Miami Sharks kick off second season as rugby popularity grows in South Florida
MIAMI - With thousands of fans in the stands, the Miami Sharks kicked off their second season at the Florida Blue Training Center on Saturday.
It brought a warm feeling to South African native Darren Henn, who grew up watching and playing the sport back home.
"I get a lot of nostalgia from it," Henn said. "Just having rugby playing over here is one of the highlights of my life right now. If I'm in town, I will not be missing a game."
Rugby is growing in popularity across South Florida
While Sharks fans are made up of people across the globe, some didn't have to travel very far, like local fan Toby Lawrence.
A former rugby player at the University of Florida, Lawrence is retired now. Staying close to the game though, he's giving others a chance to start young by coaching a local youth team.
"It's a game you can play for life, you can travel around the whole world," Lawrence explained. "Turn up to a rugby club anywhere in the world, you have 15 friends."
"It's really fun to not only play but watch," said Tommy Sharpe, a Sharks fan who plays for the U14 youth rugby team in Fort Lauderdale. "It's high contact, so it's fun."
"I am a football coach and I never played this sport before but quickly realized how well football players and athletes in general fit into the rugby culture," Tommy's father TJ said. "[The fan growth is] slow but strong and we are hoping that we can spread the word of rugby around here."
Sebastian Clark, who also plays for the U14 said he already prefers rugby over American football.
"It's just more contact, more flow," Clark said.
