The history of the The Southern Ruggers, as they were called, defeated the UGA team and the president of GSU allocated money to the rugby program.

Many misconceptions come to mind when it comes to the sport of rugby, such as it’s dangerous and can injure players easily.

“It’s not as dangerous as you think. Yes people aren’t wearing pads, but technicality tackling is emphasized in order to prevent injury,” Kyle Lesser, junior construction management major, said.

Lesser has been on the rugby team for the past three seasons and before attending GSU he played two seasons in high school.

“I never really played football but most people compare rugby to football, I like rugby because it gives us a chance to think for ourselves while we’re playing. We have to think for ourselves and decide based on the situation,” Lesser said.

Rugby is a unique sport in that it plays in both the fall and the spring, or as it is better known as the “social season” and the “matrix season”.

The social season is the where the team goes and trains in preparation for the spring.

“We use the fall as almost a preseason in order to prepare ourselves for conference matches and also to try and make it to nationals,” Sean Gilfillan, junior rugby team member, said.

The matrix season is comprised of four other teams that GSU plays twice, once at home and another on the road. The top two teams from the conference advance on and the season continues.

Currently the Eagles have gotten off to a hot start to this spring season, winning against The University of Memphis by a score of 23-14.

The team is a club and one thing they stress is people trying the sport.

“We’re open to everyone, we have tryouts all year. Some people are intimidated by rugby and haven’t really heard about it. We’re always looking for more people to play,“ Gilfillan said.

The team will take on Kennesaw State University for the first home match of the season, which will take place on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the rugby fields at the RAC behind the alumni center.