Since 1965 the men’s rugby club has been roughing up the competition. Today, the team is comprised of about 40 men with high expectations to win the State tournament, held in late October.
“2006 is when we last won the State tournament,” Bryan Maxwell, junior in civil engineering said. “Last year we didn’t do so well because we had a heavy freshman class.”
Looking to avenge last year’s record the team is working hard to prepare for its season opening home game next Friday night against Eno River at 7 p.m. on the IM fields.
“We are running some pretty vigorous practices,” Phillip Burcal, club president and team captain said. “We are trying to get prepared since we have about 20 new players who have never touched a rugby ball before.”
Practices are held twice a week and consist of conditioning and skill. Head coach Robert Mcallister has been set in charge of training all the new players.
“He’s doing everything in his power to get them up to speed and to perform well,” Burcal, senior in civil engineering said. “Safety is also one of our concerns, especially if they have never played before.”
It’s important to have a large team, a minimum of 30 players, because the club fields an A team and a B team, similar to varsity and junior varsity levels, according to Maxwell.
“The club is for people of all shapes and sizes,” Maxwell said. “Rugby is just full of people who like to play a physical sport.”
The rugby schedule takes the team on the road throughout most of September and into October. According to Maxwell, games and tournaments are always a good time.
“Every team has an unwritten rule to throw the other team a social after the game,” Maxwell said. “You either go out to a bar or back to someone’s house. The social aspect is one of my favorite parts.”
Maxwell also enjoys rugby for another reason—the physical contact. He started playing the sport in fifth grade, when his dad created the Carolina Youth Rugby League, based out of Charlotte.
“I love the physical part — just the tackling and getting physical,” Maxwell said.
As a high school football athlete, Burcal joined the club because he needed to find a substitution when he no longer could play football.
“I was trying to replace football in my life, and it’s been great,” Burcal said. “I put a lot of time and effort into it, being the president and captain of the club right now. It’s a great sport.”
Like any true Wolfpack fan, it feels good to beat Carolina and that rang especially true for Burcal.
“We have always played Carolina—even beaten Carolina while I’ve been here,” Burcal said. “But I didn’t get to play in any of the games until April of last year. I got to help beat Carolina 26-0 in a tournament in Charleston. It was a pretty good feeling and one of my favorite moments.”
