After beating the University of Michigan (43-15) in September and playing against Notre Dame last weekend, it is clear that Hillsdale club rugby takes the game seriously amid the obstacles club sport status presents. 

Senior Luke Turnbow and senior coach Sam Thoele founded the club during their freshman year with about eight guys showing up to practice consistently — just enough to compete in sevens games. Now, membership stands at about 30 members, allowing them to compete in 15 games. 

“I decided to bring back the rugby team because it had been such an impactful part of my life in high school,” Thoele said. “Starting the club at Hillsdale has been so amazing because of the community the club has built, going from me and a handful of friends freshman year to now over 30 guys has been one of my favorite parts of my Hillsdale experience.”

Rugby is a fast-paced, non-stop game where players do not wear helmets or pads. They can compete in either sevens, in which teams are made up of seven players playing seven-minute halves, or 15s, in which 15 players play 40-minute halves. 

Senior Christopher Koperski described rugby as a sport that combines the fluidity of basketball or soccer with the physicality of other contact sports like football and hockey. 

“It’s the closest thing to combat that civilians have,” club vice president, sophomore Robert Brandau said. “There’s something to that. I think men bond very well over intense, very physical sports.”

The team practices every Tuesday and Thursday from 5-6:30 p.m. and Saturday from 1-2:30 p.m. Members who show up to the practices the most consistently get the most playing time. The team plays for the Allegheny Rugby Union, competing against teams mostly from Indiana and Ohio.  

“It’s a rough sport, but it’s generally a rough sport played by gentlemen,” Turnbow said. “So, just between other teams, we often get a meal with the 15s teams that we play with afterward. It’s a good time and then on our team, generally, there’s some animosity that comes with hitting each other all the time, but that actually builds a lot of community once you’re actually playing a game and it comes off as a lot of fun.”

As with any club sport, the team is  always looking for new and creative ways to fundraise money for the club. Currently, junior President David Ard and Brandau are working to find donors or rugby enthusiasts to help sponsor a coach, new equipment, and registration fees for the league. 

Until then, the team will continue to play, bond, and bruise for the love of the sport. The team will be playing at-home tournaments against Tiffin University and Taylor University on Oct. 22 at Hayden Park. 

“We got a lot of guys from all over campus, so I’m sure you’re friends with some of them,” Turnbow said. “Come on, support people that you know. Also, it’s a club sport, so support the guys who have put in a lot of effort for very little gain other than just to play the sport even if you don’t really get it. It’s a good thing to come watch and support people who you know and who are doing a fun thing.” 

Kickoff is at 1 p.m., and they recommend people bring lawn chairs. 

“We want to get people out there to watch a couple of our games before the home football game, which is of course important to us as well,” Brandau said. “The sevens games are only 15 minutes long. With halftime and everything else included, it’s a 30 minute thing.” 

Koperski agreed, saying parents’ weekend is the perfect time to come and support the team. 

“It’s something new that you can use to show your parents how diverse Hillsdale’s culture is with such an awesome club like rugby thriving,” Koperski said.