Rugby Seeks Legitimacy--And Varsity Team Status

Only three years after they were almost expelled from Harvard's athletic program, the Harvard men's rugby team is pushing hard to become Harvard's 42nd varsity sport.

In the spring of 1998, the University determined that the men's team was in violation of its drinking policy when team members were found inebriated in front of the Malkin Athletic Center. As a result, the team was suspended for two years. "[Rugby]'s future was in jeopardy," says John Wentzell, Director of Club and Intramural Sports. "We had countless meetings with the team and alumni. They know that they bottomed out that year."

Since that occasion, the team has changed radically, abandoning the party image that it fostered in the past.

Now members of the club want to be known for playing a serious and physically demanding sport.

"We're looking for legitimacy," says the team's coach, Robert S. Leavitt '86.

The Harvard Athletic Department boasts 41 varsity sports, but the oldest rugby team in the nation remains a club.

Wentzell says he's impressed with the team's dedication.

"Rugby has certainly been the crown jewel of our [club sports] program," Wentzell says. "The kids put in an enormous amount of time and effort, and have the most students that participate."

But he doesn't see them becoming a varsity sport anytime soon.

"Rugby is not a varsity sport anywhere in the country, except Cal-Berkeley," Wentzell says. "There's no need, therefore, for it to be a varsity sport here."

Varsity Sport?

On a blustery April morning in Boston's Franklin Park, Harvard rugby dismantled Boston University 34-5, in the first round of the Beanpot Tournament. The team would later edge out defending champs Northeastern, 32-29, to take the title.

However, the athletes wearing Harvard's name on the field were not varsity athletes.

This is the case with many club or junior varsity sports around campus.

But in the eyes of players and coaches, there are several features of club rugby that distinguish it from all other non-varsity sports.

"We practice as hard as any team at Harvard," says Harvard Rugby President Benjamin P. Davis '02. "I really think we are as serious as any athletic team at this school."

This attitude stems from the club's shifting focus away from social activities and towards athletic excellence.

"We want success on the field," Davis says. "We've turned the page since 1998, and I think a lot of people see as varsity-caliber athletes who love the game they play. We have a lot of guys who left the football or soccer teams [at Harvard]."

To prepare for the season, the rugby players follow a heavy practice regimen. Intense practices are necessary to build endurance because the game never stops moving. It is normal for players to run and tackle for up to 25 minutes at a time. Often the action begins on one side of the field and rapidly swings to the other.

"Fitness is a big part of our practices," Leavitt says. "It's similar to football or soccer in many ways, in terms of what it demands athletically."

The athletic integrity of the sport is evidenced in each game as well.

Aside from the fast-paced play, rugby often requires one to play through pain and injury.

In the Beanpot tournament, players competed with bloody noses and lips, hyper-extended knees and other injuries.

Harvard rugby players take that dedication and intensity off the field, assuming responsibility for the daily maintenance of the team, often with minimal support from Harvard.

"We are in charge everything," Davis says. "We get fields, make schedules, raise funds, get to the games and do other little things that other varsity sports would never have to worry about."

Administration

Though Leavitt and Barker agree that rugby evoked images of drinking and rowdiness in the past, the club has worked to change that perception. Its athletes take on community service projects as a team, for example, and while the team used to have kegs at games in the 1980s, it's now officially "dry."

A strong alumni support group has kept the team well funded and organized.

The passion for the game has also motivated players to take more control of organizational and administrative responsibilities for the club. The players must secure transportation to games, fields for games and referees. The president balances a tight budget under the supervision of Wentzell and the alumni association. And the team relies heavily on alumni to provide the bulk of the funding.

The sort of rugby fraternity often extends beyond the field. Coach Leavitt, who resides in Aspen, Colo., travels to Cambridge twice a year for several months to coach.

"The alumni are great and very supportive of the team," Wentzell says. "They are passionate, and have helped the team return quicker from its ('98) setback."

The alumni organization, The Friends of Harvard Rugby, pays for the team to travel to away games in a large bus that carries the entire team and coaches.

"They pay for our coaches and other important things that the team could not do without," Davis said. "We feel more linked to the alumni than we do to the school."

--Staff writer Robert A. Cacace can be reached at cacace@fas.harvard.edu.