As UMass-Lowell looks to win the Rugby Northeast DII conference this weekend, they will need a big game from Matt Charest.

The multi-sport athlete who is that rarity, a hooker who kicks goals, has been through platy and is building on his 2013 Rugby Northeast Player of the Year award this year.

Charest grew up in the small town of Londonderry, NH where he excelled at both soccer and wrestling. In his senior year, he opted to try out for football as the icier, and helped his team into the playoffs, winning one playoff game with a last-second field goal.

Charest planned on enlisting in the US Marine Corps after high school, but just before bootcamp his physical discovered melanoma. Skin cancer disqualified Charest from the Marines, so he enrolled at a community college while he received treatment. It was then he heard from a friend who was playing rugby at UMass Lowell. He went to a game, and thought that maybe rugby would offer the physical and emotional challenge he craved.

Being able to kick and read the field as a soccer player, and being able to handle contact like a wrestler, Charest took the to game quickly.

“His natural skill set is like nothing I've ever seen,” said UMass-Lowell Coach Josh Skinner. “Any day of the week, I'd take a wrestler or soccer player over a football player, I think it translates better to rugby, and Matt completely embodies that.  He has phenomenal footwork, a great pass, a howitzer cannon for a leg, is a student of the game, great work-rate, and is extremely coachable.”

Don’t just take Skinner’s word for it. 

“Talking to guys like Josh Smith, who was my coach at Middlesex, they can't believe he's only been playing three years,” said Skiner. 

Last year Charest was the Rugby Northeast Player of the Year, scoring 79 points with six tries, 17 conversions, and five penalty goals while playing hooker. This year he has scored 53, slotting in at flyhalf at times.

After Lowell lost both captains heading into the season, Charest was unanimously elected as forwards captain, and now he has led the team to the conference championship game.

“I can't say enough positive things about Matt, his work ethic, and his character,” said Skinner. “Any team would be blessed to have him.”

Matt Charest is our Aircraft Charter Solutions Player of the Week.