By Matt Friedman
The OSU rugby club is preparing for the fall season with the goal of bringing home the Midwest title.
Returning players are currently participating in an off-season weight program mirroring that of the U.S. National team. The team has also added six top recruits.
The biggest prospect is Nate Ebner, from Hilliard, Ohio. Ebner is a member of the national U-19 team and played in the World Rugby Championships overseas.
The freshman will have a lot placed on his shoulders in his first year, as he will be starting as a ?10,? which is one of the skilled positions of players who handle the ball. In football terms, Ebner is considered the quarterback of the team. He has the task of replacing last year?s captain Doug Olson, a would-be fifth-year senior who is attending medical school.
Other starters at skilled positions are Brandon Jewett at the ?8? and Mickey Franco at the ?9? spot.
Coach Tom Rooney, in his fourth year as the club?s head coach, stresses the importance of the non-skilled positions.
?No matter how good the skill players are, you need the ?nasties? up front,? Rooney said.
Rooney named off hooker Adam Norris, tighthead prop Dave Knab, flanker Matt Alteri and Jimmy Navratil as the key players up front.
Jewett, a Midwest All-Star last season, is the new team captain.
All of these players will combine to try to regain prominence on the national rugby stage. ?We did not compete as strongly as OSU tradition shows us to last year,? Rooney said.
It won?t be an easy road to the Midwest title, as OSU faces five of the top sixteen teams in the country from last season, including Penn State, Navy, Tennessee and Michigan. The Buckeyes will be looking to avenge last spring?s losses to Ohio University and Michigan. Coach Rooney also said that winning those two late-season games will be crucial to qualifying for the playoffs.
The club does bring enough experience to return to the top. They only graduated three seniors, and Coach Rooney felt confident that their replacements, many of whom are juniors and seniors, will be successful in their new roles.
OSU also took a playing trip to England in March, which ?really helped the cohesion of the team,? said Coach Rooney.
The club followed that with a solid spring, and is almost set for the fall. Coach Rooney stressed that the club is not complete.
Tryouts for the OSU rugby team are open to students that are full-time at OSU and earn at least a 2.0 GPA. Coach Rooney said that some of the ex-wrestlers and football players who have never played rugby before turn out to be even better than the players who were recruited as rugby players.
?Our best players are athletes from high school that aren?t playing [a sport] now,? Rooney said.
?A half-dozen of our starters never played until college. The first year they learned, but the second year they got it. [The athletes] are out there. They are just intimidated because they don?t know the sport.?
The rugby team is split into two squads: the competitive club and the social club. New or less-experienced players can play for the social club to try and eventually earn a spot on the competitive club.
Coach Rooney welcomes anybody meeting the requirements to workout and tryout for the team and to learn the game of rugby. Rugby is a recreational sport at OSU, not an NCAA sport, so all of the eligibility rules are those of USA Rugby.
For more information on joining or following the OSU rugby team, go online to
OSU Rugby.
For those interested in Rugby
For those interested in Rugby and not an OSU student, don?t worry, there?s a chance to participate in the world?s second most popular sport too! Ohio State also spawned one of the first competitive men?s rugby clubs in Ohio, called the Scioto Valley RFC. The club was formed in response to the growing number of graduating athletes who wished to continue their rugby careers post college. Scioto Valley has competed at the height of U.S. competitive rugby since 1975. The club is currently comprised of players locally from OSU, BGSU, Miami University, OU, Marshall University, UC, LSU, University of Dayton among others and internationally from France, England, Mexico, South Africa, Ireland and Argentina. SVRFC?s athletes have represented their sport at All-Star state, territorial and national levels sending players to the Ohio Select Side, Midwest Thunderbirds, US Falcons, US Hawks and ultimately the US Eagles. Scioto is currently coached by Steve Finkel a former Eagle and US coach.
The club is always looking for individuals interested in participating or supporting this great game. No experience is necessary and players of all skill levels are encouraged to attend any training, match or social event.
