Faces in the crowd: Rugby team prepares for biggest game of the year

Imagine that, along with a full class load and maybe even a part-time job, you went out more than three times a week and physically beat yourself, and others, up. That is what the Ole Miss Rugby team goes through on a daily basis.

Sherif Ahmed said you really have to be on top of your priorities.

“You have to balance school and rugby,” the sophomore said. “It’s not too hard, though.”

Criminal justice senior Kaan Onay agreed with Ahmed, in that a player has stay on top of his work.

“Personally, I think this is a good release from school, to kind of get out here and do something that we all enjoy,” the Alpharetta, Ga., native said. 

“It kind of takes off some of the stress and pressure from school.”

Captain Brad Yandle, a marketing senior, said rugby starts to become a lifestyle of sorts.

“You go to practice, go to class with a rugby shirt on, go eat lunch with the other guys in the union. It becomes a way of life,” Yandle said. “I like it; I love it.”

Jason Darby, the president of the rugby club team, said that things have changed a lot since he first joined five years ago. The team used to just practice and play, but since then, they have become more involved as a team. 

“It makes it a lot easier to balance school and the team when you know there are a bunch of guys that are just as dedicated as you are and trying to make the team better.”

Darby said this kind of dedication has helped the team play better.

“The more you get to know the guys, the easier you get to understand how each other plays. You get inside each others’ minds,” Darby said. “The better you get to know your players outside of rugby, the easier it makes it in the game.”

Both Onay and Darby have been with the team for five years now, and both agree that the program is more organized than when they first joined.

“When I was a freshman, we had a player coach. We actually didn’t have a real coach, it was real slack, it wasn’t very organized,” Onay said. 

“Now it’s a lot more competitive. There’s a lot more people out here, we have a full-time coach, and it’s really a lot better.”

Darby said they also came into a team that played with each other for years, so it was hard to make a mark on the program.

“The years after that, it was a process of building that, and so I’d say this year is a lot easier; we’ve got a lot of guys returning,” the Hernando native said.

One of the more exciting developments for this year’s team is their jump to Division I.

“It’s the first year where they’ve got it established and where it’s officially a Southeastern Conference sport,” Darby said.

The team will compete against every team in the SEC, except for Arkansas.

Ahmed said he is excited for the change.

“I thought we played well last year in Division II,” he said. “I feel like we can compete this year at a higher level, against better teams.”

Yandle said the fall season is the building part of the season, in which the veterans teach the newcomers how to play.

“The spring –– that’s when our real season comes about. It counts for the National Championship, and we play and compete within USA rugby bylaws,” Yandle said.

Darby said that he has been impressed with how those new to the game in general have played so far.

The team, which is coming off of a first place finish at this past weekend’s Breast Cancer Awareness tournament at Jacksonville State, is having what Onay calls its “fall championship” as they host Alabama.

Yandle said he agrees 100 percent.

“It’s kind of what we’ve ramped up to. We’ve played Memphis, and those matches this past weekend, but it’s all led up to this,” Yandle said. “Alabama comes here, and that’s really going to give us the ability to gauge that team, where we stand and what things we need to work on.”

Kickoff against Alabama will be at 6:30 p.m. at the Blackburn-McMurray Outdoor Sports Complex.