As a first-generation American born of Zimbabwean immigrants, Takunda’s family culture is rugby-dense. All of her extended family played the sport in Zimbabwe, and when her mother finally allowed her to play as a junior at Towson High School, she was captivated by the sport. 

Before finding rugby, Takunda experimented with basketball, field hockey, swimming, and track. But, to her, rugby was a whole different animal. “I was always told I was too much, too aggressive for sports,” Takunda said. “In rugby, that’s always celebrated. I’m never too aggressive, intense, or doing too much… rugby is one of the few spaces where I feel that’s encouraged.”

Her first taste of rugby came with the Chesapeake Women’s team in Towson, Md., and Takunda played her first game with the West Carroll Marauders at Carolina Ruggerfest in Matthews, N.C. After that first match, Takunda quickly quit all her other sports and has focused on rugby ever since. Throughout high school, she developed her game with the Marauders at prop and eventually went on to join Old Glory DC’s U19 Academy in the Fall of 2020. 

After high school, Takunda enrolled at Howard University to major in nursing. She could have kept playing club rugby with West Carroll, but Takunda wanted to pave a new road for her and other black athletes at the HBCU. 

“I thought, ‘am I going to continue to play women’s club because there is no opportunity, or am I going to make an opportunity for myself and many other girls?’,” Takunda said. “The decision was obvious. Ultimately, playing outside the club would have been easier, but who gains from that other than me, and I want more black women in the sport.”

Beginning in January 2021, Takunda began the process of establishing a rugby club at Howard. Along with fellow student David Davillier, Takunda teamed up with the Robertson and Sullivan Rugby Foundation, Old Glory DC, and Washington DC Youth Rugby to get the ball rolling. With the assistance and support from RSRF President Carille Guthrie, a Howard alumna, and Old Glory’s Tim Brown, the club was officially approved by Howard Administration in the Fall of 2021. After a long journey, the Herd Women’s+ Rugby Club at Howard University held its first practice on August 21, 2021. 

As the squad’s first captain, the team had a solid core of 15-20 girls, with about ten more rotating throughout the inaugural season. This spring, Herd Rugby is competing for the Capital Cup against the likes of American University, George Washington, University of Virginia, and the University of Maryland. The club is still looking for increased support from Howard, but using campus fields at Greene Stadium is a good first step. 

One of Takunda’s proudest moments was just a few weeks ago when her team came from behind to beat UMD, 22-19. “For the first 70 minutes, it wasn’t looking that way. Our team is mostly rookies where this is only their second season of rugby ever. So to be able to pull out that level of play and grit, I was very proud.”

It has been difficult getting the program running, but Takunda knows its worth and the barriers she has had to break to accomplish her goals. 

“Historically, women are molded into softer sports,” Takunda said. “There is a mental barrier a lot of women have. [They ask] ‘can I even play a full-contact sport like rugby?’ [Those thoughts] come from societal pressures. Also, many women think that you have to be a certain body type or have certain skills. I’ve always said that rugby is for everybody. There are 15 people on each team. One through 15, you’ll see every body type.”

Takunda knows there is something different about rugby, and she has fully embraced it. “There have been no sports teams where I have felt that family the way I have felt it in rugby. Rugby, especially because of the contact aspect, being in the rucks and scrum, you have to lean on your teammates, and that is something I did not get in other sports.”

Upon graduation, her ultimate goal is to have a sustainable program that fosters any girl who wants to put in work to explore a future in rugby and have Howard back that up. “When I leave, I want it, so the player contribution is zero dollars,” Takunda stated. “Anyone who wants a future in rugby can play at Howard and build that future off that program… Being in those spaces, creating this team, and pushing it out, I’m hoping that other black girls in the DMV will see that and have more black women participate in the sport.”

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Rugby is in Celeste’s blood. Her father played in college and eventually became a referee before passing his love of the game onto her. After her family moved to California when she was 6, Celeste’s first time on the field was playing touch with the Pleasanton Cavaliers. When her family moved back to the East Coast when she was 11, Celeste joined the West Carroll Marauders in Westminster, MD. 

