Am I too old to play Rugby?

Question
I'm 21 years old and will be going to University in September.  I want to start playing Rugby once I am there.  My Uni has a Union and League, and I am interested more in the Union.  Do you think I am too old to start playing?  I really hope I'm not.  Some people have laughed at me when I've told them, that's all...

Answer
Dale,

The simple answer to your question is- No, you are not too late to start playing rugby.

With a very small youth rugby program in the United States, most players learn the game either in the Military or in college.  Only a small percentage of American rugby players have ever seen a rugby ball until they are eighteen.

That being said, depending on where you are will likely have an impact on your ultimate playing level.  If you are from a six nations country, or three nations country, you have lost several years of experience and will not likely be able to play international level rugby.  If you are from the USA, or to a lesser extent Canada, it is possible but improbable.

Now for the normal go out and have fun rugby player, fitness and mindset are more important than age.  I started playing at eighteen, and I am still playing at 42.

Remember, rugby is a full contact sport with minimal padding.  The rules have been developed to lessen the severity of injury, as does the culture of 揼entlemen playing a ruffian's sport?  Most injuries are contact type (beef hitting beef) or abrasion type (opponents jerseys or the ground).  All studies that I have heard of still show that in terms of catastrophic life altering injuries, rugby is still relatively safe.

Go out and play the sport of angels.

Thank you,

Deane Shephard
Stuttgart RFC