“This is the best the (men’s) rugby team has done in the four years I’ve been here, and they’ll be even better next year,” said senior president and captain Ben Snyder. “We’ve laid the foundation for what will become an excellent rugby club.” There can be no doubt about it; Guilford’s men’s rugby team has had a bone-shattering good season. The multitude of fans that show up on Saturdays for the home games have been pleasantly surprised by the team’s determination, vigor and high scores.
“I mean it was enjoyable enough before they started having winning seasons,” said junior fan Garrett Fitzgerald. “But this is the icing on the cake – the rugby cake.”
“We’re still not able to compete with every college team,” said senior Vice-President Gabe Guindon. “There is a group of colleges that are mediocre and a group that’s top flight. We’re in the middle. But, we beat UNCG, our cross-town rivals (14 to 5). I’d say it has been a great and bloody culmination to my Guilford rugby career.”
While they may not have beaten all comers (the Guilford players lost to Duke), they have at least thoroughly injured themselves in the process. As the season progressed, injuries built up. Guindon broke his nose in a tournament two weekends ago, and other players suffered various wounds and bruises.
“The tournament may have been ill-advised, but as a matter of pride we had to play, and so we played against some big mean dudes,” said senior Tyler Cope who could safely be described as a “big mean dude” himself.
“We lost a lot of players in the last couple games,” Guindon said. “No serious injuries though; no one broke their neck or anything. So that’s good.”
A significant influx of sophomore and first-year players has added to the team’s success and swelled the ranks of what had been an upperclassmen-heavy club.
“We have a good core group of freshmen, who are not only skilled athletes but really enthusiastic players, too,” Snyder said. “Without them, our team wouldn’t be as good as it is this year.”
“I started the year playing football, but I quit, so I needed something else to do,” said first-year Tito Kohout. “I tried rugby because it’s the same tackle-and-try-to-kill-people thing. I’m hooked now. It’s the best sport I’ve ever played, hands down.”
The season wrapped up last weekend in a game against a mixed squad of the Triad Old Boys club and Eno River club.
The original final game was going to pit the Guilford team against a rugby team comprised of Marines. Due to the men’s team’s damaged state, this was called off.
“We had too many people hurt to play that game,” said Kohout. “Half of our team was hurt or busy, and honestly no one wants to play the Marines. They’re kind of scary. When we played them before, they all had their shirts off practicing before the game . it was like a scene out of ‘300.’”
Many of the club’s officers and most experienced players will be graduating this year, including Snyder and Guindon. But, they are confident that the club will continue to thrive.
“Rugby is a growing sport, and I think Guilford rugby gives our college some of its character,” Snyder said. “I’m proud to be a part of this team; I think rugby is the best athletic club we have on campus.