After you graduated last spring, how did you start playing for the Boston Banshees in the Women’s Elite Rugby league?
AS: I had been injured my junior year and had an extra term of eligibility, so I stayed for the fall of 2024 and played through the 15s season. The draft had opened in the summer for the Elite Rugby league, but they didn’t advertise it to college students much. I think they mainly wanted people to finish school before joining the draft.
I was trying to figure out life after college generally, and playing professional rugby seemed a bit lofty for me. As we moved through the 15s season, I realized I really wanted to keep playing.
My coaches had more details and talked to me. My head coach now at the Banshees was an assistant coach for Brown. She contacted me directly during the 15s season because we played each other a few times and reached out to see if I might be interested in joining the draft for the Banshees. I said yes.
How has the transition from the Dartmouth women’s rugby team to the Banshees been?
AS: It’s been a really great way for me to carry that level of team connection into adult life. It’s been a supportive environment. There have been a lot of transitions in the last few months, and socially and competitively. It’s a different environment. At Dartmouth, your whole life can revolve around your rugby schedule. Now people are juggling many responsibilities — families, jobs, graduate school. But keeping that team connection as a thread from college into post-grad life has been really valuable.
Training-wise, it’s challenging in different ways. In Division 1 collegiate rugby, the level of IQ and expectations for game knowledge jump drastically from high school to college. For many women, their rugby knowledge has been shaped by collegiate programs. When you bring players from top programs together into one squad, there’s a bit of a reckoning — how do we play, how do we know each other as players? At school, we were shaped in the same system, but now everyone brings their own skills and perspective. Preseason was probably the most difficult: just putting all those pieces together to produce the best product we could. But it’s been amazing. I get to play with Olympians, national team players and women older than me with international experience. It’s humbling and also a great learning experience.
How is the WER league reshaping the landscape of women’s rugby?
AS: The league offers an opportunity to continue playing at an elite level that wasn’t previously accessible post-grad. Some players used to seek international opportunities, and before WER, the dominant adult league was the Women’s Premier League — the club league some WER teams evolved from.
A lot of women I play with have been seeking this kind of opportunity for years. Many have waited for a league like this to emerge. It’s something women have worked toward for a long time. There’s been a lot of work over many years to create a league where women can play at a high level post-college. That’s the most exciting part — this didn’t exist before. The league has opened doors. Now, more women can play elite rugby, and it will only grow. That’s exciting for us now and for future generations.
What are you doing when you’re off the field?
AS: I’m a program officer for the Frontline Health Workers Coalition, which is a global advocacy coalition that I interned with through the Dickey Center for International Understanding my junior summer. I work full time during the day. After work, I have a team lift, sometimes conditioning and then practice later in the afternoon. On weekends, we prep for games, recover or travel.
It’s been busy but fulfilling. I’ve found a strong community in my Dartmouth friends who are also in Boston postgrad. That’s brought consistency to all the craziness. I’ve also just been enjoying the city. I do yoga, and I’ve been reading a lot — for joy again, finally.
What are your personal goals for this season and how do you see your rugby career progressing?
AS: We’d love to win, of course. But for me, it's about enjoying each moment. It’s easy to get caught up in the hard work and forget the bigger purpose. More than just winning, we’re part of something really special. So many people have worked for years to create this.
The sport has grown so quickly. Women’s rugby wasn’t in the Olympics until 2016, and the global attention it’s received since then has been incredible. It’s a great time to be in women’s sports. We get to drive what women’s rugby becomes in the U.S.
Rugby is also unpredictable, due to injuries and other factors, so I’m trying to appreciate each moment. It’s been a part of my life since elementary school. It’s foundational to me, but I’m not planning too far ahead. I’m just enjoying where I am, the people I’m with and continuing to learn. I’ll see where it takes me.
Having won two collegiate national championships in 2021 and 2022, do you envision yourself winning the Women’s Elite Rugby championship?
AS: Something I learned from so many seasons at Dartmouth is that it takes commitment and preparation. We always said, “Control the controllables.” Focus on what’s in your power — getting to the gym and conditioning rather than obsessing over what other teams are doing.
Right now, we’re just putting our heads down and working. We’ve had a successful start, but we have to keep that momentum and stay grounded. That end goal of winning in the inaugural year would be amazing, but those big moments are built from all the little ones — often the least glamorous. We have to appreciate the small moments, celebrate the wins and look at what we can do better each time. That’s how you reach those big milestones. Hopefully, by the end of the season, we can revel in that work. But we have a long way to go, so we’ll keep driving.
