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Grant 1 Taylor Grant Ms.

McAlister English 1101-020 30 October 2013 Discourse community To understand the discourse of rugby one needs to understand the background of the sport. Rugby is played with a ball that many describe as a pregnant football. The field is 100 meters long and 70 meters wide. Rugby players score tries, which are worth five points. This is done by running into the end zone and touching the ball to the ground. After the try the team that scores is given a chance to kick the ball through the posts for two points. This is called a conversion. The conversion kick is taken from a spot on the field where the try was touched down at. This is the reason why many times a player will try to touch the ball down between the posts. The one fundamental rule of rugby is that the ball can never be passed forward. Anytime a pass goes forward, play is stopped. To restart play the teams gather into two groups to form a scrum. The ball is rolled between the two sides and the hookers try to kick the ball back to their side. Play also stops whenever the ball is put out of bounds. To restart play the teams form a lineout. Again the ball is tossed between the two teams, this time in the air. The two sides jump and try to gain possession of the ball. When a player is tackled to the ground he or she must release the ball. The two sides then try to push over the ball and the tackled player. This is known as rucking. Only the acting scrumhalf can dig the ball out with his or her hands. The others can only push or try to kick the ball out. Sometimes a tackled player does not make it to

Grant 2 the ground. When this happens a maul is formed. Now the players will try to rip the ball away from the ball carrier. Many things are involved in a discourse community. John Swales lists six specific criteria for determining if a community is in fact a discourse community. One, a discourse community has a set of goals that are broadly agreed upon by its members. Two, the members of a discourse community have means of intercommunication with one another, even if the means vary widely among different communities. Three, a discourse community provides feedback to its members and gets their input. Four, discourse communities possess at least one genre that is used to further its communicative goals. Five, discourse communities use their own specific lexis. This is just meant to say that a discourse community would communicate about its goals among itself using language that would be somewhat puzzling for someone who was not involved in it. Six, discourse communities have and maintain a sort of status quo between new members and seasoned members. The womens rugby team at UNCC meets all of the six criteria listed by John Swales. We have our own goals and our own terminology. We all actively participate in the game, we have our different kinds of genre and we have our own specific lexis. Lastly we have rookies who are new players and veterans (vets) who have been playing for one season or more. Just like John Swales states, to determine if a group or organization is a discourse community you need to see if they have common goals. The womens rugby team has common goals associates with any sports team. The main goal of this team is to win but also to have fun while doing it. To have fun and be successful, it is important that everyone is well acquainted and theres no animosity between anyone. We also need to have good communication skills and everyone needs to know the terminology used on the field, especially new players. Rugby is

Grant 3 different from many other sports especially when it comes to terminology and rules. Rugby was adapted from football and has some similar aspects. No matter who we are playing or where we are playing we need to represent the university in a positive way and be sportsman like at all times. Intercommunication is very important for sports teams because its keep the team updated and connected with one another. The team also shares information on the website OrgSync. We used this website to register for USA rugby and fill out insurance waivers. The team also gets to know each other better by going out to dinner every Thursday night after practice. They also reserve rooms in the library a couple nights a week and study together. Every discourse community has rules, whether spoken or unspoken. There are many spoken rules about rugby but they are much easier and more straight-forward than the unspoken rules. Spoken rules are easily picked up by following an experienced player and learning how the rules apply to the position that you play. The unspoken rules include respecting the veterans and coach, taking there constructive criticism positively and not with an attitude because they are only trying to help. Another unspoken rule is that rookies should always pick up the equipment after practice and assist veteran players whenever necessary. The genres the team uses are Facebook, texting and emails. The team has a Facebook group where the captain and president post practice and game times every week. Also if a player cannot come to a practice or game they inform the captain or president via text message or email. Email is generally used to contact the coach. Lexis can be defined by Webster as, The level of language consisting of vocabulary, as opposed to grammar or syntax. Rugby had its own lexis and it can only be understood by people

Grant 4 who play, have played, or watch rugby. It would be very confusing for someone who has never seen a rugby game to watch one and understand what is going on. Rugby is not a game that you can easily pick up like basketball or tennis. The terminology in Rugby is different from any sport I have ever played but since its closely related to football some terms are similar. For example a touchdown in football is an equivalent to a try in rugby. Lexis can also be the different plays that we call. These are used so the other team has no idea of our plan for the back line. There are levels of authority and experience on the team. The rookies are at the bottom having never played rugby before or just having played one year in high school. There are returners who have played for UNCC before but one for one semester (rugby is a fall and spring semester sport). Finally there are the veterans who we call vets who are experienced player who have been playing for a year or more. They get assigned a rookie who they then take under their wing and teach. Usually their rookie plays the same position if not a similar position to them. The team is also divided into two groups. The backs and the packs. The backs are the agile and faster players on the team who run the ball up the field. The pack players and the bigger and stronger player who participate in scrums. Kierra Gibson is the President to the club team and organizes our games and meetings. The captain of the team Christmas is the oldest vet on the team besides Coach Liz. Christmas has been playing rugby for eight years. She played all four years of high school and has played here at UNCC since her freshman year, she is now a senior. Last year the vets voted for her to become the captain. Above her is Coach Liz she has been playing for six year and volunteered to be coach this year. The discourse of halftime changes based on the way the game it going but it is still very important overall. Halftime in rugby is usually five minutes, keeping in mind that a rugby game

