Rugby club’s brotherly scrum

It’s the closest thing Georgetown has to a fraternity.

“Rugby is so much more than a sport,” sophomore Joe Kemper says. “It’s a brotherhood. Any random freshman on the team could hang out with the seniors and be totally comfortable.”

Besides being a social network, Georgetown’s club rugby team is one of Georgetown’s most competitive club sport.s. Rugby is one of America’s quickest growing youth sports, yet it’s still unknown to many Hoyas. It can appear muddled at twilight on Harbin Field, as the players run towards the ball before their target slips the ball between his legs, back to his teammate as the chaos turns into a series of gracefully choreographed plays.

“Patience,” Coach JP Perez yells to the players. He coaches the team four nights a week and runs the team’s web site, which includes rosters and game summaries. He receives no salary from Georgetown.

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A former Catholic University rugby player and coach at the District’s Gonzaga High School, Perez had trouble getting off work at three o’clock for the high school’s practices. When Registrar John Q. Pierce’s son, Patrick Pierce (COL ’04), graduated from Gonzaga, his coach of four years came with Pierce to Georgetown.

“They asked me to come and I’m still here,” Perez shrugged.

“He fell in love with us!” a sweaty player yelled from behind the coach.

Perez rolled his eyes, but it must be true. He had just come in on his birthday after a long day of work as a computer programmer, and coached the team until sunset. The players huddled for their coach’s final words but cut him off with applause and sang Happy Birthday. Afterwards, they joked about taking him to Good Guys strip club.

“I’m not 18, you guys,” he said.

Kemper’s future housemate, sophomore John Fisher-Thompson says this camaraderie is a key defining point in rugby.

“After a game with all that tackling, you’ll go up to your opponents and say, `wow, you kicked my ass,’” he explained. “Then you say `good job, let me buy you a beer.’”

Kemper and his four future housemates, all teammates, are so close they can finish each other’s sentences. While they obviously love the game, it is their teammates that keep them playing.

“Our success is based on our team,” explained senior and former captain Keith Summa. “We don’t win because of all-stars; we win because of how we play as a team.”

Georgetown’s club rugby has enjoyed success. Over Easter weekend, 21 of the players remained in D.C. to compete in the annual Cherry Blossom Tournament. The team went 4-1, defeating all their pool opponents. Now, they look forward to the Capitol Cup this weekend. If they win, it will be their 10th consecutive year as the best team in D.C.

There is no NCAA rugby, so Georgetown’s club rugby is at the highest collegiate level.

“When we made it to Nationals in ’05, it was the rugby equivalent of the NCAA Final Four,” Perez explained. “We’re a young team, but we’re competitive.”

The team is still very much a club sport, though, both in its social nature and accommodation of all skill levels. Due to the nature of the game, they field everyone from a 150-pounder to a 25-year-old ex-marine. A B squad allows new players to gain experience, and all abilities get playing time. Kolleng said that graduates of the team come back to look in on the squad.

Many of the players do not know very much about rugby when they join the team. That is not unusual, but alumni guidance is vital.

Georgetown has a particular advantage, according to senior Eric Pallota. Like many other players, he played rugby in high school. He notes that the sport is popular at Jesuit high schools, something that gives Georgetown a clear edge. But Pallota thinks the dedication of his coaches and the closeness of his teammates are what sets the team apart.

Supporting his point, many adult club teams played at their tournament last weekend, traveling from across the country and Canada to compete. Georgetown Rugby alumni funded the team’s trip to Santa Cruz, Calif. for nationals two years ago. Many alumni plan on coming to the tournament this weekend as well as to Rugby Ball, the team’s annual formal.

Pallota believes he will stay in touch with his rugby friends for life. As the hooker, Pallota takes one of the hardest beatings at the center of the scrum, a literal pile of players from each team that fights for possession of the ball. He had a black eye and bruises down his face, but didn’t seem to notice them as he joked after practice with his teammates, five of whom he lives with.

“Every year, there is a group of guys from the team who lives together, and that house becomes ‘the Rugby House,’” he laughed. “Ask any freshman girl, and she’ll know that rugby house.”

Next year Kemper, Kolleng and Fisher-Thompson will be living in a townhouse with two other teammates in the new “rugby house.” They joke about bringing the house back to its roots as a good party spot.

“Each year, we accept the fact that the rugby house is kind of a hole,” Kolleng said. “You forfeit a clean house, but it’s definitely worth it.”

Few men on the team would disagree.