Amy Weis
Sports Reporter

Born with a soccer ball at her feet, Mesa State College student-athlete Samantha Miller has been active in sports her entire life. After walking onto the Lady Mavericks soccer team and playing for a year and a half, the junior decided the typical college sport wasn’t for her. This semester, Miller learned that she could put her soccer cleats to use for a new club sport on campus – women’s rugby.
“She is a very fast learner; I have never really seen any new player pick up the game and the rules as quickly as Sam did,” said coach, and teammate Bobby Bouchard. “She’s extremely competitive and naturally athletic. Sam is a beast on the rugby field and we’re lucky to have her playing on our team.”
Once considered a brutal and violent game, rugby was invented to develop character and teach teamwork to privileged, upper-class citizens. However, modern rugby has transformed into a fast-paced game of skill and determination. Each team plays with 15 players. All have specific roles to perform. With the protection of only a simple mouth guard, the traditional physicality is preserved in the modern sport.
“Since I’ve grown up playing soccer, I’m used to the physical, demanding side of sports. Rugby kind of takes things to the next level, especially during rucks and tackling,” Miller said.
Miller played as an outside midfielder through all of her soccer years, and had a stint on the Loveland High School’s varsity football team as a place kicker in 2007. In fact, she is still the only girl in Colorado state history to make a field-goal during a state championship game.
“My friends and I would always cheer for her from the student section, and she could always pick out our voices. It was an experience that not many girls get the chance at,” stated high school friend Heather Good.
Miller has shifted her athletic expertise into the fly half position on the rugby pitch, which is a similar to the midfield position in soccer.
“I’ve always been a defensive player first; I like to counter-attack when the other team may not be ready for it,” Miller said.
Even though the club sport of women’s rugby has only been underway for a matter of months at Mesa State, Miller and her teammates create a brutal atmosphere on the pitch. The sport is growing in popularity rapidly, and the women would like for their club team to develop into a NCAA team in time.
“I just want to be a part of something fresh and fun. Rugby is just that for me. It allows me to escape from the pressure of homework and let everything out as I drive some tiny little girl into the grass and mud,” Miller chuckled. “Who wouldn’t want to play? It’s a blast and has become a big part of my life.”