Men’s rugby team to host first home game
another addition at their first home game against Idaho State this weekend – a coach.
Walter Cespedes is the first coach the rugby club has ever had. He brings years of professional experience from playing in Argentina and Peru to the USU squad.
“We found him on the side of the field,” rugby club president Dave McConnel said of discovering Cespedes. “Now that we have a coach, we’ll do well.”
The young rugby team looks to improve upon its1-4 start to the season. A record that McConnel is not too worried about as two of their losses came to Utah, who took second at nationals last year, and another to Washington, who beat Utah.
Both Utah and Washington play at the Division-I level, while USU will be competing at the Division-II level this season, along with ISU and UVSC.
The drop in divisions was voluntary and McConnel said the deciding factor was because of the inexperience of a number of new players. Even with the young team, McConnel expects the team will still do well in post-season play.
“I expect us to go to nationals and do some damage,” he said.
To balance out the incoming players, the Aggies will rely heavily on the experience of their forward pack, or offensive players, to run the ball in the attack.
Idaho State is the second Division-II side the Aggies will face this year. Utah State has already encountered UVSC twice and has split the results with a win and a loss. Idaho State has beaten the Wolverines this season, but McConnel is optimistic. History is on the Aggies’ side.
“We’ve never lost to ISU as long as I’ve been here,” McConnel said.
The game begins at 1 p.m., following the women’s match that starts at 11 a.m. Saturday on the HPER field.
Among the festivities at the game will be the folks from Red Bull entertaining the crowd.
Also, the team’s official bagpiper Lance Powell will be piping the Aggies onto the field – or pitch as it’s called in rugby.
The club’s official massage therapist from Aggie County Chiropractic will be offering two-minute massages to spectators on the sidelines.
There will also be other giveaways provided by Old Grist Mill.
As a fundraiser for the rugby club, Aggie County Chiropractic will be offering 20-minute massages for $10 on the TSC Patio all day Friday.
– stm@cc.usu.edu