Screaming for the Banshees and professional women's rugby

Boston Globe

07-04-2025

Cheta Emba, who played for the US women's sevens team in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, listens to music as a trainer stretches her out before the match.
Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff
The Boston Banshees logo is of a screaming woman, whose shriek signals impending doom. They even have a quote from 'The Crucible,' the classic Arthur Miller play about the hysteria and fear of the Salem Witch Trial on their uniforms. In their first-ever game, they beat New York on the road in the last minute.
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Mess with them at your own risk.
To those that say rugby is a man's game, Q Okine, a Banshee prop who played for Harvard and Beantown RFC, just laughs.
Mikey Williams of the Twin Cities Gemini prepares herself for the match in the locker room under the Veterans Memorial Stadium stands.
Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff
'I think a lot of the time people get scared when women are out here doing badass things. I would tell them to come watch a game, see if you could do it for yourself before you're going to talk (expletive).'
There are six teams in the new Women's Elite Rugby league:
Boston, Chicago, Denver, New York, Minneapolis, and San Francisco.
The players come from all walks of life. There are Olympians and super mom's competing on the pitch.
Banshee Jenny Kronish, lifted into the air by teammates, wins a lineup against Gemini Emerson Allen.
Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff
'Everything from students to teachers to biotech to physical therapists to nurses, all those things,' says Coach Kittery Ruiz, who played on the USA Women's National Team and was an assistant coach at Brown.
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Besides game day, they practice four times a week. Most also work full-time jobs.
Ruiz is excited about the growth in women's rugby. She says the momentum stems in part from the Paris Olympics where the USA women won a their first-ever medal (bronze). USA Olympian medalist Ilona Maher has 4.9 million Instagram followers. There are now 2.7 million participants worldwide according to World Rugby, up 28 percent since 2017.
Banshees Yeja Dunn fends off Emily Mack in first half action. Dunn scored the first try in a 36-10 Banshee victory.
Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff
Coach Ruiz draws a salary, and the players in the WER get expenses paid, uniforms, travel meals, and rugby-related medical coverage and other perks. That is a lot better than it used to be, the coach and players say.
'I came through the system as a player and had to pay to play. It feels amazing to be a part of something that just allows athletes to just play rugby,' says Ruiz.
All league games are livestreamed by DAZN, an online sports platform, for free.
Banshees captain Paige Stathopoulos played for Boston University and USA Rugby. She is a construction project manager.
Boston Banshee Q Okine makes sure her braids don't get in the way during the match.
Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff
She says the inaugural match in Mt. Vernon,
N.Y.,
was exciting.
There was none of the intense New York-Boston smack talk from the fans during their first game. There was no heckling. No wiseguys asking for dates because she's listed as 'hooker' on the roster.
''No, no. Everyone knows what a hooker is in rugby, luckily,' she says with a laugh.
The Banshees beat the Exiles in the last minute.
Gemini Emerson Allen tries not to get stepped on during action under the scrum against the Boston Banshees.
Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff
'It was nerve-wracking a little bit to be in front of all the cameras,' she says. 'But the crowd was amazing … so it was a welcoming environment.'
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She says there is little difference between their games and the men's game. Both wear minimal protective padding and only a few wear headgear. Concussion is the greatest risk of injury.
'Nobody wants to hurt each other, but it's a physical game,' she says.
A gleeful fan cheers on at the first home game for the Boston Banshees at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff
'I think the contact component of it is something that not a lot of women get to experience in any sport. The fact that we have the same rules as the men is really important,' she says.
But it takes a special breed to play.
'I think there's a lot of people that played different sports growing up that were too competitive or a little bit too physical. And I think a lot of those people come and they find rugby, and it's where they really fit in.'
Banshee Caitlin Weigel battles a host of Gemini defenders looking to tackle her or strip the ball.
Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff
The team will split their remaining home games between Quincy and The Stadium at Tidewater Landing in Pawtucket, R.I.
Up in the stands,
Greg Evans, a season ticket holder, is pounding his homemade drum for the Banshees.
'I would have paid 10 times as much,' says Evans, a Quincy teacher. 'The atmosphere, all the fans, the players. The product is incredible, they never give up. This is what we've been waiting for, a real women's professional team.'
Gemini Ciara Clawson avoids a teammate and a face plant as she touches down against the Boston Banshees on a soggy pitch.
Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff
After the game, and the heartfelt hugs between the teams, the players run to the stands and applaud the fans.
Banshee fly-half Abbey Savin is mobbed by old friends from Dartmouth College, where she starred.
Money, or lack of it, is not on her mind.
Greg Owens, a Banshee season ticket holder, pounds the drums for the Banshees.
Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff
'We're paving the way for the next generation; I think the last thing on our minds is remuneration,' she says. 'We're doing what we love.' She says the vocal fans who pack the center section helped inspire the team to a 36-10 victory.
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'I do think there's extra buzz around coming out to support women. Oh, my gosh. It's so exciting. We knew that Boston fans would be like no other.'
Banshee Abbey Savin clip clops on the metal bench to greet her fans after a 36-10 win.
Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff
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Stan Grossfeld can be reached at