Rugby building strong season around veterans

By Ben Kohl     1/27/11 6:00pm

When it comes to intercollegiate athletics, Rice usually finds itself as the guppy among sharks. Despite the sporadic success of varsity sports, many club sports teams have recently achieved considerable success. Both club baseball and ultimate frisbee have made names for themselves over the past few years, and now the Rice rugby football club is joining their ranks. In fact, after a dominant 4-0 start in the Texas Rugby Union Div. II league, Rugbymag.com has recently awarded the team a No. 15 national ranking. This success has not come easily, but adversity has helped fuel this hungry squad. Team captain Matt Jones commented on how the tough time helped unite the team.

"The upperclassmen joined the team when it was in the trough of its abilities," Jones, a Hanszen College senior, said. "The bitter taste this left has given us much more drive and passion to not take for granted the chances we have this season." Jones referenced a scarring 81-0 loss to Louisiana State University suffered two years ago and is relieved to finally experience the other end of such a match after the recent 68-0 pounding of Stephen F. Austin State University.

After starting off with a 32-5 win over the University of Houston that featured some masterful tackling, the Owls hit the road to travel to Denton to take on the University of North Texas, where they fell behind early to the Mean Green. In the second half, Rice overcame its 10-7 halftime deficit by scoring two tries, one each from Will Rice College senior flyhalf Craig Wilson and Jones College senior tight end Jim Aman. With their first Texas Rugby Union Cup victory in hand, the Owls defeated nationally ranked Baylor University 27-17, a victory that generated some buzz throughout the league about the upstart team. After easily handling the University of Dallas 49-3, Rice cruised through its match against SFA, taking out the Lumberjacks by a score of 68-0. The Owls finished their fall season 4-0 in cup play, giving them a lot of optimism headed into the spring season.

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Matt is part of the solid group of upperclassmen to whom Head Coach Mario Botha credits much of this season's success.

"We have a core group of players that have stuck together, worked out together and played numerous games together," Botha said. "The experience they have obtained is invaluable."

This experience is particularly indispensable since 95 percent of the players on the team had never touched a rugby ball before arriving at Rice and didn't know a scrum from a try.

Rugby is played with 15 players to a side, however, so this core could not have performed as they have without the help of a fantastic batch of new players. Luckily, a superbly athletic freshman class has picked up the game quickly and meshed beautifully with the returning players. They are led by Duncan freshman Matt Kaufman, who has, in fact, come in with more rugby experience than any of the returning players after competing in high school in England. He has helped to solidify the pack (the equivalent of a lineman in American football) as the staple of the Rice squad and has provided fantastic leadership despite his young age.

Of course, for a game that must be taught from scratch to incoming players each season, a team can only be as good as its coaching. Luckily for this squad, the sky is the limit. Botha has been with the team longer than any of the players, and this consistency has provided the team an instrumental part of its success. The coach grew up in South Africa, where he developed a love for rugby at a young age. He was a standout at Hudson Park High School and at the University of Port Elizabeth and went on to be captain of his men's club team, which won its league five of the 11 years he was with it. While playing in South Africa, he acquired much of his knowledge under the coaching of Gert Smal, the current assistant coach of the Springboks, South Africa's national rugby team. He then brought his experience to Houston, where he continues to coach and play the game with an unparalleled and infectious passion.

Bocha is assisted by an equally qualified assistant in Bill Hayward. Hayward is new to the team this year, and his presence has had an immediate impact. He played for the United States Eagles national team from 1988-1992 and then for the United States' "Team American" from 1995-2005. He has played against national teams such as France, Australia, South Africa and the New Zealand All Blacks and has gained knowledge about the intricacies of the game required to compete at the highest level. Hayward has taken over the coaching of the back line - think running backs and wide receivers in American football - and turned the team's previous weak spot into a point-scoring machine.

The success this team is experiencing is much deserved, but the strength of this club goes far beyond its wins and losses. All of the Rice ruggers, stars and rookies, current and past players, show an extreme commitment and connection to the club, and many of them regard the rugby team as their favorite aspect of the Rice experience. What the players unanimously described as the strongest aspect of the club is the sense of camaraderie formed on the rugby pitch.

"When you sweat, bleed and bruise together, it builds a sense of trust and a bond that you cannot really find anywhere else," Jones said.

The team is in fantastic position to win its league and qualify for the Western Championships and the National Sweet 16. The team has not had this opportunity in more than 10 years, and it is particularly exciting because the road through the playoffs will start with the Texas Championships, which Rice will be hosting Feb. 26-27.

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