The Wake

As University Rec Center patrons circle the track in the Fieldhouse and intramural-soccer games heat up nearby, the Men’s Rugby club is plopped right in the middle of the action taking part in what some may call Rugby 101.

Spring is the season of a fresh start and high expectations for the club which has a high turnover of new athletes each season. The majority of the competition, including the national tournament, takes place in the fall so the newcomers and veterans can use the spring to get back to basics and build a chemistry heading into big-time competition.

The whole idea of a fresh start came two years ago after current head coach Loren Lemke took over the program. There was never a problem of getting athletes to come out and play, but Lemke initially had trouble installing a complex system that eventually led to success.

“We had some good athletes, but we just didn’t have the ethic and the work and the ideas that it takes to play rugby at a higher level,” Lemke said. “We had an attitude problem (at first).”

Ryan Backman, a five-year veteran and officer of the club, witnessed the transition from doormat to a second-place finish in last year’s Division II tournament and a possible top 25 pre-season ranking. Backman has also developed his personal game and he and about five other teammates will participate in the Minnesota Collegiate All-Star Tournament this spring.

Backman and other veterans like him set an example and lead the newcomers in many of the basic drills like positioning and ball handling along with a lot of hard running. The typical rugby field is 110 meters long and about 50-60 meters wide with 10-meter tri-zones, which resemble end zones in football. As a result, the players understand how important fresh legs and cardiovascular strength are come tournament time.

The newcomers’ learning curves and endurances are quickly tested in the spring as the club will compete in the All Saints Tournament in St. Cloud, Minn., which is the largest tournament in the Midwest, and another tournament at St. Olaf.

“When we get outside we’ll start getting into more rucking, mauling, scrums, line outs and we’ll incorporate the ball handling and positioning skills with the contact,” Backman said.

The officers and players are responsible for the successful transition of the club, but Lemke said the boosters, who are “U” alumni and former players, provide great support as well.

“That’s where any of the extra money comes from,” Lemke said. “These guys (boosters) all have seen the struggles of what happened and they are the ones that approached me to come coach here.”

Lemke realizes that winning brings support and the boosters are even organizing fund-raisers. But success didn’t come as quickly or easily as Lemke expected when he took over the program. This ordeal was hard for him, considering how he transformed his former clubs with a snap of his fingers. But Lemke relishes his time in the spring, because he can do more teaching than when the tournaments begin in the fall.

The idea of space, where space is and where space is created is one of the hardest concepts for kids to understand, Lemke said. Players need to understand where to be in relation to each other on the field and at the same time they have to know when and why they should pass the ball.

These are the basic skills that are the building blocks for Lemke’s complex system of rugby. It’s not a typical 10-man rugby style, Lemke said. It’s southern hemisphere, open-rugby style with an open attack that yields both high risks and high rewards. But Lemke knows if his players can grasp the system and help the newcomers along, the club’s success is going nowhere but up.

And as the intramural-soccer games wrap up and the runners begin their cool downs, the men’s rugby club is just getting started on another successful season, as they continue to build one of the most prominent rugby clubs in the country.