Id nos vinixisemus'

One of my favorite mottoes for a rugby team, "Id nos vinixisemus" -- "we should've won that one" comes from Mossley Hill RUFC in England.

I can't verify the authenticity of the Latin -- I'm pretty sure that should be vinxissemus --- (the pluperfect subjective) --- but perhaps I have it wrong. In any event, its a fun one.

The Laws are the law...

In an effort to report about relevant sports law, here is an oldie but one of the few American cases involving the sport of rugby, D'Agostino v. Karjewsi, 89 CIV. 0131 (S.D.N.Y. 1990) [UNPUBLISHED]. Before I recite the facts, let me just say that every sport (even wiffle ball) has cases of injury and foul play. This case does not reflect on Rugby as a whole, rugby players, etc... Rather, it is one unfortunate incident. However, there is a lesson for all players... the Laws of the Game are the law.

In 1988, Old Blue RFC and Mystic River RFC were playing a game at the Can-AM Rugby Tournament. During the game, a Mystic player was lying on the ball during a ruck. The sir called the penalty and blew the whistle to stop play. After the whistle, an Old Blue player the defendant "ran towards" the player on the ground and kicked him in the face. The sir penalized Old Blue and sent the player off immediately.

The injured player later sued the player who kicked him, Old Blue Rugby Club, its Captain and officers (on the theory that they were negligent in recruitment and discipline of the player (who was a professional playing in an amateur game), the tournament organizers (because they were negligent in inviting Old Blue to play in the tournament and should have been aware of Old Blue's reputation for violence).

The defendants moved to dismiss the lawsuit based on the "assumption of risk" doctrine --i.e. that the player, by entering the rugby game, understood the risks and by playing the game "consented to those injury-causing events which are known, apparent or reasonably foreseeable consequences of the participation." This doctrine is generally true, but where the conduct which causes injury was "reckless or intentional" the person can be held liable and potentially those individuals (like the team captain/officers/coaches) who knew or should have known about the player's propensity to play outside the rules.

In denying the motion to dismiss, the court noted that the injury occurred after the whistle had stopped play for the first penalty. The question of whether the injury was "foreseeable" (and therefore within the "assumption of risk" doctrine) depends on factors, including but not limited to "the ultimate purpose of the game and the method or methods of winning it; the relationship between the defendant's conduct to the game's ultimate purpose, especially his conduct with respect to rules and customs whose purpose is to enhance safety of the participants; and the equipment involved in playing the game."

In analyzing these factors, court noted that the type of play involved in the case (i.e. kicking a player after the whistle had blown) had no relationship to the rules of the game of rugby:

Although rugby is an inherently rough contact sport, the act of kicking someone after play has been stopped has no relation to a team's ultimate purpose of gaining possession of or advancing the ball.

Furthermore, such an act is a flagrant violation of the rules of rugby, which state "it is illegal for any player willfully to hack or kick an opponent or to trip him with the foot, or to trample on the opponent lying on the ground."

Therefore, because the player's conduct was flagrantly outside of the laws of Rugby, the judge allowed the claim to proceed to trial. Moreover, the court found that there were material issues of fact as to whether Old Blue, its officer and captain and the tournament organizers should have known that this player had a tendency to flagrantly violate the Laws of rugby when playing.

The lesson for coaches and players should be obvious. We can't tolerate dangerous play and coaches must be sure to discipline players appropriately (i.e. suspending players who have been issued red cards by the sir) and instructing players regarding proper play.

Let me just say one more time -- this isn't a rugby issue. The Court's ruling was actually based on an suit involving jockeys and horse racing, Turcotte v. Fell, 68 N.Y.2d 432 (1986).

The All Star Matches

This past weekend the Midwest U-19 team defeated the Pacific coast team 29-19 to win the all-star tournament held in Nashville. The Midwest U-19 team contained its contingent of Wisconsin high school players from DSHA and Kettle Moraine. Of note, Tony Cattani from KM played Fly-half for the Thunderbirds, the MidwestU-19 select side, and scored one of the 5 tries leading to their victory over the Pacific coast. Congratulations to our Territorial union for this big win!

The U-17 Eagles, which also had a Wisconsin contingent took 5th place with a 24-0 victory over Mid-Atlantic u-19 select side.

