Players revive Boxing Day women’s rugby INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Shouts and cheers filled the air at a north side park Friday as players gathered for traditional pick-up rugby games. Organizers said Indianapolis rugby clubs have held Boxing Day matches for about the last 20 years. This year is the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic that Indianapolis’ women’s rugby clubs, the Circle City Tempests and the Indianapolis Hoydens, have been able to gather enough players for their own matches. “We’re just kind of here to celebrate the return of the women’s game and just kind of continue to build up the sport for women,” Tempests coach Masie Duncan said. According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, Boxing Day, the day after Christmas, got its name from either servants receiving Christmas gift boxes from their employers on that day or from alms boxes being opened and their contents being distributed to the poor. In modern times, Boxing Day brings with it some of the biggest soccer and rugby matches of the year in British Commonwealth countries. Those matches have a small, but dedicated following in the United States. Duncan said the annual Boxing Day matches introduced her to rugby when she was a high school student in the late 2000s. She said they’re a good way to learn rugby in an informal atmosphere. “One of the hardest things was we did have to go through COVID,” Duncan said. “There were years where we couldn’t show up to play, and I think it just took us a little longer to recover and kind of come back and show up on Boxing Day. So, it’s definitely something we want to build upon, have even more numbers and more people. The Indianapolis Impalas, a men’s team, organizes the Boxing Day matches, with the Tempests serving as co-hosts this year. Jeffrey Johnson, who played with the Impalas before he moved to Florida and joined another club there, said it’s wonderful to see the women’s teams back on the pitch. He said the Boxing Day matches are typically more informal than regular season games, and that’s part of the fun. “It’s really just getting to see people that you miss and haven’t seen in a while,” Johnson said. The Boxing Day matches historically have happened at Broad Ripple Park, but this year’s took place at Riverwood Park on the north side. Duncan said the Tempests, the Hoydens, and the Impalas are happy to sign up new players, no matter how much or how little previous rugby experience you have. ...read more read less