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The University of Maine men’s rugby team is in the middle of their spring season after an impressive fall season where they went 9-2 and came in third place in the Northeast region. Unlike the fall season, the team plays in many small tournaments instead of having regular season games every week.
“It’s a different type of rugby,” said club president Brian St. Pierre. “You play two, sometimes three games in one day, and then won’t have another game for two weeks.”
So far this year, UMaine has played in two tournaments. The first was the Harm in the Barn tournament at the University of New Hampshire. At the tournament, the team placed second, losing to the three-time defending champions Mushroom Tattoos, a men’s club team out of New York. The team was happy with its play, beating other men’s club teams, Division I teams, as well as a few teams in their own conference.
“We went down there and gave them the hammer,” said freshman Anthony Bruneau. “You have never experienced rugby until you’ve played it in an old horse barn in February.”
UMaine also took a trip to Savannah, Ga. for the Savannah Shamrocks’ annual St. Patrick’s Day Tournament, where they faced other college teams in a two-day tournament. They again placed second in the tournament, moving past the University of Houston and Buffalo University, ultimately losing in the finals to Ohio University.
Because of their tremendous play in the fall, the team has been making some national news. In a poll put out by Rugby magazine by expert rugby analysts Timothy Goff, UMaine was ranked No. 13 in the nation for Division II. This accomplishment speaks volumes, because they are the only team in the top 25 that does not have a coach.
“We are very proud of our play,” said sophomore Tony Purpura. “But our goal is not national rankings, it is to go down to Maine Cup and show the rest of Maine what our team is all about.”
Maine Cup is the once-a-year tournament that is held in Cumberland, Maine where all the rugby teams from Maine come together and play for the right to be called the best team in Maine. Last year, UMaine came in second place to the University of Maine at Farmington, UMaine’s toughest competition this year as well. At this tournament, the best players from Maine are selected for an all-star game played against other New England teams. Five UMaine players were selected last year, the most from any team in Maine. They also had three honorable mentions.
As UMaine gears up for Maine Cup, they are also looking ahead to next year.
“We really want the UMaine campus to embrace rugby, so we are looking into having a tournament next winter in the dome,” said St. Pierre. The team also plans to release its schedule earlier, and get some games on the Maine Channel.
“Rugby is a great sport, and if people gave it a chance I think they would really like it,” said St. Pierre.
