ISU Bengal

Issue date: 10/17/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Alisha hatch #17 brings down a Boise State ball carrier.

Media Credit: Alisha Hatch #4 breaks away from Boise State's defense.

Ever seen a Rugby game? I woke up on Saturday morning and stepped outside my door feeling the cool air and smelling the wet grass as a feeling came over me that comes over many this time of year in Idaho, 'this is football weather', but as I walked down the road not too far from my home, I found something else that caught my attention, Rugby. I was impressed as I saw tough, conditioned athletes with blazing speed and agility. These athletes were wearing no pads for protection, and yet I saw some amazing hits. There were not thousands of fans cheering in the stands, in fact there was just a handful standing close to the sidelines, but these athletes (or as I'd like to call them 'warriors') were having fun, playing their hearts out. There was a sense of unity and brotherhood that doesn't seem too common these days. "Honor, Heart and Team, is our team motto", said Head Coach Ram Eddings. This motto truly shined through on Saturday. This was a day, a day for Rugby.

Saturday, indeed, was a day for ISU Rugby as they clobbered their opponent Montana Tech, 58-19 improving their record to 5-2 on the year. ISU Rugby player, Mark Roberts, who is from Belfast Ireland and has been playing rugby since he was six years old, commented on the game against Montana Tech, "We started out a little slow in the first half and had a few penalties, but we were able to execute our drills in the second half and get things going, we also kept a solid defense." Roberts came to Idaho State University after his contract in Ireland ended. He is a major in Sports Science and has been at ISU since 2005. Roberts explained why he plays rugby, "It's a fun sport, a contact sport, you don't get any breaks, and you have to call it on the move. I also like it for fitness purposes, it keeps you in great shape and for the brotherhood, we have good time together and we do a lot of things together."

The first half of the game ended at 24-12 with ISU holding the lead. Coach Ram Eddings, who has been coaching rugby here at ISU since 1996 said of the game, "We were a much better team in the second half, it took us some time to get focused in the first half." Eddings felt confident about the game following on Sunday with the University of Oregon especially since ISU didn't suffer any injuries in the game against Montana Tech, but also stated that the game against the University of Oregon will definitely be a different game.

Alphonso White, an ISU rugby player from Cincinnati, who has only been playing rugby for a year also commented on the game, "We played hard and real well, made a few mistakes but we didn't let it get us down." Alphonso plays rugby, "for the love of the game and the people, I also wanted to be diverse and branch out from the traditional sports like football and basketball." White also commented on how they would prepare for the Sunday game against the University of Oregon, "we're going to take it easy, get some rest, stay together as a team, no partying, and probably watch some rugby movies."

The ISU vs. Oregon game started off with a moment of silence for a former rugby player Mike Sims who passed away due to injuries sustained during a game against the University of Oregon a couple seasons ago. This would be the first time that ISU faced Oregon since that time. "Our motto, Honor, Heart, Team, came from Mike", said Coach Ram Eddings. Honor, Heart and Team definitely resonated from the field, in honor of Mike Sims, on Sunday as the Bengal rugby team rolled over the University of Oregon 40-20. "I'm glad we got this won, this was good win", said Eddings. Eddings also commented on the keys to the victory, "Our scrum played really well, and the backline was much better than theirs, and we were able to run. We had good hard hustle all day and we played smart."

If an enjoyable and exciting sporting event is what you're looking for, watching some real competitive athletes, that play not for attention or praise, but for Honor, for Heart and for Team, go out and watch the ISU Men's rugby team this weekend as the will face the University of Montana and Weber State at home on Bartz field at 1:00 p.m. for the Big Sky Conference Championship.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools