Shared Strength: 25 Years of Nashville Women’s Rugby

By Sarah Calise • Photos Courtesy Nashville Women’s Rugby Football Club

This year is historic for Nashville’s long tradition of amateur sports. Twenty-five years ago, the Nashville Women’s Rugby Football Club was founded. The green and gold Stone Lions built a tradition of toughness, camaraderie and fun since 1996. Despite being named after Chattanooga’s once beloved and now-closed Stone Lion Tavern, the Lions have captured the hearts of many women in Nashville. 

Over the years, women from all walks of life, skill levels, and sexualities have joined the rugby club and discovered instant friendship, and they have done everything in their power to keep the team afloat. Today, the Stone Lions compete in Division 2 of the True South Rugby Union and participate as a member club of USA Rugby, but it hasn’t always been this way. There have been ups and downs in membership, financial instability, joint teams with Knoxville and Chattanooga, and championship dreams destroyed and fulfilled. Since the mid-2000s, both the women’s and men’s rugby clubs developed a greater focus on conditioning and intense competition. The teams have seen steady growth and the women’s serious play paid off. The Stone Lions won the True South D2 Championship in 2014.

The inclusiveness of rugby makes it an attractive sport to learn. Women of all shapes and sizes bring value to the game, and Nashville Women’s Rugby welcomes everyone from newbies to former college athletes to join the club. There are three levels of membership: returning, rookie, and social. Returning players pay $75 in dues and help show the rookies the ropes. All new players — the rookies — pay $50 in dues and gain a whole bunch of new friends. Then there’s the recently introduced social membership for people like me who cannot or do not want to play but want to join in on the socializing aspects. Think of the social membership as being an ultra-supporter of the club and the dues are only $25.

The Stone Lions are great competitors, but they enjoy a good time, too. They take part in charity beer busts and pint nights, Nashville Pride events, team dinners, trivia nights, and their annual King of the Night fundraiser, where the team dresses and performs in drag. They also volunteer in the community for organizations like the Nashville Humane Society.

Interested in joining or watching the Stone Lions? Check out their website nashvillewomensrugby.com and be sure to follow them on Instagram and Facebook. During the season, you can catch them at practice on Tuesday and Thursday nights at Dudley Park and playing home matches at Hendersonville Rugby Complex.