Inside the Rugby Club: A Boozy Brotherhood

Founded in 1858, the Rugby Football Club at St Andrews is not only one of the oldest sports clubs within the University: it also claims to be the sixth oldest rugby club in the world. 

With history like this comes rich traditions, and last weekend saw perhaps the club’s greatest tradition, with USTARFC marching down to the capital to face age-old rivals Edinburgh in the annual Scottish Varsity Match. 

Following a comfortable 24-13 win, the Saints painted the town blue then drank it dry, returning to 'The Bubble' with the coveted trophy and a fair few sore heads. Yet perhaps the most striking part of the weekend was not what happened on the pitch, but rather the display of the club’s social culture off the pitch. 

Ditching their boots for brogues and muddy strips for chinos, dozens of USTARFC members sporting suits piled into a dingy Edinburgh nightclub, slightly reminscient of 601 on a typical Wednesday night. 

In the context of university, for better or worse, it seems as though this social side of rugby gains more attention — or in most cases scrutiny — than the sport itself. For many years, university rugby culture has come under fire after clubs in the UK were accused of promoting ‘dangerous behaviour’ during their socials.

Following the Varsity match, I spoke to a few club members from both the men’s and women’s teams about their sport’s social culture, in an attempt to understand this boozy brotherhood better. 

For second-year Guy Nichols, rugby has always been a big part of life. One of three boys and the son of a semi-professional Wasps player, he recalled how the social side of rugby is a defining feature of the sport for him.

From his dad “going to the pub with his team after the local derby”, to “the roar of the crowds that would gather at school matches”, rugby was as much a sport off the pitch as it was on it.

Since coming to university, Nichols has found the club’s social culture to be one of its greatest assets. “Particularly at Varsity, the club’s unity and passion was on full display,” he said. “I knew people from halls, from the rugby club, from all over the place, who came together. It was just incredible.” 

When asked to describe the club culture at St Andrew’s in three words, Nichols chose “camaraderie, inclusive, and brotherhood”, painting a different picture of rugby culture than is often conveyed in the media. 

He’s not alone in this view. Men’s 2XI Captain Matt Makin and women’s 2XI players Taz Madan and Poppy Lewis-Ing are of the same opinion.

“Rugby definitely has somewhat of a bad reputation, especially from the outside,” said Makin. “People just expect rugby guys to be rowdy, and social media definitely encourages this, too. I think it’s a bit unfair. You’re always going to meet someone who fits the stereotype — that’s why the stereotype exists in the first place — but they are always the minority”, he added. 

“From what I’ve seen of the club here so far, it’s very different to other [rugby] clubs,” said Lewis-Ing. Like Nichols, she also used the word “inclusive” to describe the club culture. 

She recalled how, upon joining the club only a few weeks ago, it was made clear that “there was literally a spot for anyone who wants to play rugby, whether you’ve played before, whether you haven’t.” She added, “I felt so welcome, everyone was so lovely.” 

So, with the experience on the inside so overwhelmingly positive, why is the view from the outside quite the opposite?

At Cardiff University, the Sports Association have blamed wearing “blazers and chinos” for promoting “dangerous behaviour” amongst rugby club members, and it banned anyone wearing such an outfit from their Student Union club. 

How would a policy like this affect the club culture here at St Andrews if it was implemented? 

According to performance player Cameron Grier, “it would definitely negatively affect the club culture. There are some boys who come to socials and wear the blazer and tie who don’t even play rugby. Wearing the blazer and tie is a great way to include these players.” 

Grier also questioned whether such a policy would have much success. “It wouldn’t stop people from doing the same things, it would just mean they would do them in smaller, more segregated groups. It would divide the club in an unnecessary way,” he concluded. 

When it comes to the women's team, although they don’t have a social uniform, they do have themed socials each week, which involve everyone dressing the same way. “I guess we are all still wearing the same thing to some extent,” said Madan. “So in that respect, it isn’t that different to the men wearing the same blazer.”

For many club members, the ‘social uniform’ is first and foremost a symbol of tradition and unity. When an injury last season meant he was unable to play and connect with the team through the game, Makin found that the social uniform played a huge role in maintaining his sense of belonging within the club. “It [the uniform] did bring me a sense of pride when I was struggling last year,” he said. 

However, Makin also said that he “can understand why people might think ‘oh god’ when they see us storming into the Union on a Wednesday night.”

Nichols was also sympathetic to the fact that people from outside the culture may feel intimidated by the sight of “30 blokes wearing the same thing, probably quite big and burly all in one big group.” 

This begs the question whether it is the uniform that’s the problem or the size of the groups in which members of rugby clubs tend to gather. A group of 30 sizeable men is arguably quite intimidating regardless of whether they are wearing shirts or t-shirts, chinos or jeans. 

“I think it’s a couple of bad apples who make everyone tarnish rugby with the same brush,” Nichols said.

“At the end of the day, it’s a brotherhood,” Grier concluded — and a boozy one at that. 

Illustration: Magdalena Yiacoumi