Rugby builds community in Des Moines through sport and outreach

5/6/2026

Rugby is a centuries-old sport that originated in England. The sport has grown in popularity over the years and has spread throughout the world. It has also grown in Iowa and the Midwest at large, eventually leading to the creation of the Des Moines Rugby Club in 1970. One player, Anna Anderson, explained the ins and outs of the sport and how Des Moines’ local rugby squad is making a difference in the community.

Anderson grew up playing football and soccer in Waverly. Rugby, essentially a combination of the two sports, seemed a perfect fit for Anderson.

“My husband has been interested in joining rugby, and we happened to be at a farmers market, the new one on the south side, and I’m like, ‘Hey, there’s a rugby team over there if you want to go and talk to them,’ ” Anderson said. “We ended up going to the Try Rugby Night, and he loved it. He happened to mention to someone that I played soccer and football, and they’re like, ‘We’re just gonna add you to the girls chat,’ then I got roped in.”

That was last summer, and Anderson has been hooked ever since. She explained some of the basics of the sport to help others better understand it, something she was learning just a few months ago.

“You can’t pass forward; you have to pass backward, but you can kick it forward. There’s a straight line on defense that you have to be five yards back. There are places where turnovers can happen. We scrum, ruck and have lineouts,” Anderson said.

A lineout is a reset once the ball has gone out of play; the ball is thrown down the middle between the two teams, who try to gain possession. A scrum resembles a football snap, with both teams pushing against each other to try to win possession of the ball. When someone is tackled, they must release the ball, allowing players from each side to compete for possession.

A common misconception about rugby is that it is more dangerous because of its physicality and lack of protective equipment such as football pads or soccer shin guards.

“Coming from a female who played football with boys in high school, rugby is so much safer. I went into rugby like, I know how to tackle. And they were like, oh, you shouldn’t tackle with your head in front. In football, we were kind of taught that you want to be in front of the player you’re tackling. In rugby, that’s not safe because if they’re going fast enough, they’re heavy enough, they’re just going to take your head off,” Anderson said.

There are specific rules about how players are supposed to tackle. The lack of protective equipment also means players on both sides are more focused on safety.

One of Anderson’s favorite memories came early in her rugby career. When she gets dehydrated, she tends to get “loopy.” After her first game, she became dehydrated, and her teammates and even her husband worried she had a concussion.

“I didn’t even think that I would ever need to tell my husband that. All of the girls were constantly coming over and checking on me and making sure I was good. Eventually, he called my dad, and my dad was like, ‘Oh, she’s probably just dehydrated. Tell her to drink some water.’ But it was just really cool to see the community show up in that way when I didn’t know anyone,” Anderson said.

Her teammates rallying around her is one reason she has come to love the sport. That sense of community is a major benefit for Anderson. Other players are comfortable bringing their kids to practices and games, making it fun for the whole family. The rugby club also recently participated in the 10th anniversary Barefoot Autism Challenge, which encourages participants to remove their shoes to better understand the sensory experiences of those on the autism spectrum.

“My friend is the one who kind of runs that challenge. He was thinking about what he wanted to do for an event. Because it’s the 10th year, he wanted to do something bigger. So I talked to the club to see if we could practice barefoot,” Anderson said.

And barefoot they went. The club also invited food vendors and local advocates to raise awareness about neurodiversity and sensory processing.

Anderson said one thing she struggled with after high school was not having a competitive sport for physical activity. For anyone who feels the same, rugby could be a great outlet for exercise and making new friends.

“Practices are on Tuesday and Thursday night, so anybody can come and try it out. We have a ton of veteran players that are willing to take a break from their practice and just teach a guy how to pass the ball, because that’s honestly the hardest part of rugby. It’s just learning how to pass this weird-shaped ball,” Anderson said. ♦