CORONAVIRUS SAFETY PROTOCOLS!
Before attending official club training sessions, all players must complete the following:
Online training and certification located at: Coronavirus Training Cert. This is a one-time, 10 minute course that will provide you a certificate. Save the certificate as a PDF and email it to ec@daytonrugby.com.
Daily symptom check located at: Daily Symptom Check. This is required prior to entering the facility for each training session.
New Player Information
So, you’re going to give rugby a try. What am I getting into? Rugby is a continuous, full-contact, very physical team sport that is kind of like a mixture of team wrestling, basketball, and football – but better! This page is intended to answer the most common questions we get from interested new players. It’s not all inclusive and details may change from time to time. If you still have questions after reading this info, please contact your team captain or coordinator HERE.
Dayton Area Rugby Club Men’s squad has two competitive sides – referred to as teams in rugby. Our top team (D3) competes in Midwest South and US National Division 3. Our next team (D4) competes in Midwest Buckeye and US National Division 4. While both sides are competitive, D4 is dedicated as a more developmental side intended to help new players prepare for this rigorous physical sport. Selections are made weekly and you are not limited to playing D4. Some guys play almost exclusively on one side or the other. Others play on both depending on needs of the team and personal availability.
Most in-season practices are Tue and Thu evenings from 6:30 to 8PM at Dayton Rugby Grounds. Times do vary with the season but generally training is at those stated times. Spring practices start in early March and Fall practices start in mid-July. Additional training sessions will be announced as they are scheduled.
What do I need to play?
Make sure you have comfortable soccer or football cleats. Rugby is a continuous running sport similar to basketball in that regard.
Get a mouthpiece and mold it a day or two ahead of practice if possible. A $10-$15 Shock Doctor mouthpiece from Dick’s Sporting Goods or similar is more than adequate.
Dress appropriately for the predicted weather. Unless there is lightning, we’ll be outside training. Wear clothes you don’t mind getting muddy, torn, or shredded. A proper rugby training jersey is highly recommended and easily available from eBay or Amazon. You’ll need rugby shorts and socks too, but we’ll give you a DARC embroidered pair of shorts with socks when you pay dues.
How much does rugby cost?
It’s hard to put a price on this much fun – however running a club requires dues paying members. The dues structure and payments are HERE. As a dues paying member, you get club voting rights, embroidered uniform shorts and socks and of course, free food and drinks at the after match parties.
When are games?
Home rugby games – called “matches” – are generally at 11:00AM for D4 and 1:00PM for D3 on Saturdays at Dayton Rugby Grounds. Away matches are at 1:00PM Saturdays for both teams. Locations range from Youngstown and Canton to the northeast to Louisville and Lexington to the south. Most away games are in Cincinnati and Columbus. Teammates usually meet at a rally point to carpool.