The way Scott Wilson sees it, it’s either ignorance or arrogance.
Or both.
Regardless, the BYU Rugby Club toils on in oblivion, collecting as many press clippings as losses while it develops one of the finest dynasties you’ve never heard of.
“The guys who play do it for the love of the game,” said Wilson, the club’s president and starting halfback. “There’s no external reward. We don’t get our names in the paper, we’re never on TV.”
Dave Smyth, though, doesn’t really care. You can almost see him shrug over the phone.
“We don’t look for a lot of the limelight,” the six-year coach said. “We’d just like people to respect us for winning, but we don’t go after all the hype and glory. As long as we win, I’m happy.”
Thus, Smyth is a veritable Mr. Rogers. Since he took over as coach in 1991, the Cougars have compiled a 67-4 record, including a 10-0 mark last fall, the first half of the year’s schedule.
The third-ranked Cougars’ Scorched-Turf Tour resumed Saturday with the Tournament of Champions in San Diego, where BYU collected blowout wins over Occidental University (41-0) and the University of San Diego (48-3) before falling in the semifinals to UC-Davis, 28-21.
It was the Cougars’ first loss since a 24-22 setback against Navy last March.
“They had an advantage since they’ve been playing the past six or seven weeks,” Smyth said. “This was the first time we’d played since November. They executed better and were a lot sharper than we were.”
Football defensive lineman turned rugby forward Henry Bloomfield gave the Cougars three touches and, more importantly, an emotional boost.
“Henry Bloomfield was like an animal,” Wilson said. “When he has big runs and big tackles, it really lifts the entire team.”
So does BYU’s backbone — its backline.
Bolstered by speedy and experienced returnees from a ’95-96 team that went 14-1 in Wilson, Glen Hubert (flyhalf), Sean Brow (inside center), John Richards (outside center), Jared Aikenhead (fullback) and wings Eric Oh and Spencer Richards, the backline corps figures to crush the throttle on the Cougars’ high-octane, high-energy offense.
Yes, that would be the same offense that outscored every opponent by at least 30 points last fall and lambasted UCLA, 81-0, a year ago.
Smyth is so exclusively focused on winning that it’s the only stat he cares about — or even bothers to keep. He assumes Aikenhead and freshman flanker Kimble Kjar are the team’s leading scorers. Their averages?
Forget about it.
“I’d only be guessing if I gave you numbers,” Smyth said.
But for Smyth, a native of Northern Ireland who played at BYU in the mid-80s, the only numbers that truly matter are these: 12-1.
“BYU has perhaps the best rugby club in the country,” Wilson said. “But we haven’t been able to prove it.”
Particularly on a national stage. The tournament championship of the National Rugby Union — the sport’s governing body at the college level — is on Sunday, nullifying any chance of BYU competing in it.
“I think it’s very unfair,” Smyth said. “At first, I never worried about it. But in the last few years it’s become more and more frustrating because I go to the national championships every year and see how the final four teams would compare to ours. I won’t say we’d be national champions every year, but we’d be dying close.”
Recently, though, the NRU’s brass announced it will push back their Sunday championship to Saturday. Whether that’s to accommodate the Cougars or for other reasons, Smyth isn’t certain. But, either way, he isn’t buying the quick-fix deal.
“That’s what they’re saying is going to happen,” Smyth said of the switch.
Think it actually will?
“That’s a good question,” he said, sighing. “It’ll be interesting to see.”
