Miami Quarterly

Issue date: 12/12/09 Section: Sports

The Men of Miami Club Rugby actually like each other and would appreciate winning at nationals this year.

Last year, they finished third in the national Final Four. This year, the Miami Club Rugby Team (MURFC) hopes to be the last one standing. The 2008-09 team glided through the regular season, winning the Midwest Championship before heading to the big stage for the national tournament where they lost to Wisconsin.

Key players like Dan Lemoine, Lee Ruddock and Mike Genz have graduated and now play in other leagues across the country and abroad. Lemoine and Ruddock currently play for the Edinburgh Accies in Scotland while Genz plays for the Atlanta Old White Rugby Club.

Despite losing these key players, a solid core has returned and a fearless team led mostly by juniors and seniors has one goal in mind: winning a national championship. Head coach Jared Moore leads the squad with help from his two team captains, Miami junior Ryan Grote and Miami sophomore Alex Megura.

In the first two rounds of this year's Midwest Tournament, MURFC went 2-0, outscoring their opponents (Central Michigan and Indiana University- Pennsylvania) by a wide margin of 96-10. The next stop is Elkhart, IN for the Midwest Final Four, where they will meet the Dayton Flyers, who handed the team their only loss of the year on a last-second play in the final game of the regular season.

There's no doubt that revenge is on the minds of the players.

"Dayton's become one of our toughest games, and since they edged us at the last second to win the conference, we obviously have extra motivation now that we get to play them in the playoffs," says Miami senior Brandon Croley, who plays hooker. "I'm confident we're prepared for the match. We'll come out with a lot of intensity."

If they defeat Dayton, the team will play the winner of St. John's University of Minnesota and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in the finals of the Midwest Championship. With a championship win, Miami will automatically qualify for the spring's national tournament.

Even with their strong record, many students aren't familiar with the rugby team or how the game works.

"One of the hardest parts about rugby is learning the game, says Miami sophomore Patrick Rahill, who also plays hooker. "It's kind of hard when you don't get to see it on TV every Sunday or every other day like some sports."

For starters, each team has 15 players on the field at all times. Each team can also have up to seven players on the bench. A team is awarded five points for a try, which is the best way to score, and two points for a conversion, totaling seven points just like a touchdown in football. Three points are awarded for a field goal, also like football.

Other rugby terms most people are unfamiliar with include a ruck (a competition for the ball after a tackling contest), a scrum (a restart of play after a foul) and a lineout (a throw-in just like what happens in soccer).

The positions in rugby are a little different as well. While football has linemen, rugby has forwards, which include props, hookers, locks, flankers and 8-men. Rugby's skill-player positions are backs, which include scrum halves, fly halves, centers, wings and fullbacks. Although there exists a few forms of rugby, Miami plays "union," meaning they frequently use rucks.

Besides holding bi-weekly practices and workouts, the team is also involved in philanthropy. Over the past year, MURFC has donated shorts, socks and rugby balls to an anti-gang organization called "Hawaiian Gardens." They also hold a candle sale around the holiday season during which players sell seasonal scents to families, friends and sororities for fundraising.

Camaraderie is one of the key ingredients to the rugby team's success, according to Coach Moore. The team is a cohesive unit on and off the field, creating chemistry that promotes success. They can be seen hanging out together at the "Rugby House," the "Rugby Apartments" and also tend to go Uptown together.

"I would say their individual work ethic and their sense of team bonding is the key to their success, Moore says. "These guys are friends for life."

If the team can continue to work hard and work together, look for them to be a force in the national tournament this spring.

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