Phase one of the season of redemption has been a success for the Saint Louis University rugby club. But they aren’t satisfied just yet.
After a 73-0 victory over Washington University, SLURFC was crowned Missouri Rugby Football Union champions with an unblemished 6-0 record. The next step in the Division 2 rugby playoffs by defeating the University of Kansas 33-15.
SLURFC began their season a semester late in January after school administrators mandated a period of sanctions and reorganization.
The next task on the agenda for SLURFC is the Western Division Championship Tournament to be held on Friday and Saturday.
President Paul Spica has a simple goal in mind for this weekend: “I’d like to take the bus out and take the ship home.”
A victory over the former Division 2 national champions from the University of Northern Colorado would qualify SLURFC for college rugby’s equivalent of the Sweet 16 in Florida.
Northern Colorado enters this week as the top seed in the Western Region.
“I think we’re all looking forward to it,” junior Chris Faller said. “Its really gratifying to have gone this far. We practiced every day this week and its pretty nice to see it all pan out in the end. If we lose, we lose, but we’re going to put up a hell of a match.”
SLURFC has been taking on much bigger competition this year. Both Faller and Spica acknowledged that Northern Colorado has a significant size advantage, but they still aren’t backing down.
“We’re more of a speed team and they’re really big. We’re going to focus on our speed more and that’s how we’re gong to win the game,” Faller said.
The Western Regional playoffs will be put SLURFC into a win-or-go-home scenario. But this is something they are accustomed to.
“If we had lost one of our games, we wouldn’t have been able to go to Colorado. We still have to win every game so its been the same all season,” Faller said.
There have been a few close calls. After defeating the University of Missouri rugby club with ease in their first matchup, SLURFC found themselves trailing late in the second matchup.
But they were able to pull out the victory after two tries in the last 15 minutes of the game. It was an effort that reflected the sort of effort SLURFC has been putting forth all season.
According to Faller, SLURFC players are leaving an addtional day early so as to acclimate to the thinner Colorado air.
It has been a season to remember, but Spica said his favorite part was seeing the underclassmen develop.
“I liked watching some of the guys that are sophomores and freshmen play really well,” Spica said. “The senior class is strong but they are head and shoulders above we are. It keeps me excited for what’s going to happen for two or three years. It’s really exciting to see kids who have played four years in high school who really know the game. We’ve always had really good athletes, but these kids have three or four years up on the rest on the class.”
