After finishing the 2004 season with a team of mostly underclassmen, the men’s club rugby team compiled a 9-6 record and is optimistic going into its season.
With a new coach, Manasi Latu, and most of the team returning with experience, the team hopes to make it past the first round of the playoffs, where it lost to Sacramento State and Stanford last year.
The team currently has roughly 35 members and always fields two teams of 15 at every game in order to give every team member a chance to play.
Key returning players include team captain and fly-half Michael Schwartz, lock-backrow Michael Estis and outside-center Aaron Loghry.
Despite the athletic ability the team currently possesses, club coordinator Joey Latteri hopes to bring in new members in order for the team to be more competitive. He emphasized that most people believe they need to have experience to play collegiate rugby, but he said that is not the case. The first several weeks of practice are spent on conditioning and teaching new recruits the rules and strategies of the game.
“We’re trying to develop our level of play,” Schwartz said “We have a tremendous amount of athletic talent. We just need to cultivate it and focus it in one coherent direction.”
As for the team’s outlook toward the new season, Schwartz hopes the club becomes a dominant force in its conference, the Northwest Rugby Football Union. The conference includes Pacific-10 Conference schools Oregon State, Washington, Washington State.
The club is still holding loose practices where the number of participants ranges from 20 to 35. Latteri explains that there are too many schedules to work around, and therefore many members are unable to come to practice. In that case, many of the athletes are responsible for conditioning themselves. The team is also actively recruiting and plans a fund-raising campaign in the near future.
The team has already played its first game, beating the Eugene Men’s Rugby Club 14-12 on Oct. 15. The club’s next game will take place at Stanford University in a tournament that will consist of 10 other teams. The team is guaranteed three games there. They will also host games against Chico State and Oregon State on Nov. 12 and 19.
It’s still possible to join the team, which is always looking for new members. Practices are Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2-5 p.m. at Southbank Field next to the Autzen footbridge. For more info, the team Web site can be accessed through the Oregon Club Sports home page.