Due to the weather, our game against nationally ranked Syracuse was canceled. Our back up game against James Madison was put on hold due to their spring break. So at the last minute we scheduled a friendly against division one power house, the Naval Academy, in Annapolis. As many of you know, Mike Flanagan, Navy’s coach, is a former member of the Towson rugby team and a friend of our program. His team is headed to England next week and needed a tune up. We were glad he could accommodate us.

We went to the academy with the knowledge that this was going to be a learning experience for the boys. Besides playing one of the best teams in the country, this was the first time we have been on a field this season due to the weather. My hope was that we would compete on the field and the resulting score would be unimportant. We played on the artificial turf, on the water, on a beautiful sunny day. For most of the A side game the boys competed well between the 22 meter lines. We were able to hold our own at times and played solid defense and rucked well. On the other hand, we were on our heels most of the day and any time we made the smallest mistake, Navy would make us pay. By the time the game ended, the score was a lot to a little(none). There are lessons to be learned even in a lopsided loss. We got to watch Navy execute on both offense and defense. As you would expect, they were very disciplined and very physical. The biggest difference was their level of fitness. Everybody on their sideline is incredibly fit. I would say that approximately 20% of our players are in rugby shape. Unfortunately, I have not been able to impress upon our team the level of fitness that is required to compete with really good teams. As most of you know, it takes years to develop the skills necessary to become a good player. I get most of the kids for 2 years or less. The main difference between good teams in college and average teams in college is the level of fitness.

The B side game was much of the same. We would hold our own at times and neither game was completely one sided, but in the end, the results were the same. We had at least 10 brand new players get an opportunity to play and almost all of them were excited about the game and how much fun it can be. We could probably field a C side, but the majority of college teams can barely field a B side. Navy’s C and D side were playing Johns Hopkins in Baltimore.

After the game, we made it clear to the boys that we were not discouraged with their performance. While in clearly over our heads, they hung together, and gave it their best. Character is built during difficult losses, not easy wins. Coach Flanagan stopped by and praised the boys for their effort and heart.

We head to Happy Valley to play Penn State’s alumni team this Saturday. While spring break begins next weekend, we expect to travel with at least 2 sides. We will have several of our A side players on spring break and will work with the players who can make it. The same will be true the following weekend when we play the Marines at Quantico. While I would like to have my team at full strength, I try to look at the positive side. Many players who normally play on the B side will get a chance to strut their stuff on the first fifteen. The same will be true for the B side. The spring season is usually more laid back and we will use this season as an opportunity to develop players for next falls matrix games.