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After coming off of a successful fall season, finishing in the top 10 teams in the country with a record of 5-0, making it to the Northeast playoffs and losing to the eventual Northeast Champions, the University of Maine men’s rugby team looks to return to the pitch in the next couple of weeks.
The team, headed by co-captains Eric Anderson and Tony Purpura, spent most of its spring break playing in the St. Patrick’s Day tournament in Savanna, GA. The team placed fourth in the men’s division II – playing men’s clubs from places such as Maryland and New Jersey.
“The tournament over break was more about gaining experience and playing with mens’ teams,” Purpura said.
Purpura is what keeps the team rolling; along with being UMaine’s captain, he is also the captain of the Northeast Rugby Union All-Star Team that plays various other regions of the country. He hopes to make it to the United States National Team.
“The captains are the heart of the team,” said third-year team hooker Chris Drozell.
The Maine Cup, which is held on Saturday, April 12 at the Cumberland County Fair Grounds, is the first of many tournaments the team has lined up for this spring. The tournament is held strictly for Maine teams such as UMaine, Colby, Bowdoin, Maine Maritime Academy and the University of Maine-Farmington.
“Our biggest goal as a team this spring season is to take the Maine Cup Tournament, coming off a very strong showing in the Northeast this fall we have our sights on bringing back the trophy,” Drozell said. “We’ve been training all winter with this in mind.”
UMaine looks to be the heavy favorite, finishing 5-0 this fall against other Maine teams. There seems to be no stopping the squad any time in the near future as Mike Groth is the only player graduating this spring.
Adding to the team’s success is the constant addition of fresh talent. The newest addition to the squad is Tokuo Nagao, who previously spent three years playing in Japan and one year in Australia.
“We have a lot of really good, young players, and it’s fun to help them into their roles,” Purpura said.
After the Maine Cup, the team doesn’t have much time to relax as they get right back into playing with the Beast of the East Tournament in Portsmouth, RI. The Beast of The East Tournament is not only one of the biggest rugby events on the east coast but in the entire country. It is here that the team will face its stiffest competition of the year while facing such teams as Coast Guard, Navy and Air Force.
“With high hopes and plenty of hard work, we are going to be ready to face any team that steps on the pitch with us,” Drozell said. “We will play our type of game: balls-out, smash-mouth rugby. A mix of power, violence and finesse will get us into the try zone.”
