Sports

Actions

Local rugby club 'Scylla Rugby' is one of the best women's teams in the nation

Posted at 8:06 PM, Apr 25, 2023
and last updated 2023-04-25 21:06:10-04

You know the sports.

"It's a combination of soccer and American football. You take the best of both and you get rugby," says Molly Stieber, Head Coach of Scylla Rugby.

You know it's not for the faint of heart.

"No pads, everyone has to wear a mouth guard. It is full contact, full tackle," says Molly.

But what you probably didn't know, was that Milwaukee has one of the best women's rugby teams in the nation.

"Scylla has been around since 2001, playing teams around the midwest and around the nation. We won nationals in 2017 and hoping to do it again this again," says Molly.

Playing 15-on-15 at the Division II level, Scylla is home to some of rugby's finest.

"This is my 10th year playing for this team. Seeing players come, seeing players grow. Many players are young, fast and now they play upper-level rugby too outside of Scylla," says Kyla Hensel, Captain of Scylla Rugby and former national champion.

All with day jobs and commitments outside of the sport, their dedication is second to none.

"Sending out questions so we can grow each other's mind and stimulate our rugby mentality and then putting it out on the field because we do only have two practices a week," says Kyla.

So, it's not surprising that these women are preparing for another national title run.

"We have a lot of experience on the team and we have a lot of depth which is super important. We currently have 40 members at the moment, and everyone is important. It's easy when you can have almost two full sides at practice to be playing against each other and trying out different styles," says Molly.

"This team is totally different. We have a completely different play style from 2017, which is great to see. But it's the same feeling of us revving back up for it again. We are all putting in that extra time and effort to be here for rugby and to go win a National Championship," says Kyla.

You can catch these women in action on April 29 at the Gun Club Rugby Field just north of Bradford Beach. It's one of three "warm-up" games that Scylla is allowed before traveling to Super Regionals which start in May.

"We can only pick 23 members to be on a roster spot for a game. So it's really crucial for us to play with each other and see who can all mold and blend together," says Kyla.

Fair warning, while you can bring the whole family, Scylla doesn't really do anything at warm-up speed.

For more information on Scylla Rugby, visit scyllarugby.com


It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.

Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.


Report a typo or error // Submit a news tip