GCSU men’s club rugby, despite the snow sprinkled over Milledgeville, went out to the field between the West Campus Village apartments for a scrimmage in below-30-degree weather on January 31.
“It brought us together and showed that we will play in any condition,” said Ethan Yancey, a sophomore player on the men’s rugby club team.
The team fielded around nine players, with even injured players showing up to watch their team’s scrimmage. Some were not even in weather-appropriate clothing, such as team captain Matthew Kuipers, who wore a generic sweatshirt and shorts, who embraced the cold weather, using it to toughen themselves before upcoming games.
“I am excited to be the president for this season! I can see that this team really cares and wants to play rugby,” Kuipers said. “That is the best kind of team I could ask for, and I want to do the best I can for them in scheduling a lot of matches.”
The teams quickly took to warm-ups to battle the brutal temperatures, running the length of the field using the various methods Kuipers announced.
Around half an hour later, the team split in two, keeping a few players on the sidelines as substitutes in case the situation became too unbearable. Yancey, who could not play because of an injury, yet made sure to be there for his team, kept track of the time, helping create a full simulation of a real game.
“I did enjoy us doing the snow scrimmage even though the snow already melted away,” Yancey said. “I had a great time being the sir for the game.”
The Bobcats went back and forth throughout the half, with the teams rushing past each other on multiple tries. While no one necessarily kept track of the score, with it being so cold out that neither team cared, it gave the team the opportunity to bond even more.
Yancey, as the sir for the snow scrimmage, made sure to keep track of the time as well as make sure a clean game was called between the two scrimmaging teams.
“We are going to play a lot of matches this season,” Kuipers said. “I want everyone to be tired and a little banged up by the end of it because we need to improve, and the only way to do that is to play rugby!”
With the spring season for men’s rugby underway, the GCSU club team had its eyes set on its biggest competition of the year, with the Gold Wing 7s on February 21, at Kennesaw State University.
The team competed throughout the day on Saturday, starting with their first match as early as 9 in the morning and finishing with five in the evening. Team captain Kuipers trotted out seven men for his starting squad, including himself, Ben Witham, Alex Gerlach, Mason Waldrip, Caleb McCormick, Brayden Steadham and Ethan Mattace.
The team competed against two Division I teams in Kennesaw State and Auburn, while also playing against Division II opponents in North Georgia and Georgia Tech. While the team could not pull out a victory, the experience will be impactful for the club team’s future.
“Rugby is a sport in which teamwork is paramount,” Kuipers said. “We act as a team, and we succeed. We are brothers, and I love everyone on the team, and I hope people want to join us for this active, fun sport!”
While the Gold Wing 7s tournament did not end the way the GCSU men’s club rugby team expected, the team is constantly hungry for competition and looks to change things heading into their next match.
