The Toughest College Rugby Conference? Rugby East Looks to Big Fall
The Toughest College Rugby Conference? Rugby East Looks to Big Fall
Is the Rugby East the best collegiate rugby conference in the USA?
We’ve discussed this before and while there are some other contenders, depending on your criteria, Rugby East has to be in that conversation.
Two of the last three D1A national champions. Two of the last three NCR D1 champions. Three (!) of the last three NCR D1 losing finalists. Those three facts make a compelling argument.
CRAA Fall Classic: Rugby East teams went 2-1 in bowl games. Add in the fact that Life University made the D1A semis
So we know that not only are the top teams good, but the teams behind them are good.
It’s also competitive. Of the 35 games played within in Rugby East in the fall of 2023, 10 (28.6%) were within a try or a tie. That’s a very impressive rate.
The upshot is that every game is difficult, and that is why teams want to join. Belmont Abbey is the newest team in the league, and it’s highly likely we’ll see more programs join for 2025-26. Hopefully the league won’t collapse under its own weight.
Belmont Abbey
After being the only school-supported program in the Southern Rugby Conference, Belmont Abbey has opted to find a more challenging conference. They were a young team in 2023-24 and because of that return pretty much their entire starting 15.
With a solid recruiting effort, new Head Coach Genaro Fessia has a pretty good chance to do well this fall.
“We are eager to get started,” Fessia told GRR. “Having been included in the East conference is a reward for the efforts of everyone involved in our program and we are convinced that the team will be up to the task in the tournament, despite its youth.”
Navy
At the top of the conference is Navy, which won D1A in the spring of 2023 in a very close game and then lost the D1A final in the spring of 2024 in a very close game.
And while the Midshipmen graduate some very important players, their tenure as a full varsity program only began two years ago so their recruiting classes from 2023 and 2024 are still there. Returning impact players (and we asked Head Coach Gain Hickie for this list) are: Drew Baublitz, Ian Bullock, Avion Ganse, Roanin Krieger, Ed Soeder, Austin Taylor, Will Webb, JD Bengston, Jake Cornelius, Aidan Gerber, Austin Taylor, Mike Kalalau, Kade Williams, Tanner Russell, Max Smith, Michael Strehle, and AJ Young.
Many of these players played an important role in Navy’s run to the 2023-24 final, especially Krieger (fullback), who set a points-scoring record for the program, and Bullock (hooker), who scored a key try in the semifinal.
The recruiting class is strong, too.
They will have to be because Hickie has put together, as he judges it, “the toughest schedule in the country.”
Their conference schedule is bolstered by a tilt against BYU and then they open their winter/spring schedule at Cal in February.
Physical, hardworking, but also capable of opening the game up, Navy is once again a favorite.
On September 28 Navy takes on Army in a clash of the 2022 D1A champs and the 2023 D1A champs.
Army
“We will look a bit different,” said Head Coach Matt Sherman. “A core group that's been with us for many years has graduated to begin leading our nation’s Army, and we couldn't be more proud of, grateful for, and excited for them. Despite this loss, we have strong depth and competition throughout the returning team. In particular, the rising sophomore class showed tremendous promise last season. We will need new players to step up, but we have faith in their ability to do so, and if we improve at the rate we strive for, we believe we can be a nationally competitive team and are excited to get started.”
Coming off a 2-4-1 season in Rugby East Army still managed to beat Cal at West Point during the spring. That was a signal that perhaps that they were stronger than the record first appears. And if you look at their results, you’ll see a tie with Notre Dame College, a three-point loss to St. Bonaventure, and a 23-21 loss to Navy.
Eight points the other way and they’d be 5-2.
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Walsh University
And then we’ve got that other championship team—Notre Dame College. Which, of course, they are not. The actual institution, Notre Dame College, closed its doors this past spring. Some quick negotiation moved the rugby programs to Walsh University in nearby North Canton, Ohio.
