Despite being one of the lesser known sports on campus, the men’s and women’s club rugby teams continue to grow in participation, fans and recognition.
Building on strength
With the season underway, the Fairfield men’s rugby team has started the season with a 1-2 record, defeating rival Sacred Heart and fighting hard against Vassar and Seton Hall.
Although the Red Ruggers lost their past two games against Vassar and Seton Hall, both with a score of 51-26, the team was able to stay strong throughout the games.
“For the most part we were in those games until the very end,” said team president Mike Livingston ’07. “We’re just not coming out as strong in the second half of games, and that’s something we need to work on before we play a double header this coming weekend.”
This season, the team is stronger, faster and more organized as a team, said captain Brett D’Andrea ’07. With the talent, depth and dedication the team has gained, there is potential to have not only a winning season but to make the playoffs as well.
“This year, coming together as a team and playing to our full potential is something that we need to continually work on through practice and games,” said Jason Bertoli ’08. “Right now we’re extremely close to the stage we need to be at in order to have a great season.”
The next games for the Red Ruggers will be this weekend when they host Rutgers on Saturday and Hofstra on Sunday.
“We’ve gotten some decent scouting reports on those two teams to prepare for them,” said Livingston. “We can match up with anyone in the league; it’s just a matter of capitalizing on opportunities and playing the best that we can for a full 80 minutes.”
The team said student support is also very important. According to Jeff Littell ’08, getting more students involved in club sports and attending games will help the team attain its goal of making the playoffs later this year.
“I think our goal is the same goal that we always strive for,” said Livingston. “We have the ability to beat any team in the league, but it’s just a matter of getting the job done on game day. To make the playoffs we’ll have to fight to get there, but we’re going to have to take it one game at a time.”
Moves to improve
As the season progresses, the women’s rugby team has shown their valor every week after facing some of the toughest teams in the area.
Although the Stags fell to Rutgers this past Sunday 54-5, they defeated Bard College 10-0 and Hofstra University 25-15 the previous weekend.
“We played really hard on Sunday, but Rutgers is a really big team and they just dropped down into our league this year, so it was hard to match them for strength,” said Colleen O’Conner ’09.
Veterans on the team have commented on the immense dedication the rookies have shown so far this season. The try scored against Rutgers was by freshman Jen Manzi.
“The new rookies are so enthusiastic,” said Gerland. “They have stepped up in crucial situations and have learned things rather quickly.”
Lynn Peachy is a freshman who has earned a starting postion on the team.
“I’ve never played before and I’m really enjoying it,” said Peachy. “It’s a great group of girls and I’m looking forward to more seasons with them.”
However the women are still looking toward a playoff berth this season.
“Next weeks game is really important because if we don’t win, we won’t make it to the playoffs,” said Sheila Hughes ’09.
The next game will take place on October 29 against Drew.
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