By Sean Savage
@SeanSav13
Lights, camera, action. Saturday, Oct. 14, was a cut right out of a movie for Springfield College men’s and women’s club rugby.
This scene was a sequel, however – building off the success both clubs saw last year.
The day kicked off as the sun gleamed over Brock-Affleck Field, where the women’s team defeated Mount Holyoke, 34-14.
“It felt great to win, it was a great feeling,” senior Mac Fornili said. “This year, our team is composed of a lot of new players who have never played the sport before. For them to know that feeling really brought up morale for the team. It reinforced the love of a new sport.”
Following the women’s big win, the men took on cross-town rival Western New England.
And they made a statement – rolling the Golden Bears by triple digits – 115-0, to be exact.
“It elicits how many players can step up to the plate,” senior captain Callum Astley said. “By the second half, there was an entirely new group out there.”
The men’s team has been on the hunt, decimating any team they come across. They’ve handed Westfield State, St. Michaels (VT) and WPI losses by considerable margins as well.
When both clubs arrived on Aug. 24 for preseason, they were looking to wreak havoc as the fall season ensued.
“Coming off a national championship game, there was a lot of expectations and height going into preseason,” senior Josh Cruz said. “There was a lot of adversity during preseason, as all of our scrimmages got canceled. So, we definitely had to work around that.”
Outside of training, the 15 days served as a great bonding experience for the team.
“We hosted freshmen for the first time in program history,” Astley said. “We helped integrate them to the college lifestyle, while getting used to the team as well. It is the closest the team has ever been.”
Preseason also helped the Pride adjust to their new roster size. Last year, the men’s team had about 20 players, compared to this year, where they have nearly 40 rostered.
On the women’s side, preseason was a chance to continue to put in work and build up the club as a whole.
“It served as team bonding,” Fornili said. “We go into practice now and joke, ‘At least it is not preseason.’ When it came to games, there was a clear difference from last spring to this fall.”
The women’s team will look to get back to .500 as they travel to Waltham on Saturday to take on Brandeis.
“Last year, we beat them based on sheer physicality,” Fornili said. “It is nice to have half the team go in with fresh eyes [against] a team they have not seen. We do not want to have preconceived thoughts about the game, but rather just enter with confidence.”
The men will look to home in on postseason play, which will begin in two weeks.
“We pride ourselves on the training mindset that nobody will outwork us. If we put in the work in practice to become conditioned, it will show come game time,” junior Ajae Olsen said. “Heading into the playoffs, we are focussed on the work that needs to be done – winning will be a byproduct of that.”
Cruz also attested to the importance of the weeks that will follow for the program.
“We are fighting for nationals this time around,” Cruz said. “We are locked in for a historic season, as we will look to make it the furthest any team has.”
Photo by Springfield Campus Recreation Instagram