On Saturday, March 29, three friends and I drove for an hour to watch a professional rugby game for the first time, both on television and in person. And, of the four of us, I was the only sports fan. Nevertheless, we packed ourselves into a friend’s car and headed toward Quincy, Mass. I discovered the league through a social media post a month before the Women’s Elite Rugby (WER) league officially began. WER is the first professional women’s rugby 15s league in the U.S. and it includes six teams across the country: the Bay Breakers, the Boston Banshees, the Chicago Tempest, the Denver Onyx, the New York Exiles and the Twin Cities Gemini. I convinced my friends to go, persuading them with the chance of seeing buff women competing against each other. We got tickets for the Boston Banshees’ Home Opener against the Twin Cities Gemini at Veteran’s Memorial Stadium, and even made a sign for the occasion! However, we were not anticipating was the 38-degree weather and the dew-covered seats. But, the exuberant crowd made up for the damp climate. 

The scoring was opened by the Banshees’ Yeja Dunn with a try three minutes into the game. For the team’s second continuous try, Shelby Vance wrestled her way through a wall of players to get to the white line. Coincidentally, Dunn and Vance are partners in life. They are certainly a power couple, scoring the first two tries at home for the Banshees’ inaugural season! The Banshees dominated the game, and when the halftime whistle blew, they were 29-0. Six minutes into the second half, Dunn scored again, which added to her two tries in the first to make a hat trick (three tries in a game by one player). This was the second hat trick in WER history! If you feel bad for the Gemini, do not worry; the visiting team broke their scoring drought 70 minutes into the game. They scored one more time, and the game ended with 36-10 on the scoreboard—an absolute pummeling! The Banshees saluted the crowd before they walked off the field, bringing an end to their first-ever home game. Because I could not feel my legs, nor could my friends feel their own faces, we left halfway through the second. The players and the crowd truly got a taste of Mass. weather at this game. Before we left, though, my friends and I appeared on the jumbotron, solidifying our faces in rugby history! Even if we were shivering on the car ride back to Clark, none of us regretted coming – the game was a blast, and we got to celebrate with the boisterous audience a monumental day in women’s sports and Boston sports. I Implore everyone to go out and see a game yourself! Go Banshees!