World University Rugby Invitation Tournament Kicks Off in Two Days

09.19.2023College Men

In two days the World University Rugby Invitational Tournament kicks off, and there’s an American team in it.

Assembled and overseen by Thomas Clark and coached by Ed Tubridy, the Atlantic Coast All-Stars features a team made up mostly of recently-graduated players with their work most decidedly cut out for them.

It’s been a ton of work to get this team assembled and over to Bordeaux in France where the competition is being held. Money is a big part of the complication. Clark managed to raise about $60,000 in corporate and personal donations, cutting player cost by 65%. But yes the players have had to pay for their chance.

Atlantic Coast All-Star Team Finalized for WURIT

They got donations in-kind as well—Northeastern University and the Boston Irish Wolfhounds donated facilities, as did the New England Free Jacks MLR team.

The preparation in financial and organization terms, said Clark, has had its ups and downs. Assembling the team is the same. Some players have picked up injuries, but others have stepped in. Larry Williams, 2022 Rudy Scholz Award winner, was a nice late addition and Clark put him in the squad having never met the man. But he’s a massive addition to the front row.

A Demanding Tournament

The tournament is a meat-grinder. There will be two 40-minute games each day. Today, September 19, the Atlantic Coast team arrived in France, and will have a day to acclimate before competing. And here’s how the schedule looks:

DAY 1 Sept. 21
Match 1 > Univ. Cape Town vs. New Zealand Universities
Match 2 > Univ. British Columbia vs. Université de Bordeaux
Match 3 > Atlantic Coast All-Stars vs. Sydney University
Match 4 > Univ. Cape Town vs. Univ. British Columbia
Match 5 > New Zealand Universities / Atlantic Coast All-Stars
Match 6 > Université de Bordeaux vs. Sydney University

DAY 2 - Sept. 23
Match 7 > Univ. Cape Town vs. Université de Bordeaux
Math 8 > New Zealand Universities vs. Sydney University
Match 9 > Univ. British Columbia vs. Atlantic Coast All-Stars
Match 10 > New Zealand Universities vs. Université de Bordeaux
Match 11 > Univ. Cape Town / Atlantic Coast All-Stars
Match 12 > Univ. British Columbia vs. Sydney University

DAY 3 - Sept. 25
Match 13 > Univ. Cape Town vs. Sydney University
Match 14 > Université de Bordeaux vs. Atlantic Coast All-Stars
Match 15 > New Zealand Universities vs. Univ. British Columbia

Day 4 Semifinals - Sept. 26
1st Semi-final : 1st vs 4th
2nd Semi-final : 2nd vs 3rd

Finales - Sept. 28
5th-6th Match
3rd-4th Match
Final

So you see that the Atlantic Coast All Stars play Sydney University and then New Zealand Universities (the only other compilation side) on Day One.

“We looked at developing the spine of the team,” Tubridy told GRR. “Front row, second row, eight, nine, to 15. We get that done and build from there. This is going to be a massive challenge but the boys are up for it.”

Tubridy has been meeting with players virtually and they had an assembly before getting on the plane to France. What he thinks this team can bring is intense physicality.

“We know we’re not there for a vacation; for us as a nation to excel we’ve got to get out of our comfort zone,” said the coach. “We will find out how close or how far away we are.”

Depth will also be massively important. With the short games, which are usually more intense than the 80-minute version, and with about 300 minutes of rugby in the space of eight days, everyone will be needed. (The top four of the six teams involved will play the semis, while the bottom two will not play on September 26 and go straight to a 5th-6th game on September 28, which is logical in that the 5th and 6th teams might well be the ones that need the most recovery time to finish up.)

“Everyone has to contribute,” said Tubridy. “We are like a village; we’re in this together and everyone has to contribute and will be expected to play significant minutes.”

Tubridy praised S&C Coach Shane Dempsey for designing a 12-week buildup for the players to prepare the 28 squadmembers and get them physically ready.

The format will allow the coaching staff to rest players at crucial times. With so many games coaches would be unwise to push a player when there are more games in two days.

Leadership

Major League Rugby #1 draft pick Rick Rose is among a group of experienced leaders which also includes lock Oliver Corbett (Brown), flyhalf Matt Anticev (Dartmouth), and flyhalf Keelin Coyle (St. Bonaventure).

But everyone, said Tubridy, has to show themselves to be leaders because there will be so much shifting in the lineup every player has to be assertive.

DII Guys

Most of the team is from D1A or (more likely) NCR D1 colleges. Of the 28 players, two play in D1AA (Boston College scrumhalf Bobby Voth and Louisville flyhalf Aaron Stevenson), and four play in D2. Those four are Gjergji Bacuku (prop, Hofstra), Raymond Santiago (lock, RPI), Leo Clayburgh (flyhalf, Norwich), and Keegan Bliss (center, Univ. Vermont).

Tubridy said there is the worry that players from lower divisions might have a tougher time adjusting, but these are all special players.

“Ray from RPI came to our camp and it was tough Day One, but by Day Two he was up to speed. Keegan has passed every test he’s faced. These guys all were able to handle the learning curve and we’ll expect them to play and contribute.”

The games will be shown live on the Université de Bordeaux YouTube channel. Here is the link for Day One action