Rugby - not just a brawl

People may not know it yet, but Penn's club rugby team is climbing in the national ranks. In the near future, construction will begin on Murphy Field to make a new home for the Penn baseball team. Maybe the Penn men's rugby club wants to help with this project, because lately, they have been tearing up Murphy Field. Last Saturday, Penn defeated West Chester, 15-10. This triumph rounded out a perfect regular season and clinched a playoff berth for Penn, who also beat Swarthmore and Millersville. Although these wins were all against schools much smaller than Penn, they were against excellent rugby teams. On Saturday, when Penn beat West Chester, it not only disposed of one of the better teams in the Eastern Pennsylvania Rugby Union, but it sent the No. 13 team in the nation home with a loss. In the past, victories over Swarthmore, Millersville and West Chester -- the three teams that make up the Green Division of the EPRU with Penn -- were not easy to come by. "This is the best team I've played on since I've been here," Penn junior captain Mike Slocum said. Slocum's view of his team perhaps rang true the loudest on September 19, when Penn destroyed Swarthmore, 51-10. "We generally tend to beat Swarthmore, but by no means is it a blow-out," Slocum said. A blow-out, however, is exactly what it was. Rugby players score points by grounding the ball in the in-goal area, a move called a "try" that is worth five points. While a try -- which is similar to a touchdown in football -- garners a team the most points, teams may also score on kicking plays. Whatever way they were earned, points just piled up for Penn against Swarthmore. Penn, however, could not get too excited about this first win because Millersville was the next name on the schedule. "We made the playoffs in my sophomore year, but we got killed by Millersville," Penn senior Rob Fuller said. Although Penn did not rout Millersville, it did leave Murphy Field with its undefeated record intact. Penn won the game, 19-7, but it was not actually that close. While Penn used finesse and athleticism to down their division foes, Millersville kept the score close with their brute strength. "Millersville is mostly just size and meat-headedness," Slocum said. Even the opposing players were impressed by the way Penn handled itself during the game. "I thought our team was pretty good," Millersville's Anthony Iacovelli said. "Although the score was close, Penn played better than we did." With two wins under its belt and a chance to win the division within sight, Penn looked to the matchup with West Chester, a team which has posed problems for them in the past. When the dust had settled on Saturday, Penn was on the winning side, earning the right to play in next weekend's EPRU playoffs. Tries by juniors Alex Snyder and Alex Robinson, along with five kicking points by Argentinian transfer student Marcelo Grignani, were enough to put Penn in a position it has not been in for a long time. The playoffs are not a new experience for Penn, but the bitter taste of the playoff loss to Millersville two years ago still lingers for the juniors and seniors. The chances of Penn getting killed next weekend, though, are quite slim. By winning the division, it has clinched home field advantage in the first game, and, if the playoff schedule works out for Penn, it may be able to leave the team bus parked in West Philly for most of the playoffs. The reason for Penn's improvement over the past few years is mainly a result of its players becoming more experienced. Most players try out for the rugby team during their freshman year and have absolutely no experience. Many are converted football or soccer players. Currently, upperclassmen, who have become more familiar with the game, make up the majority of the team, allowing Penn to move to the head of the EPRU class. While collegiate experience is helpful, most Penn players are still new to the sport. But not all of them. New transfer students from Argentina and France have given Penn a boost to a level where other Ivy League teams already find themselves. Penn finished seventh in last spring's Ivy League tournament, losing to teams that featured international players who have spent their whole lives playing rugby. "It would be like [an American] going to Europe to play football," said Snyder, who is the president of the rugby club. "They have added a different style and taken us to a higher level," Fuller said. "We used to be a smashmouth, run-the-ball-up-the-gut kind of team. Now we are more creative." Creativity has allowed Penn to win games by a total of 69 points, the highest point differential among the 16 teams in the EPRU. This stat will come in handy, since it is the tiebreaker for determining playoff seeds. If Penn makes the finals of the EPRU playoffs, it will qualify for the national tournament in the spring season. If not, it must be content to play in the Ivy and City 6 tournaments. The City 6 features La Salle, Villanova, Temple, St. Joe's and Drexel. Penn took third last spring. Earning a trip to the national tournament, however, remains the team's focus. "We can't think too highly of ourselves, but we should do well," club secretary Joe Mira said. If they do well, they may not be the only ones who will think highly of the Penn rugby team.