Sanctissimum Iisden Studiis Initiari Vinculum Amicitiae

Every club needs a Latin motto. Perhaps that's not true, but I like them all the same. Since it's the off-season, I thought I would post some of the more interesting ones (or ones which I can find) on the blog. This motto 'Sanctissimum iisden studiis initiari vinculum amicitiae' translates to 'Common pursuits make firm friends." This is the motto of Camp Hill RFC which was founded in 1883 at King Edward VI grammar school in England.

Around the high school girls rugby community at least two clubs have a Latin mottoes:

• Fortis et Audax (Strong and Bold) is the motto which appeared on the crest (the yellow and red roses) of the DSHA RFC in the early years. The crest has lost the Latin motto, but it retains the roses.
• Caritas in Omnibus (Charity in all things) is the school motto for CMH.

Along with the practical law for rugby players, we'll throw in some Latin mottoes until the season starts up in the Spring.

The trials and tribulations of coaching...

In a story reported by the New York Post, BASE ACCUSATION , back in May a parent sued Little League Baseball and her son's coach after the player was injured while sliding into a base. The parent alleged that the coach failed to equip the player with the skill necessary to safely play baseball.

If a parent is willing to sue a baseball coach for not teaching a kid to slide, just think what a parent would do if a coach didn't teach a player to properly tackle, scrum, ruck, etc... Coaches should really spend the time getting USARFU certifications and reading up on teaching safety to their players. Clubs should invest in their coaches and help defray the cost of training program for these volunteers (with one or two notable exceptions). Investing in coach training makes the sport safer and more enjoyable for all. Having said that, I think our Wisconsin teams have an excellent record of both coaches and sirs stressing safety first when training new players. Let's keep up the good work and not end up like that ruffian sport, baseball.

Since its the off-season, I will try to report on some of those pesky legal topics that surround the rugby community. Hopefully, this will be of interest to some readers.

U-20 Eagles

USA Rugby announced the U-20 Eagles team that will competing in the Under 19 Invitational National All-Star Championships (INASC) to be held in Nashville, Tenn., on November 16-17, 2007. The squad includes forward Maggie Reidy and back Lauren Franzen , both from D.S.H.A.

Congratulations girls and good luck this weekend.

Girls Health In Wisconsin

The Journal Sentinel reported this story on a study by Alverno College on the state of high school girls in Wisconsin, in terms of education and health issues. One particular quote stood out:

Another mystery that emerged from the report relates to girls' health. They watch less television than their male counterparts, but report falling below recommended levels of physical activity.

"They're not exactly couch potatoes, but what is it? Are they texting on their phones?" O'Brien said. "We want interpretation from girls who are living it."

Our community, i.e. rugby in Wisconsin, offers high school girls something unique. It is an opportunity for a girl to become fully involved in a sport, even if she has not been participating and playing it since she was 3 years old. This provides an opportunity for everyone from star athletes who are burnt out on another sport to girls who just never found thier niche. The Wisconsin rugby community should be proud of its efforts and should recognize that what we do is more than just a shot at a winning a sports competition, but an opportunity to help young women thrive.

The full report is available on the Wisconsin Women's Council website.

News from the Colonies (i.e. us)

The Front Row Union (FRU), a rugby website from Ulster, Ireland, gave a mention to the Wisconsin High School Girls on their webzine (the Nov. 4th 2007, Issue 75) in their "News from the Colonies" column (near the bottom).

The FRU prominently features profiles of the UWM Panther players in anticipation of their Midwest Final 4 match this weekend, Nov. 10th. Good luck to the Panthers as they take on Bowling Green in their upcoming semi-final match.

Our First Alumna Eagle!

The Women's Rugby Review blog reported the line-up for the Women's Eagles for their tour of England in December. What is notable is that Kati McCormick, who currently plays for the Univ. of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, will be joining the Eagles as a lock.

While alumnae of Wisconsin high school teams have featured prominently on the US U-19 team and even on the U-23 team, Kati's selection for the tour represents the first time an alumna of a Wisconsin high school team has been selected as a senior side Eagle. Kati played with the Kettle Moraine Knightmares for 4 years while in high school and was part of the 2004 team which placed 2nd at the NIT. Here is a picture of Katie (in blue) taking a tackle at the 2004 NIT, when KM earned a 2nd place finish.

Congratulations to Katie! Wisconsin will be rooting for you.