It wasn’t until Celeste’s first year at Urbana High School that it all clicked. Her proudest rugby experience was playing her first select side tournament with Atlantis down in Tropical 7s in Orlando, Florida. 

She reflects on that experience saying, “I have been playing forever, and I’m not naturally athletic, but that was the first time I realized I might be getting somewhere with this sport and that I might be good at where I hadn’t necessarily seen that before. So for me, that was a huge breakthrough as far as confidence and my abilities.”

Lining up mainly at scrumhalf and fullback, Celeste uses her experience to her advantage and does everything possible to help her teammates and put them into a position to succeed. She has gone on to play with the Celtic Barbarians at the Tropical 7s and NY 7s in 2021 and will also suit up for the team at the Tropical 7s this spring. She has competed with the Old Glory Academy since 2021, and Celeste is also part of the OGDC gameday staff. 

Celeste’s passion and love for the sport come from the community. “I love everyone I have come into contact with through rugby. It’s given me so much more confidence in myself and my abilities both in rugby and out of it.”

Although she loves what the community has done for the sport, more can be done to promote and support the women’s game. “Show more women’s rugby,” Celeste said. “It’s hard enough to show men’s rugby in the US, but it’s even harder to find women’s rugby at a high level to watch. Showing more women’s rugby, creating more teams, and devoting resources to it would be a huge bonus to help get girls into rugby.”

Additionally, Celeste indicated that having good female role models, women coaches, or college-age women to come and talk to girls will encourage more participation in rugby. “It’s a huge bonus because when there are other girls present, you are going to get more girls [to listen]. All of my coaches have been great regardless of gender, but having a strong female role model is a huge plus, and it helps to encourage girls to get into rugby.”

“I would like to be one of those role models one day,” Celeste professed. “I’m a senior on my team now, so I’m trying to be a role model with my teammates. I would love to be a role model for even more girls who are either coming in or just starting in rugby.”

“I would tell [new players] to go for it because no matter where you go or what age you are, you are going to find coaches and players who will support you. I have had that experience universally with any club I’ve played with. Even if you don’t think you have the confidence, or you’re scared to go into contact, or because you are one of the only girls on the team, you will find that support system and grow your confidence and abilities. Even if it’s scary at first, it’s totally worth it in the end.”

But why rugby? Celeste said, “It’s one of the only sports where the rules are exactly the same for the girls and the boys. It also gives you that level of physicality because it is contact. For me, it’s an outlet for stress. You don’t get that in other sports. Also, there is a lot of decision-making. No matter where you are playing on the field, you have to make decisions. In other sports, you don’t get that as much. For me, it’s a mental and physical game.”

Rugby has taught Celeste, and many other young girls to face their fears and have the confidence to tackle them head-on. “It’s taught me to trust myself and trust my teammates and go at things 100%. Even if you mess up, it’s fine because you have another chance. It’s an 80-minute game. So you get to keep going and try again.”

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Congratulations to Old Glory DC Academy Coach Alex Schaefer and former Old Glory Academy Player Takunda Rusike for being selected for The U.S. Women’s Rugby Foundation’s 2021 15 Under 30 Award. USWRF created this annual award to highlight those who exemplify the best qualities of rugby and bring those qualities to the field, to their teams, to the sport, and to local and global communities.

The goal of the annual award is to recognize, celebrate and support players, coaches, administrators, journalists, and referees, as a means to advance the sport of rugby for girls and women and to celebrate the power of sport as a means for social change.

Alex Schaefer joined Old Glory’s U19 Academy coaching staff in the Summer of 2021 and has overseen the development of the girl’s squad for the last several months. She led the girl’s squad to a recent victory against a North Carolina U19 Select Squad this past October with a resounding 66-12 win at the Naval Academy Rugby Complex in Annapolis, Maryland. Read more about Alex

Takunda Rusike joined Old Glory’s inaugural U19 Academy in the Fall of 2020. Since graduating from the academy program, she’s gone on to spearhead the effort to bring women’s rugby to Howard University. She is the founder of the first Historically Black College or University (HBCU) women’s rugby program. Read more about Tukanda

Congratulations to both Alex and Tukanda!

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