MERIDIAN —     Ole Miss and Mississippi State played a game today. No, the game was not at Vaught-Hemingway or Davis-Wade Stadium. The game was not played at the Tad Smith or Humphrey Coliseum, Oxford-University Stadium or Dudy Noble Field. Instead, the game was played in Meridian on Saturday as part of the State Games of Mississippi in rugby.

    Rugby?

    Yes, Rugby.

    On Saturday, two teams from the Jackson Rugby Football Club participated in the games along with a club from the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Ole Miss and MSU rounded out the field. The Jackson Dutch Barons took home the gold medal. Mississippi State won the silver and Ole Miss captured the bronze medal.

    MSU coach Renaldo Arroyo said the tournament was well organized and was honored to have his team in the first State Games event.

    "Rugby's got a cult following throughout the nation and it's on every college campus," Arroyo said. "It's going to be in the Olympics and getting it into the State Games is another level that the game is going up. It's great to be a part of it."

    Chris Neel, one of the rugby comissioners for the State Games, said Jackson has fielded a competitive rugby team every year since 1974. Because there are no rugby leagues in the state, the JRFC has to play teams in other states.

    "We travel to Little Rock to play," Neel said. "We also go to Atlanta, Birmingham, and have been as far as Nashville."

    Neel said interest in the sport picked up speed when the International Olympic Committee selected rugby as a competitive sport in the 2016 Olympics. All it took was a phone call to get it in the State Games of Mississippi. Neel and fellow commissioner Jason Darby pitched the idea and it took off.

    "It really didn't take a lot to get it into the games," Neel said. "All it took was me reaching out to the State Games and just starting the conversation to get us added to the games."

    Meridian native Lyle Shehane, a member of the Jackson Rugby Football Club "Slugs", said adding rugby was a great idea. He said he got into the sport through a friend and was instantly hooked.

    "I drive an hour and a half to practice and matches," he said. "It's nice to have matches here where I can only drive 10 minutes to get here."

    Rugby got its start in the 19th Century in England. The game allows players to handle the ball but they aren't allowed to run with the ball at all. That rule was first introduced between 1859 and 1865.  

    Early on, the game allowed 15 players on each squad and is still played that way during the winter months. In the summer, however, the game takes on several changes. The squads are shortened from 15-on-15 to seven-on-seven games. Instead of playing 80 minute games, the games are played in seven-minute halves with a one-minute halftime period in between. Eventually, American football was born out of rugby, however, there is a major difference in the two.

    "In football, anyone can hit you," Neel said. "In rugby, only the ball carrier can be hit. They always see the person who is about to hit them and don't get blindsided by anyone."

    For those who have never played or seen a game, the game is played like this. Imagine an offense in football only running the triple option the entire time. The quarterback can do three things with the ball: run with it,  pitch it to the running back or kick it downfield and then go get it himself. That's the game in a nutshell. It involves lateral passing with soccer-style kicking in it.

    Like football, rugby is a full-contact sport. You are able to wear pads but there is a certain thickness they have to be. They aren't as bulky as football shoulder pads so the player's body takes a beating. Shehane said you have to train hard to play rugby.

    "You have to have a lot of endurance," he said. "One game isn't terrible. However, once you've played five or six games, it takes a lot of water and Gatorade to get you back. Practicing is the best thing to prepare for this.

    "Long distance running also helps. However, distance running won't help you be able to get up and go."

    "You have to stay in shape for all year round," Neel said. "You have to be able to sprint, carry heavy loads be able to take an impact."

     Neel said the most important thing is mental toughness. The most important thing is to possess the mentality of toughness.

    "Being a rugby player is for guys who can be mentally tough," he said. "You know them when you meet them and, when you tell them about rugby, they jumps on it real quickly."

    Being in shape does not protect you from injuries, though.

    "The main injuries you see in rugby are busted noses and fingers," Neel said. "Shoulders are very rare but they happen."

    Added Shehane: "A mouthpiece is definitely important. You could chip a tooth, break a tooth during a tackle. I've had staples in my head before because of an injury.

    "Collarbones are fragile and shoulders can pop out of place."

    The Meridian native said teams always keep someone who has medical training available in case of emergencies.

    "We always keep someone who is trained as a EMT available," Shehane said. "We also have a vehicle handy just in case we need it."

    Shehane said while playing in the state games was great, he's hoping for bigger action in the future.

    "I would love for it to be a regional tournament," he said. "We go to play all over the Southeast. We'll go to Memphis to play. Mobile, Baton Rouge and Birmingham all have tournaments. We have gone to Nashville to play. There are tournaments all over. It would be nice to have Meridian host a big regional tournament."

    As the final match was played, Neel said he hopes for a bigger turnout next year.

    "The tournament met expectations. We wanted more teams in it," he said. "Next year, we want three things: To have the same amount of teams from this year, add the two that didn't make it this year, and have at least two high school teams playing in the tournament.

    "We just can't express how appreciative we are to Meridian and the State Games for allowing us to play here and do so much for us," Neel said. "It's a great stage for us to play on. To be able to hand over these medals to these men means a lot to these guys and to the sport in this state."