Grant 5 is eighty minutes of playing time. During halftime the team comes together to communicate about what is working on the field and what is not. If certain plays are not working for the back line then halftime with when you discuss what changes need to be made. Even if you are winning during halftime there is always something that the team needs to work on. Halftime is not the time to get cocky and think that you and your team have to stop working hard. No matter the score always play your hardest. The discourse of halftime is very vital to how the team plays the rest of the game. What is said during halftime affects how encouraged or discouraged people are which is why no matter the score, everyone should be encouraging about the outcome of the game. The discourse of distraction in Rugby is very useful and important. Most of the offensive plays that the back line run have to do with distracting the other team. They use switches, skips and looping. A switch is when the scrumhalf fakes like she is going to throw it to one player but actually passes to another. A skip is when the scrumhalf skips one or more players and passes it all the way down the back line to the wing, who is the last person in the line. Finally looping is when the back line passes it in order down the line and once you reach the beginning you loop around to the back to confuse the opposing teams defensive line. Looping also prevents tackling because the opposing team is not sure who has the ball. These forms of distraction are very useful and only work properly when teammates communicate fully with one another. I decided to write about rugby because I was new to the sport and currently being accepted into a discourse community. I interviewed the president of the rugby club, Kierra Gibson and a fellow rookie of mine, Faith Sallee. Kierra Gibson Interview

Grant 6 Me: Communication wise how do you deal with conflict on the team? Kierra: Well I usually have the two people or whoever is in the conflict to try and talk it out to begin with. If that doesnt work and its affecting the team then we sit down with them and Coach Liz and talk about how to fix the problem. Communication is important whether it be positive or negative. Me: Do you feel the rookies are learning from their mistakes and getting better? Kierra: Yes, I think that all the rookies have a great vet that they can learn from. This group seems to be learning quickly and they communicate pretty well when they dont understand something. Me: Do you feel the team communicates well overall? Kierra: I think that we could communicate better especially on the field but I feel we only lack in that this year because of the amount of rookies on the team. Me: How important to you believe communication is in Rugby? Kierra: Its very important because without communication nothing would work. Communication is key in any sport. Its used to keep everyone on the same page and to distract the opposing team. Me: Do you think the team this year is capable of making it to regionals? Kierra: Thats our goal! We feel like we have a lot of new talent this year but we still have a lot to go over and we need to get better at team communication. The rookies especially need to work on their communication skills and rugby terminology. Faith Sallee Interview Me: Why did you decide to join the rugby team this year?

Grant 7 Faith: I was between playing softball, which I played in high school, or rugby and I chose rugby because I wanted to try something new. Me: As a new player, do you feel like you can ask questions at practice? Faith: Yes, the team is great and the veterans encourage us to speak up if we dont understand something. Me: Do you and your veteran communicate well? Why or why not. Faith: Yeah! My vet and I talk a lot and she helps me understand my position more. Shes very passionate about rugby and she tries to get all the rookies excited to play. Me: How do you feel about the teams ability to communicate and do you think communication is important? Faith: I think that its a little rough right now because weve only played one game and most of us are rookies but it will defiantly improve with knowledge of the game. Yes, I think communication is extremely important and a key in winning games. Me: Is there anything that youve struggled with so far playing Rugby? Faith: Ummmin the beginning I wasnt too good at throwing because the size of the ball was much different from any other sport. Im still working on it but Ive gotten better with the help of my vet. In conclusion the womens rugby team at UNCC plans on winning as many games as possible and pursuing the regional rugby title. They plan to do this by communicating not just on the field but off as well. The vets invest in their rookies and push them to be the best players they can be because they are the future of the team. The team has fun at practice but also knows when to get serious and work hard. After observing the team and being a part of their discourse

Grant 8 community I believe that communication in all aspects of the game is very important. I have learned that the discourse of the team can bring us closer a friends and teammate especially through the teaching process. I also learned that many discourse are used in rugby. For example the discourse of halftime, encouragement and distraction are all very important. Overall the UNCC womens rugby team is a great discourse community and they have taught me a lot about communication, relationships and teamwork.

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