A trip to Ireland comes with a stigma -- it's going to rain. And rain a lot.
However, the Lady Ruggers 10-day trip across Ireland was relatively rain-free and eventually had their coaches begging for poorer weather.
"It was beautiful. We actually got some of the nicest weather. Our coach was asking for the rain and snow by the end of the week," junior back Kasey Ferlic said. "We probably saw rain maybe for an hour the whole time, which if anyone knows Ireland, that is completely not normal."
Spending their break across the Atlantic Ocean, the women's rugby team was able to prepare for the spring leg of their schedule. In Ireland, the team played four games against some of the top clubs in the country and the annual intra-squad "War of the Roses."
Scrumhalf Annie Zeigler said the trip was front-loaded with rugby, while the last few days allowed the players to spend time with each other. After spending the first seven days in Galway, the team traveled to Dublin for the remainder of their trip.
"Dublin was amazing. We just walked around together and just really enjoyed the city," Zeigler said. "We did a lot of exploring and at the end of the night just ended up back at our little hostel."
During the trip, the Six Nations Championship was occurring in Dublin and the Lady Ruggers attended the Ireland-Wales women's match last Friday night. Zeigler said Ireland won, but out of the masses of fans, the fifth-year said she and her teammates were the most excited to be there.
Over the course of their travels, the team stopped by the Cliffs of Moher, which junior Deven Owsiany said was her choice as the coolest thing she saw on the trip. In Galway, the team competed against several sides of the Connacht women's team including the premiere side, which Ferlic explained was the best players in the western region of Ireland.
"We came out and just like the cliche in rugby that it was two different halves," Ferlic said. "The first half we were right up with them, then the second half we didn't come out necessarily wanting it and they definitely beat us out."
However, Ferlic and Owsiany said the loss was a good learning experience because of how often Connacht kicked and pounded the ball on the fringes of the field. Aside from getting some warm-up games in before the spring season begins on Saturday, the Lady Ruggers' roster got stronger as well.
Aside from the fifth-year seniors coming back, the team saw the return of the players that spent the fall studying abroad. Playing overseas with only their teammates as company, the players started to develop chemistry and realized what it will take to repeat as national champions.
"Everyone learns how to push each other through practice," Owsiany said. "It's like, 'get up in the morning, suck it up, you've gotta do this' and it all pays off in the end. I think we really learned that over spring break."
Having an experience that most other teams don't, the Lady Ruggers come into the season well prepared for the challenges they will face and know how to deal with them.
"We're with each other 24/7 for ten days, and we get tested mentally, physically and emotionally and it's how we handle ourselves when we're at our low points that makes our team so dynamic," Ferlic said. "Our one rule is 'no whining and complaining', and I think we did a really good job of that."
