Bumps, bruises and broken bones are just part of rugby

A broken finger, a broken ankle, a dislocated shoulder, scrapes, bruises and black eyes don't bother Joey Hann ... as long as they're from rugby.

"It's just a part of the sport," he said. "It's a risk that everyone understands. Everyone's dedicated enough to the sport to risk those injuries."

Hann, a 28-year-old Southeast Missouri State University student, has been a dedicated member of the Kohlfeld Scorpions Rugby Club for 10 years. He now serves as a captain and club president.

The Scorpions were founded in 1972 in Cape, beginning as a team of students from Southeast Missouri State. The organization eventually fell under the sponsorship of Mike and Mark Kohlfeld.

The team participates in the Missouri Rugby Union, which consists of about 40 teams -- collegiate and club. The governing body for both divisions is USA Rugby.

The Scorpions have about 45 members and competed against both college and club teams in the regular season, which includes both spring and fall segments. The Scorpions won the Missouri Rugby Union Division II championship for the second straight year. They lost in a Western Rugby Union challenge match April 17 at home against a team from Albuquerque, N.M., in April but are still ranked No. 1 in the state with one regular-season game remaining.

Hann said this year has been the best in the organization's history, with the team outscoring opponents by an average of more than 40 points. He is confident the Scorpions will be back in St. Louis in October to win their third consecutive state championship.

Hann would like to see the Scorpions go beyond state and reach the Western Rugby Union tournament.

"We were a little bummed out about not going this past year,"Hann said, "but I guess it'll be that much sweeter if we go this season."

Under USA Rugby rules, the game is played on an area the same size as a football field and consists of two 40-minute halves. Fifteen players per team are permitted to play at a time, and only seven substitutes are allowed throughout the game. Players can run and kick to move the ball forward toward the in-goal, the equivalent of an end zone in football. The only passing allowed is backward laterals. A try, worth five points, is earned when a player touches the ball down in the in-goal. A conversion kicks following the try is worth two points. Teams can gain three points on penalty kicks, similar to field goals, which are awarded after an opposing team's penalty.

"There's just a flow to the game," said Hann, who was named the team's most valuable player in 2002 and most valuable forward in 2003. "I like it because it's kind of a fitness game, and you don't have a coach that dictates. You're the master of your own fate."

Hann practices with the team every Tuesday and Thursday and has games on the weekends. Yet, the police sergeant in Scott City has found time to volunteer in the Big Brothers-Big Sisters program over the last 2 1/2 years.

He plans to keep helping in the community and hurting on the rugby field.

"It's an awesome sport," Hann said. "The friendships I've made in the last 10 years is what keeps me going. This is a great town for rugby, and I hope to keep the momentum in Cape alive."

Mark Unterreiner is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian and a student at Notre Dame Regional High School. His Spotlight feature appears every Thursday.