Because of its heavy team-focused structure, rugby contrasts with many popular sports in the U.S., such as football and basketball. You might even notice rugby players don’t always fit into the typical jock mold. Their hair might be longer, their beards a bit shaggier, and in the case of one Albuquerque team, they’re really friendly.
This year marks the third season coach Dustin Soflin has led the New Mexico Brujos rugby club, and he says he’s seen a gradual resurgence of local interest in the sport since the COVID pandemic. The team has been methodically practicing at Mesa Del Sol Sports Complex for their opening game of the 2025 season against their local rivals the Albuquerque Aardvarks. The faceoff will be part of a full day of Rugby March 8 at the New Mexico Tech fields in Socorro.
“We don’t want to turn anybody away from rugby, we want to make sure that it’s a place that people can come make new friends,” Soflin says. “We know rugby is not the biggest sport in the United States, but we want everyone to be out there experiencing it. If you want to have fun we want you out there.”
For those unfamiliar with the city’s rugby scene, the New Mexico Brujos have been around for decades. Located in Albuquerque and founded in 1981, the Division III Men’s Rugby Football club is a member of the Rio Grande Rugby Union, and its official governing body is the Southwest Rugby Union which oversees rugby teams throughout New Mexico and Arizona.
Like any major sports franchise, the team has a competitive appetite for victory and fosters healthy local rivalries against teams like the Aardvarks. But within minutes of meeting the players, newcomers will notice an undeniable sense of hospitality within their ranks. Simply put, the dudes are fun to be around. Soflin says The Brujos are proud of their acceptance of new members regardless of experience and welcome folks from all ages and walks of life to join the rugby community. The team offers recreational and competitive sports leagues, tournaments, instructional courses and rugby youth camps.
“Part of our mission is to overgrow New Mexico youth rugby. And we do that by showing up to some of the high school practices, working with the coaching staff there and hosting our own skills camp,” Soflin says.
The More The Merrier
The Brujos strongly emphasize inclusivity, particularly for the LGBTQ+ community. They participate in creative charity events such as the Rugby is a Drag (Show!) benefitting Casa Q, an organization providing safe living for LGBTQ+ youth, especially those at risk of or experiencing homelessness. Although the Brujos are a men’s league, Soflin says women and transgender men are welcome to try out for the team and adds that Albuquerque’s women’s rugby team, The Atomic Sisters, is always looking for new blood.
“If someone identifies as a male and they want to play, personally, as a coach, I have no problem with that. I don’t believe there would be any problem with anybody else on the team,” he says. “If a cisgender woman wants to come out and [compete against] a bunch of guys, more power to her. Sometimes I find they’re tougher than the guys, anyway.”
Soflin jokes that if he played in the NFL and heard everyone calling him the best wide receiver in the world, he might get a big head like some less-than-gratuitous professional sports personalities. But he doesn’t encounter that personality-type quite as often among rugby players, at least not the guys on The Brujos.
“With a lot of football guys and even basketball guys, I feel like there’s a lot of ego there,” Soflin says. “Not to say that some of our guys don’t have an ego — they definitely do — but I feel like the football mentality is much more individual and self driven, whereas rugby is a lot more team focused.”
The Rules of the Game
This team-focused mentality might emerge as a response to the game’s rules and the ways in which the team cooperates to advance the ball across the field. In rugby, since everybody gets a chance at the ball, everybody has to work together in order to score. Soflin says the scoring is very similar to football — the word “touchdown” actually came from rugby — and players score by touching the ball to the ground in an area called the “trizone” located at the end of the field. Scoring a “try” is worth five points. Conversion kicks, similar to kicking an extra point in football, are worth two points.
A “ruck” is formed when a ball carrier is tackled and loses possession of the ball while it is on the ground. Although it looks like a war, Soflin says rules regarding contact in Rugby are actually quite strict. If you’ve seen it, it’s hard not to relish in the excitement of watching both teams fight for control of the ball, pushing their opponents away while kicking or picking it up.
“With rugby, there’s a lot more work as a team to score, because everybody can touch the ball. The dude who’s 300 pounds running around on the field gets a chance to catch the ball, run somebody over and go score a ‘try’ just as much as the fast skinny guy,” Soflin says.
As with any full contact sports franchise, safety is a major concern for Soflin and the Brujos, so the team practices rigorously to minimize injuries. He says rugby players statistically sustain fewer injuries than professional football players. When it comes to CTE and traumatic brain injuries, preventative procedures in the world of professional rugby have evolved in compliance with pretty much every other major sport. And concussions are being taken a lot more seriously than they have been in the past.
“There’s a lot of rules around the contact area, which actually makes the game safer than you might believe when you watch it,” Soflin says. “Anytime there’s any sort of drill where there’s contact involved, you need to go into it 100% as if it was a game scenario: full speed. Because when you do it any slower than that, someone’s gonna end up getting hurt. Typically it’s the person who’s trying to go in nice and slow thinking that they’re being safe,” he says.
It’s All Fun and Games
The Brujos work their magic on and off the field by encouraging growth and advancement within the realm of rugby, subsidizing travel and other expenses for players who wish to try out for teams at higher levels. They purchase balls for youth leagues, host local tournaments and look for opportunities to participate in community-driven events any chance they get. When it comes down to it, the dudes who play for the Brujos are a different breed of athlete because they genuinely seem happy to play. And they want other like-minded people to join the party. Speaking of parties, they do know how to let loose after the final whistle is blown.
“It’s part of the rugby culture,” Soflin says. “After every game the home team hosts a social and it’s basically just a ‘drink up’ for everybody after the game. It’s like a war out there on the field, but once the game is over, we’re all friends at the end of the day. We all hang out and party and just have fun with each other.”
If you’re interested in joining up or if you just want match and practice schedules, info, merchandise and more, visit brujosrugby.com/