CNU rugby continues to grow

Rosa Lee Harkrader/ The Captain's Log

Scrum, ruck and try. Fifth-year senior Josh Self grew up hearing his father use these words on and off the field. They are rugby terms. Despite the sport being a part of Self’s culture, it was not until his freshman year at Christopher Newport University that he picked up the game for himself.

“I actually played baseball, basketball and football in high school, so it was always a different season and there wasn’t any time,” Self said.

Self, a communications major, started playing rugby in order to stay in shape. Having been always outside of the sport his entire life, whether it was watching his father play or coach, rugby now plays a large part in Self’s life as well.

BECOMING A CAPTAIN

Currently, Self plays as the outside center in the back line, which he described as the ‘glory boys’ of the team who score a lot of the points. However, Self had to work his way up to playing in one of the most skilled of the 15 positions on the field.

In his early days as a rugby player, Self considered himself to be an angry player, but has since learned to play with a more composed mentality due to his ability to better perceive the game.

“When I first started playing, I was actually in one of the least-skilled positions of the field, which is kind of ironic, but that was the position they had open, so that’s the position they put me in,” Self said. “Then, through proving myself, they moved me to a more skilled position within the pack and then I proved myself there and they moved me to a skilled position in the back line.”

Similarly, by proving himself through his accomplishments and experience, Self was asked to lead the team as captain of the backs by the team’s previous captain and coach. This is Self’s second season as co-captain.

“He’s just an all around good guy, very intelligent, in terms of on and off the field and he is a leader,” Self’s co-captain, senior Corbin Broach, said. “He’s very diplomatic in terms of negotiating things on and off the field.”

Self splits the team with Broach, who is the captain of the players in the pack. The two must work closely together to ensure the team plays cohesively.

“He’s a very experienced player,” Broach said of Self. “He’s easy to get along with. We really work well together because we bring both aspects of the team together.”

ESTABLISHING A PRESENCE ON CAMPUS

Recently, the team has been extremely successful — they are currently 5-0 and tied with William and Mary for first in the Division III Virginia Rugby Union. However, Self, along with the rest of the team, has had to work diligently to establish a presence on campus.

In the past, the rugby team has had difficulty getting the university to allow them a field to tear up two to three times a week for games and practices. Until this semester, the team had to practice and play games at Crittendon Middle School, a few miles away from CNU.

Self said that President Paul Trible has played a major role in getting the team on campus, and as a result of his efforts, the team now has the opportunity to play their games on the Ferguson Center Field.

“It’s very difficult to have a presence on campus when you’re playing and practicing off campus,” Self said. “So, just the fact that President Trible was willing to go to bat for us and get us back on campus is definitely a huge factor for the growth of our club. It’s huge.”

Another factor that Self credits the success of the team to is the presence of a consistent coach, CNU alumnus Matt Alexander.

“It’s a huge thing,” Self said. “We never really had a solid coach, and he’s been our coach for three years and he’s definitely the most solid coach. Having a solid coach, a solid figurehead, has definitely been great for the leadership of our team.”

BONDS OF BROTHERHOOD

CNU rugby has provided Self with a group of friends. He described the team of about 35-40 players as a brotherhood.

“I’d say we’re extremely tight-knit,” Self said of his team. “There’s just something about being out there on the field on Saturdays with 15 guys, but even in practice with the 35 or 40 guys that are on our team. If they’re willing to sweat with you and work with you just as hard as you’re willing to work with them, it just kind of forms a brotherhood on and off the field.”

Broach echoed Self’s sentiments about the bonds the players have formed.

“To be perfectly honest, it’s kind of like a fraternity without being a fraternity,” Broach said. “It’s a great group of guys — playing on the field, you bleed together, and you are scrumming all together. My favorite thing about it is just, pretty much, the brotherhood.”

Combining the free-flowing nature of the sport, which Self said was his favorite part of the game because it allows the players to use strategy plays in advance, with the bonds of camaraderie, have established rugby as Self’s sport of choice. He plans to continue playing the game after graduation in a competitive men’s league.

“It’s a brotherhood,” Self said. “And, it’s a form of competition that I just haven’t been able to find anywhere else.”

On Nov. 5 at 1 p.m., the CNU rugby team will take on William and Mary at the Ferguson Center Field.

Posted by Corrie Mitchell on Oct 26 2011. Filed under Rugby, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.