Sporting Life Arkansas with permission from the family and friends of Keri Young, and published in her memory.

Keri, a native of Zambia, was a member of the women’s rugby team in Little Rock, an artist and died in a car accident in 2011. She was 27.

Sporting Life Arkansas will publish the second part of her History of Rugby in Arkansas next week.

By Keri Young

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth; then he sent John Young to Little Rock – well, kind of…

Rugby in Little Rock started in Memphis.  In the late spring of 1973 John Young moved to Little Rock after playing four years of rugby at the University of Florida.  Having already had two years of coaching as the oldest and most experienced player at the university, he chose to reunite with his mentor, Phil Whyatt, playing rugby for the Memphis Bulls in the fall of 1974.

With the costs incurred by traveling to practice twice a week, every game being an ‘away’ game and the serious gasoline shortage John was encouraged to try and start a team in Little Rock.

One of the away games with the Memphis Bulls was at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.  At the social after the game John met several players who were going to graduate soon as well as some good contacts in Little Rock of alumni from the U of A.  He contacted several of these players in the spring of 1974 in an attempt to bring rugby to Little Rock.

The first attempt at holding a practice was a little disappointing in that only one person with no experience and a dog joined John!  However, the second practice really started things off with Dave Clark and Dick Harwell leading the recruiting.  That spring was all practice, some on the field, a lot in the bars, and a few choir practices all in preparation for their first game.

River City Rugby Club’s first game was won against the B side of the Memphis Bulls in the summer of 1974, and rugby was born in Little Rock, Ark.

Attending that first game was Warren Edris and a small group of experienced ruggers who were living at Little Rock Air Force Base.  Warren started a second team in the area, The Lyons Rugby Football Club that played their first game in the fall of 1974.  That fall also saw the first rugby tournament in Little Rock which was organized by the University of Arkansas Rugby Club.  This tournament soon became an annual affair better known – and still known today – as the Ozark Tournament.

During the spring of 1975 the two clubs organized the Arkansas Rugby Football Union and formally applied for membership to the governing body of the Western Rugby Football Union with four charter members:  RiverCity R.C., Lyons R.F.C., Fort Smith R.F.C. and the University of Arkansas R.F.C., Ouachita R.F.C and the University of Harding R.F.C joined in the fall of 1975.

In the winter of 1976 the name was changed to the Ozark Rugby Football Union to give a broader base to the area that the union would encompass.  In the spring of 1977 Siloam Springs R.F.C. joined the union and the University of Oklahoma joined during that summer.  In 1980 RiverCity R.C. and Lyons R.F.C joined together to form the Twin City R.F.C.  In 1985 Twin City became what it is still known as today – Little Rock Rugby Football Club.

In the spring of 1986, Little Rock Rugby Football Club went on tour to Ireland (25 players) and in 1989 there was a second tour, this time to England and Wales.

In 1986 Little Rock R.F.C won the Division I Ozark Union Championships and in 2000 after changing to division II won the Ozark Championships again in 2000, 2002, and 2003.  After the Ozark LAU dissolved in 2007, Little Rock Rugby Club applied and was admitted to the Mid South Rugby Union which is in the South Territory of USA Rugby.

Continued Friday, Feb. 8, 2013