Emerald City Mudhens Team
The Emerald City Mudhens were hatched in the fall of 1993 and wasted no time making their presence felt in both the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia Rugby Unions. Since their inception, the Mudhens have been represented territorially, regionally and nationally with the Pacific Northwest Loggers, Pacific Coast Grizzlies and U.S. Eagles. The Mudhens have been to the National Championships a total of five times where they finished 2nd in the Plate Division in Chicago in 1996, 1st in the Plate Division in Minneapolis in 1998, 4th in the Cup Division in Chicago in 1999, and 3rd in the Plate Division in Chicago in 2000. In 2009, the Mudhens entered the new CR-1 division, broadening the already competitive league including teams from Washington, Oregon and North/Central California to include teams from Arizona and Southern California. Also in 2009, the Mudhens expanded our horizons once more adding a 7's rugby program to our already established 15's side. The 7's program hit the ground running with a 4th place finish at the finals and then a 7th place finish in 2010 at the first ever USA santctioned Women's National 7s tournament.
Since 2000, the Mudhens have been a significant force in the league(s) making our clean, creative, and open style of play known across the United States. Many Mudhens have also dedicated their time to coaching aspiring rugby players at the University of Washington, youth programs, and Mudhen hosted camps and clinics.
The Mudhens have also had many successes off the field in promoting rugby to a wider audience. The Hens were featured in the May 2004 Seattle Times feature article "Scrum Sisters" and had their television debut on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition in March 2005, swiftly moving furniture and demonstrating rugby drills to a national audience. The Mudhens were recognized for their marketing successes in Rugby Magazine's May 2005 article, "Mudhen Love Pays off in Publicity," a how-to article on how to run a rugby team.
The Mudhens continue to make strides every season, both on and off the field of play. We encourage energetic, athletic, and open minded individuals to come and be a part of the fun and competition, but don't plan on making it a short visit: as one rookie rugger described, “Rugby’s like an addiction, you love it, you crave it, it gets under your skin, in your blood and leaves you wanting more.”