No. 20 Colorado State rugby took down Colorado 45-21 in Fort Collins Sunday.
The loud cheers and shouts from a much larger crowd drawn in by rivalry week added that much more energy to a sport somewhat barbaric by nature. Rugby at CSU may be a club sport, but it strives on competing at the highest levels. The weekend was recruits and alumni weekend, showing the vision the club has for its future while also honoring those who came before.
CSU rugby head coach Joe Rusert-Cuddy, also an alumnus, began his full-time head coaching tenure just this year.
“This program means the world to me,” Rusert-Cuddy said. “When I went to CSU, I captained for three years, and I got some of my best friends and best experiences in my life playing for this team. And getting to be the head guy now, sometimes I have to pinch myself. It’s really an honor.”
Rusert-Cuddy, having been a recent alumnus, meshes well with his team and is a great factor in the team’s success.
“I’ve learned that college kids are actually pretty smart,” Rusert-Cuddy said. “They’re pretty conscious, they’re really bright, they’re intelligent. They are in tune with what they need as athletes to perform best, and they’re good at vocalizing that to the coaches. So, we have a really good dynamic with the coaches and players. So, (we have) a lot of transparency.”
On the other side of the sideline was Rusert-Cuddy’s long-time opponent in one of CU’s coaches.
“One of the coaches for CU is a person that I played against a lot growing up with, like the eighth-grade national team, and he also played at CU,” Rusert-Cuddy said. “So now he’s coaching his alma mater, I’m coaching my alma mater, so there was definitely a bit of wanting to get the upper hand that way.”
The game went back and forth with both teams scoring most of their possessions. But in the end, the Rams gave a punctuating finish. As former wrestler and transfer, Xavier Valentin-Bradford scored in the final minutes of the game.
Also a part of that try was captain Brock Scanlan, who is known for leading by example.
“It’s definitely hard (being captain),” Scanlan said. “I’m not like a big rah rah speech guy. I like to kind of get calm before games like (in a) flow state. So after, I kind of lead by example. And sometimes you don’t get the opportunity (to be a captain), so it’s just been a good learning experience.”
And Scanlan strongly believes in this team’s young core.
“There’s a lot of young guys that really want to work and prove themselves to get that starting spot,” Scanlan said.”
He also looks forward to this year’s playoffs, as CSU won by a significant margin in Sunday’s match against CU.
“I want to prove ourselves,” Scanlan said. “We want to go back to the playoffs like last year. Hopefully, we make a run this time; we’re just trying to grow the program one day and go all the way.”
Coming out of the rivalry victorious is always a tall task for either team, given the competitiveness and emotional levels that get raised. However, completing such tasks is what creates brotherhood.
“These guys will definitely be in my wedding, as much as they are idiots and they’re so funny, but it’ll be a great time,” second row player Keane Webre said. “These are my lifelong friends. We go out on the field together and we battle for each other.”
Webre got injured in the first game but played through it. He even wanted to play the second game but was turned down by the team trainers.
Despite having a banged-up shoulder wrapped up in athletic tape and a banged-up head also wrapped in athletic tape, from a head-to-head collision, he still wanted to play the second game.
The CU Boulder rivalry means that much to him.
“All week I was buzzing,” Webre said. “Like at practice, I’m just buzzing. I’m shaking like literally, and I was just so excited to go out there and hit some kids. We hate the Buffs. Every year, it’s a chippy game. They’re throwing elbows, they’re punching us, they’re stomping on us. And we know what’s to come.”
CSU came into this week ranked, which means a lot to the team as it helps push name and support to the club.
“It means the world to us,” Webre said. “We’re kind of an underdog. We don’t have as many resources as other schools do, but for us, it really just means that we have to prove ourselves and we have to work hard on and off the field, lifting, being here on time, staying locked in through games, through practices.”
CSU continues to play for a run in the playoffs and is set to face Santa Clara Nov. 1 in Fort Collins.
“We’re pretty confident in our set pieces, and we just know if we play our game, we get the job done,” Scanlan said.
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Reach Aron Medrano at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @AronMedrano27.
