Jumping quickly into major D1 rugby, Nazareth College has presented itself with a stiff challenge.

One of a slew of varsity men’s rugby programs that have sprung up in recent years, Nazareth is the only one to jump right into D1. That doesn’t mean the likes of Marian, Adrian, Belmont Abbey, Iowa Centra CC, Queens, or Alderson Broaddus, to name a few, should be criticized for entering DII first; it just means that Nazareth is taking a bigger leap than most.

The Rochester, NY-based Nazareth played a mixed schedule in 2019 and had several D1 teams on the schedule in 2020 before the COVID shutdowns. But in 2021 they played St. Bonaventure and Colgate, and while they lost they’d competed well enough.

“We’d played some D1 teams and what we wanted was to play at a top level,” said Head Coach Taye Daniel-Ayibiowu. “To do that we needed a lot of reps against that level of team. The Liberty Conference gave us that opportunity. We play some talented teams. We’re a varsity rugby program but the idea is to mold young men. So getting into a challenge conference was, for us, a no-brainer.”

COVID, of course, helped. While Nazareth is basically a new program, Daniel-Ayibiowu said that every team is basically starting over.

So why not Nazareth. Last week the Golden Flyers defeated Brockport after going 1-2 in a preseason group of shortened games the week before. Whether they are able to win more, or just build on it, we’ll see, but they are certainly not backing away from a challenge.

Nazareth is led by flyhalf Brendan O’Neill, a tall, imposing freshman flyhalf who played at Aspetuck. He can run, pass, and kick , and understands how the game flows. For a first-year he plays with a ton of confidence. 

Junior Khalil Lynch is a force in the midfield and junior Steven Beck (Hudson Catholic) has been effective also as has top-scoring Curtis Raeford.

We made prop Thomas Tompkins (Xavier HS) a Gamebreaker this week but it could have been any of those.

“All we’re doing is looking to play and compete,” said Daniel-Ayibiowu. “We look forward to playing the strong teams.”

Nazareth takes on Oswego on the road this weekend and then Cortland and Buffalo before the Liberty playoffs at the end of October.