Things didn’t start out perfectly on the field for the Men’s Collegiate All Americans, as they fell behind 12-0 early against Darling Downs, but that was just a chance for the leadership to come through.

And central to that was captain Aladdin Schirmer.

“At that point, you’ve got to bring the boys in,” said the Central Washington University loose forward. “I looked them all in the eye, and told them ‘boys we need to stay present. No need to dwell on the past. What’s happened has happened. What happens next is up to us.’”

Sage words from the skipper, who was a little shocked to be named the captain by Head Coach Gavin Hickie.

“I don’t expect anything in this game; Coach Hickie came to me and asked me to be captain and I was taken aback a little bit. There are quite a few leaders here [on this team]. It could have gone to anyone. But I guess I have more experience. I was glad to be named captain and I hoped I could serve these guys well.”

It didn’t hurt that Schirmer is a 5th-year player at CWU, and also has been capped by the senior Eagles and knew the pattern that the All Americans would be playing. But it’s more than that. Certainly Hickie felt he had a presence, and ten minutes into the game against Darling Downs, his presence was tested.

Take it one play at a time, Schirmer told the players. Don’t try to get those 12 points back all at once. It’s a long game, and the hosts might have been a little lucky. Don’t worry about it, just get to work.

“What we always talk about is next play, next play. Do your job. You can’t focus on the play three plays ahead - make sure you get the lineout done before you run the play you’re supposed to run off it,” Schirmer explained. “Same with every scrum or lineouts. If there’s a knock-on, they’ll happen. But we focus on get on the ball.” 

Get on the ball and don’t allow a turnover for a soft try, is what he is referring to.

“There was no hectic moment of ‘we need to score now.’ No, what we need to do is get the ball back, and work from there. Cody Melphy did a good job on that, tapped me a ball back and we were able to retain,” said the captain. And from there they built a couple of tries, then a couple more, and went into halftime up 24-12 on the way to a 31-17 victory. 

Darling Downs decided to come up hard and aggressive, and in the All Americans’ faces. It worked early, but the tourists adjusted. At flyhalf, Conor Kearns started to take the ball himself, forcing Darling Downs to check their advance. 

Kearns played very well, and so did Nick Boyer. But perhaps everything centered around the back row. Schirmer, Wes Hartmann (certainly another captaincy candidate), and Vili Helu all brought some special skills to the job, and Zach Bonte (sliding into the unfamiliar spot of lock at one point), and Kevin O’Connor were also part of that effort.

“With the system that we’re using, which is a pretty much like the USA system, the back row is all over the field,” explained Schirmer. “We try to keep one or two out on the wings to help out with the backs, as well as having an eight or a seven in the middle helping conduct everything. Vili Helu and West Hartmann, they brought it. Wes, his job was pretty much run people over and that’s what he did. Vili is probably one of the best in the loose I’ve seen. Off the bench, Zach Bonte and the other boys, we’d bring guys in and there was no drop off. 

There were some other special performances, with hooker Chad Gough making his presence felt in a number of areas. Bryce Campbell was a tough nut to crack in the centers.

The players took a recovery day and then traveled to Brisbane to get ready for the next two clashes. They get into warmer weather after the misty chill of Toowoomba, but that chill was mitigated by the exceedingly warm welcome from the locals. Even after there was a mini-brawl in the game, it was shrugged off and all smiles “just tempers,” said Schirmer.

The local residents were thrilled to have an American touring rugby team in town, and recognized the importance of the All Americans.

For Schirmer, leading that group was an honor, but there’s one more aspect that might be worth noting. He’s not the first athlete of Polynesian to captain a major USA national team - Jone Naqica, Mose Timoteo, and Samu Manoa have all done it - but it’s still a rarity, and something he takes seriously. 

“We love our sense of culture and seeing it in a sport we can excel at,” said Schirmer, whose dad was born in Samoa. “There was no question I was going to play rugby.”

And, it seems, after the difficult start for the All Americans that ended in victory, there was no question somebody made the right call in making him captain.