“To quote the movie Invictus ‘Rugby is a game of hooligans played by gentlemen.’ Just like soccer is ‘A game of gentlemen played like hooligans.’ Everyone is nasty on the field, but everyone is a good guy, no wants to see anyone get hurt. Everybody is pretty well off on the field,” exclaimed senior lock, Teddy Montalvo.
The common perception associated with rugby players is that this group is among those who are rowdy, unconventional and undisciplined. Here on the campus of SUNY Cortland the Men’s Club Rugby team carries themselves with a much different swagger.
“Walking on the field as a rookie you pick up on the ‘Warrior’ mentality. You can see it not only the field, but off it. Everybody is a real close group of friends. We go out together. We have good times. It’s definitely noticeable; we’re not the Red Dragons. We’re the Warriors,” says Teddy Montalvo.
The Warriors are a student run club team, which originated in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. Cortland Rugby is a member of the New York State Rugby Conference, which is broken up into three divisions. The divisions include I, II and III. Over the last three years the Warriors played in Division I, but after a mutual team decision the team decided to drop down to Division II competition.
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| (Photo via http://blog.cortland.edu/SportClubs/?cat=2) |
“The first three years I was here we played in Division I than last year after the fall we made the decision to drop down to Division II because it’s tough to compete with Division I schools going up against Buffalo, Syracuse, Albany, St.Bonaventure. Now this year we’ve been playing Division II schools like Fredonia, Hobart, Le Moyne, it allows us to compete at our level,” says senior lock and captain, Zach Rutkowski.
Warrior Rugby is quite a different club team here on campus being that students now run the team exclusively after having their former head coach step down last fall.
“We make the practice schedule, drills, whatever we are going to do in practice. We set up travel itineraries. It all goes along with sport and we have a great time with it. It’s fun and we’re a real close nit team. It makes everything better,” says Rutkowski.
Montalvo feels this switch to a student run team has really made the difference in the immense success that the Warriors have had over the last year.
“Coming from the veteran standpoint in going from the coach to the student run team it’s definitely better. We’re more in unison, more of team is close nit and together. Practices aren’t always drill sergeant like crazy drills where we’re sprinting down the field all practice, but we get our work done and were fortunate enough to have players like Zach and Tony (Aquilina) who have been playing for awhile. They have a good knowledge of the game and they can teach us.”
Rutkowski also likes to point out the fact that although Rugby may not get as much press as other popular varsity sports here on campus this club puts just as much time into their sport as any other.
“A lot of people aren’t aware that rugby is a really serious sport. We practice every day Monday through Friday 5-7 p.m. We have games on Saturdays and sometimes Sundays. We take it really seriously especially since I’ve been playing for so long and my teammates as well. We love the sport and this year we have fortunately been successful enough.”
The Warriors are comprised of many talented high school athletes of all different sports who came to SUNY Cortland looking to find a sport they could settle into says Montalvo.
“A lot of freshmen coming in are ex-high school football players. They come in and their not playing for the Cortland varsity football team, so they still want to be part of a team, so we kind of come in and scoop up those stragglers who get to Cortland and look for something to do. It’s fun for me to see rookies who come out of their first games and their shell shocked, kind of beat up, but at the same time infatuated with what just happened.”
The game of Rugby is really broken down into two positions for sports fans that are not particularly informed on the intricacies of the game claims Rutkowski.
“You have the forwards and the backs. Your forward positions are the big and stronger guys. The backs are you more quick, agile, speedy guys. There’s a good dynamic between the two, which allows anybody to come out and try to play for us. You get a ton of former football, soccer players and wrestlers that come out and it brings a good mix.”
Rutkowski as well as Montalvo both play the “lock” position, which are second row forwards. The locks are the driving force in the “scrum” which is a battle for position.
Senior captain Tony Aquilina is the “quarterback” of this Warriors team. Aquilina is the go-to-guy according to Rutkowski.
“He’s the voice on the field. He lets people know what needs to be done and how it needs to be done. He controls the game and the pace. He’s similar to the quarterback in football while he’s on the field for Rugby. He dictates the pace of the game and commands the troops. He’s done an excellent job.”
The supposed “hooligans” who call home the fields behind the SUNY Cortland Stadium Complex across from the 281 parking lots play their conference semi-final game this Saturday, October 23rd, at noon against SUNY Plattsburgh. The Warriors are gunning for a NYSRC Division II title. Although some may not be aware of the Warrior mentality Rutkowski claims this team likes where they stand here at SUNY Cortland.
“Historically Rugby has been that sport to break away from the social norms. It’s not as recognized in America. I think it’s cool because we’re associated with the college, but we have our own persona.”
For more student athlete interviews tune into Around the Dragon every Friday from 2-4 p.m. with Michael Millstein and Steve Cuce for everything Cortland sports on WSUC 90.5 FM and www.cortland.edu/wsuc.
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