Men’s Rugby: The Norsemen

What’s the hardest thing to do at Plymouth besides make it to class on time? Be a Norseman. What’s a Norseman? A ferocious Viking, or in other words a member of the Men’s Rugby team here at PSU. The rugby team is made up of a hard working group of diverse young men, dedicated to doing their best work on and off the pitch. Sophomore fly half Chris Sylvester started playing rugby five years ago on his high school team in Scituate, MA. “The team chemistry is great; we get along really well on and off the pitch, we’re like a big family,” said Sylvester. The program is continuously growing, and gaining more recognition as a team this year The hope for many of the players is to be recognized as a nationally ranked varsity team in the near future.

Men’s Rugby is an extremely intense, physically demanding sport, just like the other varsity sports here, but it is recognized as a club. The team practices almost every day, except when they are traveling all over New England to have matches. “Before a match, we all have our own rituals, just like any other team. I always put on my right sock first then left sock, then right cleat then left cleat. It’s superstition,” Sylvester added. The team is made up of young men of all ages, from several different parts of the world including England, Ireland and Egypt. The general consensus on the best part of being a member of the rugby team for many of the players is the team itself, being a part of the family. The worst part? Being sore all the time.

The Men’s Rugby team is a part of the CCRC Conference, and with a 3-1 record, and with two regular season games left, they are on their way to playoffs. The team is ranked 13th in the country for Division 2 right now. Last year the team beat rival Keene State for the first time in five years, which Sylvester said was definitely their highlight so far. Five years from now, Sylvester hopes the program will have grown into a varsity team and gained the recognition they deserve.