Gateway Ruggerfest is a rugby tournament with 63 years of history behind it. 63 years of non-stop, full-contact, good old fashioned rugby. The history of Mustang Rugby Club is much less extensive, with less than a year under its belt and fewer than five wins and losses a piece.
But this year, players of the recently formed Mustang Rugby Club left their mark on the sixty-third year of Ruggerfest’s long history by winning their j.v. high school boys’ bracket in the tournament.
Nick Schasch, senior and 8-man, said the win was an accomplishment for the history books.
“In the championship match we came back and beat Kansas City by scoring a try with one minute left,” Schasch said. “[It] has been our biggest victory.”
Jerry Butler, head coach, said he is more than satisfied with the results the team has had and hopes this success will carry over into the post season, as a victory over Jefferson City clinched a spot in the State tournament Saturday, June 4.
Butler said he hopes to make a run to the top of the bracket and see the team ranked fifth in State at the end of its inaugural season. However, Butler said Mustang Rugby Club will have an above-average amount of obstacles to overcome, many of which stem from being a new organization.
“Having new players requires that we have to take a lot of time early in the season teaching the basics of the sport,” Butler said. “The more experienced players you have the easier this is because the experienced players help the new players learn faster.”
For this reason, Butler said, he encourages freshmen and sophomores to join in order to build a team that will have lots of experience by the time they are juniors and seniors.
But the young team has been able to pick up the sport and prove to be a competitive team, Butler said. When it comes down to it, the sport is not school sponsored, and this inherently causes issues. Butler said funding the team has been difficult, but a local men’s rugby club, the St. Louis Hornets, has offered financial support.
The Hornets also have helped fill holes in the team staff that result from a lack of school sponsorship.
“We do not have any faculty involvement at this time,” Butler said. “Coaches are volunteers and all of us have full-time jobs. This can be challenging as work often times will override rugby practice.”
Schasch said not being school sponsored gives them a disadvantage to more experienced, school sponsored teams.
“It is hard to compete with teams that practice everyday and have played for four years,” Schasch said.
In addition, Butler said it’s been a chore just to find the right time and place to play. Butler said Missouri High School Rugby wants to align its schedule with the MSHSAA spring sports schedule to eliminate conflicts between other sports’ schedules and with cold weather that arise from a season that starts earlier than most spring sports.
Kasey Devine, senior and lock/prop, said despite these issues, the team has shown a lot of promise.
“In our losses early on in the season, we were playing very experienced teams,” Devine said. “In our wins, we have completely destroyed the opposition. For a first year club, we are doing quite well.”
Devine said he wants to take advantage of their spot in the State Tournament and finish ranked fifth in State with a record of at least .500. Such a goal will require lots of effort, Devine said.
“To achieve this, we need to refocus our efforts in training, and not take any opponents lightly,” Devine said. “We have to come out and give our best for the entire game, as well as continue to have the great leadership that we have enjoyed. [Our bracket] is ours to win or lose.”