Men's rugby pushes past adversity

By Eric Nelson

In a season that tested everything the men's club rugby team had to offer, the Santa Clara University Touring Side bombarded their way to a debut on the national scene and a ninth place finish in the nation.

Play kicked off this past Saturday at the Division II sweet sixteen national tournament with Santa Clara picking up a tough opening round matchup of Arizona State, the second overall seed in the tournament.

Despite sticking with them for the majority of the game, the SCUTS did not have enough in the tank, falling 34-17.

"We definitely had our opportunities but we were also battling a number of key injuries which really hurt us down the stretch," said sophomore Teddy Mefford.

Despite an early exit in the first round, the Broncos were able to rally and take down the fifth seed Wisconsin in their second game 23-20 to tie for ninth place.

"We were looking to really prove that we belong with the best in the nation," said senior captain JP Geothals. "It's exciting to have the opportunity to put our program on the map and I really feel proud to be the only team to go from our region and win a game at nationals."

The season has been impressive considering the journey the team has been through. In order to completely understand the circumstances Santa Clara has overcome in their quest for success, one must look back to the beginning.

It is early October of 2009 and tryouts have just begun. While the team is returning a core group of approximately 15 veterans, the task at hand is attempting to separate the 40 students that have never played before from those who can contribute from the start.

The next couple of months are dedicated to a crash-course education in the techniques and rules of the game of rugby. Some will make it through the mud, the cold, the conditioning and endless drills to finally emerge as a core part of the team.

"The biggest obstacle we overcame this season was bringing in a lot of new players into the fold," said Mefford. "At the very first practice we did a good job of separating the new players up based on their learning curves."

Come Jan. 16 Santa Clara was finally put to the test, facing an experienced Humboldt team. However, the SCUTS rose to the challenge, taking their first win of the season 14-7. Quick wins against Sierra, San Jose State and UC Santa Cruz were soon to follow as the team continued to climb to the top of the standings.

"We sort of realized from the start that we really aren't the biggest or most athletic team, but we were good because we learned how to use what we had," said Mefford.

As the season continued to progress, SCUTS were able to find ways to win, eventually landing them a record of 6-2-1 in league play.

Heading into the playoffs after finishing second in league, the Broncos were able to continue to ride their forward momentum, winning 39-38 in overtime against Snow Valley. A goal line stand in the last couple of seconds against Snow Valley wrapped up the win and assured a trip to Florida where the National Division II Championships were being held.

Despite a loss to Cal Maritime academy 34-7 in the championship of the regional playoffs, the SCUTS had warm weather and an opportunity to go down in history as the first rugby team from Santa Clara to contend for a national championship since the 1920's.

Preparation included regular practice times and 6:30 a.m. conditioning sessions for the two weeks leading up to the national playoffs.

"We've had our eyes on qualifying for the national championships all year," said sophomore forward Ryan Falvey. "We just wanted to make sure that we were putting ourselves in the best possible position to represent ourselves and our school to its fullest."

However, as the dust began to settle after the team's sweet sixteen appearance, and players packed their bags for the long journey back to California, it became easy to look at what could have been, but the team remembered that this season is not about what could have been, but what happened.

Taking into account that Santa Clara started off with close to 50 percent of its team having never played a game of rugby, a ninth place finish and a shot at the national title is a celebratory ending to the team's season.

Even with a strong finish, the Broncos are already set on taking even more strides next season.

As Mefford put it, "We're not satisfied just yet. Were going to go out and work hard this offseason and hopefully come back and make another strong push in the postseason. You haven't heard the last of us, not by a long shot."

Contact Eric Nelson at ehnelson@scu.edu or (408) 551-1918.