On Aug. 12, Eastern women’s rugby players Miranda Hankins and Hannah Vieth stepped onto a rugby field for the first time.

Both of them knew nothing about the sport, and Hankins had never heard of rugby until her senior year of high school.

Hankins said her first ever rugby game against Quinnipiac was very nerve-racking.

“It was my first Division I sport that I had only picked up three weeks ago,” Hankins said. “Luckily, right before the game, I talked to one of my co-workers who helped me calm my nerves down.”

Vieth said she was nervous, scared and excited all at the same time and also added that she had no idea what was going on.

Eastern coach Frank Graziano said Vieth is playing one of the hardest positions in rugby, fly-half, and it will take time for her to learn it.

“Hannah certainly has a huge overload,” Graziano said. “It is almost like playing quarterback in football. Imagine if you tried to play quarterback in football and never played the sport before. She certainly has more mental aspect of the game because of the position she plays.”

Hankins, who went to Charleston High School, was not a fan of going to the college in her hometown.

“I started to think about all the people who support me still close by,” she said. “I have an amazing support group, and I am lucky to be so close to home. “I’ve always dreamed of playing a Division I sport. I knew if I worked hard, I could achieve that goal.”

Vieth, who lives in Mattoon, said she was first worried about attending Eastern because she had been away from home at Illinois Central College, playing soccer for two years already.

“Now that I am so busy, I don’t even realize that I am 10 minutes from home,” Vieth said. “It is neat to represent the local athletes and play at this high of a level.”

Graziano said he tries to recruit local athletes.

Hankins did not know she was being recruited to play rugby when one day her mother was walking by the campus pond on the way to work in April of her senior year of high school and passed Graziano.

They started to talk about how Graziano goes to track meets to recruit some of his athletes.

Hankins mother mentioned her name and then Graziano stopped in his tracks.

“He had been trying to recruit me for months,” Hankins said. “I never got any of the papers he sent. After that, we kept in touch, and here I am.”

Vieth, on the other hand, was getting set to sign with a school in Chicago to player soccer.

Her dad joked with her about playing rugby at Eastern and said he would give her five dollars if she emailed coach Graziano.

“I thought he was crazy when he told me that, but one of my dad’s friends knows Coach,” Vieth said. “I didn’t think I would get a reply, and five minutes later, Coach responded. I had a choice to start something new or continue with soccer. It was hard, but I wanted to try something new and took on the challenge.”

Coach Graziano said the Charleston and Mattoon areas always have great athletes that come out of their high schools.

He said it is great to have local talent on his team.

“If you check some of the other sports teams, you will find local talent, male or female,” Graziano said. “Obviously, there are some good athletes locally, and we are excited to have them on the team.”

Hankins was a multi-sport athlete in high school, playing volleyball and running track and field.

She also plans to walk onto the track and field team in the spring at Eastern.

Graziano said both Vieth and Hankins are great to have on his team because they both have a lot of natural talent and a lot of athletic ability.

“This is great to have in our program,” Graziano said. “It is certainly going to take them a while to learn the game of rugby to where their personal assets become a gigantic plus.”

With Hankins playing both of those sports for all four years in high school, she said track and field has helped her most with rugby.

“Track is about how fast you run,” Hankins said. “Rugby has the same concept. It is just about how fast you can run with the ball in your hand.”

Vieth also was a multi-sport athlete at Mattoon High School in playing soccer and volleyball and said soccer has helped her become a better rugby player.

Graziano said the personality of Hankins and Vieth has been great and that they are very coachable.

“They are eager to learn,” he said. “Rugby can be a very complicated game to learn, especially if you haven’t grown up with it. They do extra work. They are always eager to do whatever it takes to be successful for their team.”

Learning any sport for the first time is not easy, and Hankins and Vieth had to learn rugby for the first time this year.

Hankins said it was hard at first, and she also adds that she improved a lot.

“I still don’t have some of the passing techniques down, but I am getting better,” Hankins said. “It is such a hard sport if you haven’t played football in your past. A lot of the moves and running the ball are like football. It is a fun sport that I cannot wait to increase my knowledge and become a great rugby player.”

Bob Reynolds can be reached at 581-2812 or rjreynolds@eiu.edu.