Amanda Spaeder pulls up her right pant leg and points to her shin, where some dozen scratches litter the skin like a crossed-out doodle.

She smiles.

“I definitely look like I’m in an abusive relationship,” she says.

And she is, more or less, though the combat is mutual and (usually) far from criminal.

Spaeder and her 19 teammates comprise the Penn women’s rugby team, a club sport at Penn and numerous other area schools.

“You do have to be somewhat masochistic,” the sophomore says. “But rugby is the best outlet. You’re frustrated, you have a bad day, you put everything into your tackles.”

Though failing to attain varsity status, the Penn team does partake in a league with local rivals Ursinus, Millersville, and St. Joe’s. (This fall, Penn defeated all three to take the title.) The women also scrimmage against Princeton, Swarthmore, and Bucknell, among others, over the course of the year.

According to Spaeder, practices occupy two three-hour blocks during the week, while the entire day on Saturday is reserved for matches and “socializing”.

“It’s very much a social sport,” Spaeder says. “You play 80 minutes, beat each other’s asses, then go drink a keg together.”

Vital as this latter point is to the rugby culture, Spaeder explains, on-field action is no second fiddle.

“It’s really intense if you’re not in shape,” she says. “You wake up on Sunday and feel like you got hit by a truck.”

(On a semi-related note, players are often sore from playing rugby, as well.)

For those who put in the hours, the dividends can be thrilling — if slightly sinister. At 137 pounds and a shade over a 5-foot-5, Spaeder says she was “pretty excited” after one of her hits broke an opponent’s ankle in a match last fall.

Less excited about the weekly bloodletting: Spaeder’s parents.

They’re supportive, sure — as Philly residents, they attend almost every game — but the family’s only daughter admits it’s “not their first choice of sport for me.”

But then again, neither was field hockey, Spaeder’s former sporting flame, extinguished unceremoniously when the Penn coach “blew [her] off” last year, saying the roster was full.

Good thing for Spaeder, who now swears by her unofficial sorority. Even her father is starting to come around.

“He says I’m the son who made him proudest.”