1.0Harvard Gazettehttps://news.harvard.edu/gazettegazetteimporthttps://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/author/gazetteimport/One team, 37 strong — Harvard Gazetterich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="srsz6Dc4o9"><a href="https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2006/10/one-team-37-strong/">One team, 37 strong</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2006/10/one-team-37-strong/embed/#?secret=srsz6Dc4o9" width="600" height="338" title="“One team, 37 strong” — Harvard Gazette" data-secret="srsz6Dc4o9" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script>
/*! This file is auto-generated */
!function(d,l){"use strict";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&"undefined"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),c=new RegExp("^https?:$","i"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display="none";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):"link"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute("src")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener("message",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute("data-secret"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+="#?secret="+t,e.setAttribute("data-secret",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:"ready",secret:t},"*")},!1)))}(window,document);
//# sourceURL=https://news.harvard.edu/wp-includes/js/wp-embed.min.js
</script>
Out of the dozens of club offerings annually pitched and promoted to Harvard's freshman class, what would possess Cambridge's newest residents to sign up for rugby - that brutal pastime favored on the other side of the pond? More perplexing still, why are some of Harvard's newest female students clamoring to join the scrum (and more often than not, sticking it out for four long years)? A longstanding desire to rebel, perhaps; or maybe it's the sheer novelty of the sport; or another ticket to well-roundedness. The real answer, it seems, is not nearly so complicated. To tweak Carville's famous phrase, "It's the contact, stupid." Or so proclaim a good majority of the Radcliffe Rugby Football Club's (RRFC) team members, now 37 strong.https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/wp-content/uploads/2006/10/15-rugby4-450-1.jpg