Men’s Club Rugby Alumni Return

By Sophie Grabiec 
Sports Editor

On Sunday, April 22, the Washington College Men’s Club Rugby team hosted alumni for a seven’s alumni game. At 1 p.m., alumni and students joined together on the Bermuda grass field.

Historically, the rugby team has been known for its inclusivity. People of all different interests and backgrounds join the team.

“Anyone can join the team and play, regardless of your athletic ability or knowledge of the game. When we started the team, we had baseball players, lacrosse players, lit house guys, drama guys, fraternity brothers and independents,” said Seth Engel, Class of 1993.

This sense of camaraderie and community has united many students, young and old. Engel said the WC Club Rugby team was, “and, to some extent, still are a rag-tag bunch of kids with varying degrees of understanding the game of rugby itself; we’ve never had an honest-to-goodness coach as far as I know, and we continue to be self-motivated.”

The current team and the “Old Boys,” as Engel called them, gathered for a barbecue to connect and chat following the game.

“The post-game barbecue was great. We got a chance to relax, talk about past experiences with the WC rugby squad, and talk about some of the problems that the club deals with,” said junior David Mulhearn. During the picnic, the “Old Boys” and the current team found that they shared a lot of the same experiences.

    “One alumnus recalled going to his teammates rooms on campus pulling them out of bed so the team would have enough people to play in the match that day,” Mulhearn said. “I thought that was funny because sometimes the team still finds ourselves doing the same thing.”

Mulhearn said the team benefitted from the game, as they usually play fifteen’s. The seven’s allowed them to take some notes and strategize for future competition.

“With less people on the field, the game becomes less about pounding the ball at the other team than it does about stretching the field and passing the ball effectively. I think learning some of the skills associated with seven’s will help our team offensively,” Mulhearn said.

The team looks forward to their regular season schedule in the fall of 2018.

Questions regarding the rugby team should be directed towards the club president David Mulhearn at dmulhearn2@washcoll.edu.