By Michael Barzee
Coming off a final four appearance last season, this year?s BYU rugby team will not settle for anything less than a championship trophy.
?Last season was a stepping stone to what we are trying to do this year,? said head coach Jared Akenhead. ?The goal this season is to make it to the final game and win it.?
With roughly 10 returning starters, including senior forward Salesi Sika who played on the U.S. National team in the 2003 Rugby World Cup, the BYU rugby team has plenty of reasons to be positive about their upcoming season.
Even though the team has high expectations, few people in the United States understand the sport. Rugby, which football originated from, merges a couple of sports into one.
?Rugby is a combination between football and soccer,? said senior hooker Clayton Leonard. ?It is basically a game of kill the pill.?
Rugby players are quick to point out that even though rugby is like football, they are tougher than football players.
Team manager Gabriel Almeida says that because rugby players do not wear pads like football players, they subject themselves to more injuries. They also have to play both offense and defense with no breaks except for injuries and penalties.
Unlike sports such as football, college rugby is a club sport and not an NCAA sport. Despite this difference, college rugby is still set up similarly to NCAA sports with conferences and end of the season tournament. Rugby also has some of the same rivals as NCAA sports including longtime BYU rival Utah.
?It is Utah or nothing,? Leonard said. ?I don?t care about a national championship I just want to beat Utah.?
There is no better way to start the season Sept.17 than to play against main rival Utah. However, before the season opener those interested in playing for the BYU rugby team there will be an informational meeting today from 5-7 p.m. in room 251 of the Tanner Building. The meeting is open to anyone interested in playing for the team or just learning the basics of how to play rugby.
