Correction: The original version of this article published on Oct. 28 contained an error. The All Blacks are New Zealand’s national rugby team.
For a program to be successful for nearly 80 years, leadership is required.
The UCLA Men’s Rugby Club stands as one of UCLA’s longest and most storied organizations, having competed since the 1930s. The club has seen some ups and downs, from winning three national championships in the late ’60s and early ’70s to having its formal funding cut in the ’80s. Now funded by member dues, parents and supporters, the historic club has seen a great growth spurt with current rugby coach Scott Stewart at the helm.
“The club has grown a lot in the past years,” third-year political science and classics student Aaron Elman said.
Elman, the current president, added that the club has become more organized and has added a lot more talent to the team since his freshman year. “When I first came, things were a little less serious and there were fewer people out here. … Scott has done a lot to really bring in new players with a lot of experience and gifted athletes from all over the world.”
A retired professional rugby player, Stewart took hold of the UCLA Rugby program after coaching stints in Canada, where he coached the Canadian Youth-21 World Cup team and University of Western Ontario’s varsity team. Now in his eighth year of coaching, Stewart has made it a goal to attract students to the sport of rugby.
“We’re trying to market the game for students to play rugby here at UCLA, to give them a great college experience,” Stewart said. “We’ve attracted a lot of good students that are really good ball players, and that’s really working for us. Our graduation rate is 100 percent, we had a Rhodes Scholar on the team in 2009 and we’re now a competitive team for the national championship.”
“I think it makes it a pretty rewarding deal for the guys that come out here and play.”
The club’s process of recruiting has not just focused on strong rugby players. The club is open to all levels of experience.
“We have a spot for everybody,” Stewart said. “There are serious players here that are playing at the national team level, and there are also true beginners that come out and really enjoy the camaraderie and working hard together. There’s a spot for everyone, a team for everyone. Everyone gets a game.”
The recent growth in membership has allowed UCLA Rugby to have three teams of different skill levels, Stewart said. The teams are a dedicated bunch, practicing year-round with up to six practices a week.
The club’s first match falls on Nov. 13, an exhibition match against Loyola Marymount. The club will compete in the newly formed College Premier League this upcoming March, a league of 31 teams separated into four divisions. Placed in the Pacific league, UCLA will have to compete with national powerhouse Cal and several other state rivals for playoff spots.
The team will also play opponents outside of its division and will host many matches, thanks in no small part to its established prowess.
“We’re a more respected school now,” third-year history student Stanton Sharpe said. “We have a Pac-10 tournament where all of the conference comes down here to play for a weekend tournament.”
But the UCLA Rugby match schedule isn’t limited to nearby schools, or even American opponents. The team will head north to Canada for matches against the University of Victoria and the University of British Columbia in March.
The club has a history of inviting top international rugby teams to UCLA’s campus and competing against them. Clubs from England, France, Australia, Argentina and others have set foot on Bruin turf, and Stewart would like to see the club reciprocate that.
“We’d like to take our guys somewhere out of North America, like in the Southern hemisphere or Europe, so they can explore the culture and play high-level rugby at the same time.”
Jackson Welch, a first-year political science student, had experience playing international teams when he was in high school. Welch attended Jesuit High School in Sacramento, known for one of the top high-school rugby programs in the nation, and had a chance to see the differences of international play.
“It’s extremely important that UCLA play international teams. American players are pretty athletic, but skill-wise, we can’t compare,” Welch said. “When we played against a New Zealand (high school) team, they just did things technically that we had never seen before. We rivaled them in athleticism, but they just outplayed us.”
Rugby has a very strong following in many countries overseas, which is something many members of the club are starting to notice here.
“It’s growing in the United States, due to the quality of play and the exposure on television,” third-year economics student and team captain Tanner Heaphy said.
Last season, NBC broadcasted the National Collegiate Sevens tournament. The broadcast was an immediate success even though it was one of the first times rugby had been televised nationally on network television. The sport of rugby will have continued exposure in the future, as it is one of the newest additions to the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.
Though the members of the UCLA team see that the United States’ interest in rugby has grown significantly in the past decade, they realize that it still pales in comparison to the sport’s overseas fame.
“It’s much more popular in Europe and the Southern Hemisphere,” Elman said. “I think that there’s this perception of rugby being a barbaric sport because there’s a lot of hitting and not a lot of pads. I think that encourages some people to come out and discourages some people from coming out.”
Unlike many countries where rugby is popular, the U.S. lacks a professional league. All leagues are technically amateur leagues because players do not receive a salary. However, top American players have the opportunity to play overseas for professional contracts.
“It used to be that American players never played overseas, ” Heaphy said. “But in the past 10 years, its gotten to the point where a few Americans can head over there and play professionally.”
But the goal of the UCLA Men’s Rugby Club is not focused on professional play.
“We want to be nationally competitive, we want to continue to graduate every player, we want to continue building what we think is enhancing our college experience here,” Stewart said. “It’s not all about rugby, it’s about balancing all that stuff. I think if we can do that, we can graduate better citizens.”
The club is monitored by a strong staff of specialty coaches and trainers, with many alumni and volunteers coming back to help. UCLA has even had assistance from the All Blacks, New Zealand’s national team.
“We have trainers and officials helping us out here on game day,” Stewart said. “All the (administration) here is extensive, it’s amazing. They’re doing what’s best for the students and the program.”
The rugby club will look to improve on last season’s performance, which saw the Bruins reaching the National Championship’s Round of 16, a result Stewart says is “the most significant year performance in 30 years.” But that is not to say that winning is the sole focus.
“Our job is to work as hard as we can,” Stewart said. “The guys here are working hard and having fun, and graduating and becoming leaders in the community. Winning is a by-product of our process.”