Martin's Rugby Coaching Forum

I love Mallory!

With rugby the physical confrontation, the bottom line option: "I am going to stand in front of the attacker and tackle" is what ties us all together. Help a winger to injures himself in his run to the tryline to score? Nobody would expect that.

But then, the homerun had already been hit.....

Great story of course, but Sara would not have been helped in a game of rugby. If you are not fit to compete, you will loose!

Sara Tucholsky's first college home run was a 3-run shot in the 2nd inning of a scoreless game to determine whether her Western Oregon (WOU) team or Central Washington (CWU) would qualify for the NCAA Division 2 softball tournament. Rounding first, Tucholsky's knee gave out and she collapsed. Mallory Holtman, CWU's star 1st-baseman, reacted to Tucholsky in pain on the ground. She and teammate Liz Wallace carried Tucholsky, allowing her to score the third run for WOU, which went on to win 4-2.

Was Holtman and Wallace's action an example of outstanding sportsmanship or of a lack of competitiveness? Why?
If you were the CWU pitcher, how might you feel about your teammates enabling the opponent to score what might have been the winning run?

If this had happened in a high-stakes professional championship, would it be appropriate for an opposing player to do what Holtman did? Why or why not?

Would you encourage your child to emulate Mallory Holtman? What might you say to him or her?

What might a comparable act of sportsmanship be in other sports?