PLYMOUTH, N.H. – For the past month the Plymouth State Men’s Rugby Team has been waiting to play a match. Their first three games of the season were scheduled to be played against Rhode Island College, St. Anselm College, and Springfield College, but they were all cancelled due to horrendous weather and/or terrible field conditions. The men PSC will kick off their twenty-fifth season of rugby this weekend at the Beast of the East Tournament in Portsmouth, RI. The Beast of the East is the biggest college rugby tournament on the east coast with over 80 men and women’s collegiate teams participating.
At the helm of the team is coach Brendan Leetch. A native of Chicago, IL Coach Leetch is in his first year as coach and has done a tremendous job with the intensity, aggression and commitment of the team. He runs a rucking style of play and it should keep the team in most games with the simple but effective game plan.
Key returning team members to the team are hooker John Agler, second rows Bill Dorgan and Greg Fesko, flankers Josh Lagerval and Pat Hastings, centers Tyler Swett and Dan Jones, and halfbacks Val Stoll and Chris Cenate. Other experienced players Ryan Schruender, Erik Konetchy, and Ethan Swann will help fill the team’s gaps.
The key to a great rugby team is the development of the new recruits. This year’s rugby team has had a great incoming class of superb athletes and aggressive, intense young men who will help the team now and into the future. A brand new trio of props consisting of Nick Conti, Brian Luce and John Savage will control scrums with their pure strength and weight. The wing connection of “Tito” and “Guapo” (Tony Napoleone and Adam Del Vecchio) will bring speed to the outside and hopefully create havoc for opposing defenses. At fullback, Chris Marich has showed his excellent hands and vision of the field and will bring some toughness to a finesse position. New 8-man Mike Pitassi will bring much needed experience because of his 2 years of rugby in high school. Rounding out the incoming players are Kyle Hammond, Pat Gaffney, Steve Cuozzo, George Thing, Tim Herbert, and Andrew Zollo, who will all see playing time.