Despite losing clutch try-scorer Ashawnty Staples and NCR finals Man of the Match Cameron Mills, Walsh does see NDC captain Remy Thomson (Scholz Award candidate), Tanner Smith, Freser Leslie, Lachie McDonald, Asher Hannon, Quinton von der Lieth, Marcus Jansen van Vuuren, and Steph Herbst. This is an experienced group that gets along well.
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They have recruited some talent including powerful St. Edward HS center /wing Josh Groudle, Briton Jonty Jimber, and Aussie Jake Tolhoek.
“We have faced significant challenges, including the closure of NDC, which required us to start almost from scratch.,” said Coach Cornel Britz. “Throughout this transition, Walsh University has provided incredible support, and our Athletic Director, Christina Paone, has been instrumental in helping us adjust and settle in. Despite these challenges, we are prepared for a demanding rugby schedule. Each match promises to be competitive, with our away game against Life being a particular highlight and a challenge we eagerly anticipate.”
Mary Washington
What about Mary Washington? They bring back a very experienced group of returning players and their recruiting class is outstanding. They have recruited over 30 players to join the program this fall. Many of them are from the UK. You can see the whole list here>>
It’s a huge list, and maybe there’s some work to be done to herd all of those cats for Director of Rugby Gearoid Dunbar and Head Coach Charbel Medlej.
“Every game, including our friendlies are an internal and external test,” said Tim Brown, who works on a variety of tasks making sure the UMW program runs. “We have so much competition for positions that no one can take a day off. We start with Guelph on the road which will be a huge test and then kick off the season vs Army on the road. There are no easy games in Rugby East.”
Getting ready for our @RugbyEastD1A season preview so here's a chat with @RugbyMothers player Tobey Barnfeld-Lee. pic.twitter.com/kcHYeLzMo9
— Alex Goff (@goffrugbyreport) August 25, 2024
The Mount
Mount St. Mary’s is another team worth a close look. Their recruiting successes have brought in players from all over the USA. They have … get this … 45 freshmen on their roster.
The Mount kicked off their season this past weekend, playing at Air Force Academy and coming away with a 41-12 win over Air Force with Evan Corbett and James Stelluti leading the scoring. Raymond McGettigan was man of the match in that game.
Now, that’s a preseason game and Air Force has a reputation for taking its time to get to its peak because so many players are new to the game. But to go on the road and win against a fit, physical team at altitude is a good start.
Life
Life University was very close to appearing in the final, and this program, which has won four D1A championships, is always a threat. Yes they lose Darius Law and Jeron Pantor and more, but we know they will reload.
Queens
Queens University brings in some players from the champion Charlotte Cardinals club, including flyhalf Zach Colson, Jacob Eroh, and Colby Marr. This is an impressive trio to add but that’s only part of their recruiting class.
Queens will ease into their season with games against three SCRC D1AA teams before the conference season starts. That makes sense as they end the regular season against Life and Navy.
Penn State
Penn State has named a new Head Coach in Zac Mizell and they are working on a rebuild. But let’s talk about what we mentioned above: those close losses. Of the nine close losses in Rugby East action last fall, Penn State had three of them.
St. Bonaventure
St. Bonaventure has undergone some coaching changes, too, and Danny Neighbour, now at the helm, will be looking for a return to the NCR final. They eked games out last year, winning four games by a try or less, including the NCR semifinal over Brown.
Kutztown
At 2-5 this past fall Kutztown just barely made the NCR playoffs before falling to Brown. They weren’t far off the pace, however and with MSM transfer Chris Cleland joining at scrumhalf and and a snappy 2023 recruiting class now likely to get more time, they should be a handful every week.
They will take their time getting on the field, as the Bears don’t appear to have any warmup games before the league begins.
SVU
Southern Virginia struggled a bit last year but they are still building. Talent from Utah, Hawai’i, Southern California, and Virginia all come in as 2024 recruits.
