Mary Wash rugby celebrates seniors at home

by THOMAS JACKSON & CALLIE HARKINS

Sports Editor & Editor-in-Chief

UMW men’s rugby celebrated senior night last weekend during their final regular season home game against the Naval Academy. Given their unique makeup as a team of predominantly international students, current seniors used the opportunity to reflect on their experiences as an Eagle.

Adam Deacon is a senior marketing major from South Africa and flanker on the rugby team. This season, he has made it a point to support his underclassman teammates the same way he had been supported by the leaders before him.

“One thing that I have taken from my past seniors, and which I have tried to implement with my underclassmen, is to stay close to one another and to extend a hand of help to bring each other up, whether it’s academically, on the field, or if they are struggling within their own personal lives,” Deacon said. “Most of us are away from family, our homes, and in a completely new country, and that can be hard sometimes when adjusting or even navigating new experiences. This also filters down into the trust and closeness we have with one another because without trust and that sense of camaraderie you’ll never have a winning team.”

Matthew Clinton, a junior communication and digital studies major and hooker for the team from Ireland, knows firsthand how difficult it can be to adjust to life in America as an international student. He believes supporting his teammates through their transition to UMW is as important as in-game backing.

“The seniors have taught me a lot from the way of life in America, to on field takeaways and academics,” he said. “The main thing I would teach to underclassmen on the team is more stuff off the field, like academics and how to adjust to American life as an international student, as I know for myself it was a struggle to adjust and know how helpful it was to have the seniors help guide me.”

Many underclassman players look to their senior leaders for guidance both on and off the field and go on to share that knowledge with those younger than them as they progress at UMW. 

“When I think back to my freshman year, there are some guys that really just stick with you, and I can say for certain that I’ve tried to emulate them,” said Max Plumb, a senior international business major from England. “From the get-go, you could tell not only were they good athletes, but good men. That’s really been the story in my final year, trying to earn the respect of the younger guys by not only playing hard but trying to be a good bloke. It’s very easy to get caught up in a world of things freshman year but I know having been there, an older figure can 100% keep you on track.”

During the weekend’s match, Mary Washington scored early, going try for try with Navy before finishing the half with a conversion kick that extended their lead to 12–5. This lead was attributed to UMW’s speed and athleticism on the pitch. Per co-captain and junior accounting major Will Lindsey, finding an open space to fight through the contact is important to their game.

“The position I’m in, I’ve got a bit of space to work with,” he said. “I kind of just got to look up to see where that space is. If I’ve got a boy backing me, I can just go straight into the contact and just fight for it.”

Despite having the lead going into halftime, the team understood the high-pressure nature of the match. Given this situational clarity, Deacon felt thoroughly prepared thanks to weeks of preparation and practice. 

“I think we handle high pressure situations well due to preparation,” he said. “Knowing our opponents ins and outs allows us to go into a game knowing how to exploit those ins and outs and not just going in blind. Another factor is experience and trust, which I mentioned before. When you have been in a few high pressure games, you not only are calmer but you know that with all the weeks of preparation, everyone knows what they need to do, and with playing with each other and forming those bonds on and off the field you are able to trust every man to do that job.”

While maintaining a competitive spirit is crucial to strong gameplay, Clinton emphasizes the importance of staying present and enjoying the moment.  

“Just go out and enjoy it,” he said. “During the game, you soak in the atmosphere of a massive game and feed off the supporters and teammates.”

In the second half of the match, Navy slowly clawed at the lead as the Eagles went on the defensive. Lindsey knew it would take all 15 players on the field working together to try and finish the game strong as Navy came back.

“With 15 boys out there, the name of the game is to make it easy for each other, so you’re all working together,” he said.

Because the game requires strong teamwork and coordination, the Eagles remain a tight-knit team on and off the field. Even when players are unable to join their mates on the pitch, they remain connected.

“We are also a very close knit team, regardless of how often we talk and hangout with each other everyone looks after everyone, and because of that guys stay connected with the team throughout their injury by coming to team hosted events, practices to help out, doing their recovery during lifts in the morning, eating together in the UC whenever we get a chance, and even helping each other out with academics,” said Deacon.

Rugby requires great physicality which can take a toll on the body, causing injuries and temporarily sidelining players as they recover. Plumb credits the UMW athletic training staff for their assistance in staying healthy as the team works through their grueling season. 

“I’ll be honest, rugby gives the highest highs but can also dish the lowest lows, in my recent

career I’ve been sidelined for a lot of it, so much so that the athletic training room has

become somewhat of a second home for me,” said Plumb. “But I feel that is also a real tester, and to the

athletic training staff who really do care about the student athletes and develop real

friendships with them.”

He continued, “I would like to shout out our rugby specific athletic trainer Dr. Riley Durbano who has to deal with around 60 rostered players on the men’s team, let alone the women’s team, and does it all with a smile on her face…Our team does not consist of just the starting 15 guys, it’s everyone: 1st Team, 2nd Team, coaches, student managers and even those that turn up to support on a Saturday. The ethos of the team is not having 15 amazing players but 60 of them, any which one that could slide into that first squad if they’re called upon.”

The Eagles ultimately fell to Navy following two successful conversion kicks and a try that led to a final score of 22–27. Even though UMW did not receive the result they had hoped, Lindsey was proud of how the group played as a team and supported each other.

“It’s not a single man game like that, it’s really who wants it more, and unfortunately, Navy got over us today, but they’re also number one in the country and we’re pretty happy just to be that close to them,” he said. 

According to Plumb, Navy is notorious around the league as a tough competitor. The Eagles knew it would be a challenging game and prepared accordingly. 

“Leading into this game they were the #2 team in the nation, and quite frankly other teams around the league had bet on the fact we’d get crushed,” Plumb said. “Knowing this, the lads went into the game with a fuck you attitude with nothing to lose.”

Mary Washington scorers for this match included senior sports management major Tobey Barnfield-Lee,  sophomore business administration major Ben Peters, senior business administration major Kit Waddington and freshman Calum Emmans. 

“It was a case of who wants it more and it really showed, unfortunately like a lot of our games this year we fell short by the smallest of margins giving them one of their narrowest wins of the year, however, the score line sent a real message around the league that on our day we can compete with the very best,” said Plumb.

The team’s next match will be on March 29 at the Old Blue College 7s Tournament, in Mount Vernon, Virginia. 

Claire Watkins contributed to the reporting for this article.