Murfreesboro, TN - Men's Rugby at
the University of South Carolina will
travel to Murfreesboro, TN this weekend
with a trip to the National Round of 16
on the line. Having emerged as
the top Division 1 side in the inaugural
Carolinas Rugby League, the #21
Gamecocks will face the daunting task of
overcoming the #5 Arkansas State Red
Wolves.
In the fall of 2007 the clubs moved to
Division 1 together, competing in what
was then the South Premier League. Both
clubs proved their immediate worth to
the league, with USC finishing in the
top 4 (out of 7) in its first year,
while the Red Wolves captured the league
title in the spring of both 2008 and
2009. Unfortunately, the league was
dissolved due to strenuous travel
concerns before the 2010 campaign,
creating the many leagues seen around
the South today (including the Carolinas
Rugby League, where USC competed this
season). As one may gather, this made
qualification for the South's 2 seeds to
the National Round of 16 difficult.
A compromise was struck among the
clubs, and South Collegiate Commissioner
Marty Bradley announced a 4-team
semi-final to be played in late March,
with the seeding based on the highest
finisher of each league from the year
before. Arkansas State, having won
consecutive South titles, was seeded #1
overall, and left without a
regular-season league to play in due to
its great distance from other premier
clubs. The Southeastern League was
ranked #2, with Tennessee having been
the South's 2nd-place finisher in 2009
(as well as the South's other seed at
Nationals), and the Florida League
seeded #3 due to the Gators' late
re-emergence in 2009. This left the
Carolinas League seeded #4 overall, and
faced with the daunting task of taking
down the Red Wolves in the first round.
Energized by a strong core of
seniors and graced with an infusion of
international players, the University of
South Carolina rolled through the
Carolinas Rugby League this spring,
posting a 5-0-1 mark in league play, and
scoring definitive victories over
Division 1 opponents North Carolina
(21-10)and Clemson (20-10). The Gamecock
defense was the strongest in the
multi-divisional league, holding
opponents to less than 10 points per
game on average, and the strength of the
league was on display March 20th as its
two Division 2 representatives cruised
past their Southeastern League opponents
and in to the South Division 2 Final
Four.
Overall, the Gamecocks have a 19-3-1
mark on the year, including a perfect
8-0-0 season at home, as well as a
11-0-1 mark in regulation-length
80-minute matches. The club captured the
2009 Palmetto Rugby Union Championship,
and posted a 3rd-place showing at the
2009 SEC
Championship Rugby Tournament,
finishing behind only #15 Tennessee and
#11 LSU.
As many followers of the collegiate game
are aware, however, the Red Wolves are
not to be taken lightly. The program was
built strong by long-time coach Curt
Huckaby, who passed the reins of
coaching on to his son this season
following years of record achievements.
Arkansas State was a long-time national
power in Division 2 play before making
the switch to Division 1 alongside USC,
and the club immediately made its
presence felt in Division 1 as well. ASU
played eventual champion BYU in its
toughest match of the season last year,
losing only in the last few minutes of
the sides' National Quarter-Final match.
There are several factors behind the Red
Wolves' rise, many of which are being
emulated by the top clubs around the
country today. ASU has had a stable
coaching presence, and is among the
nation's leaders in strength and
conditioning. The club has also built a
wonderful relationship with its
university, being approved for
in-state-rate scholarships, which are
available to top high school players and
internationals. The program has been
particularly effective at luring players
in from South Africa, one of the world's
premier rugby powers, giving the club a
nickname of the Arkansas State
'Springboks' among its competitors. This
is not to diminish the quality of its
American players, however, as the Red
Wolves have placed many players on the
collegiate All-American team in the
past, including former men's national
side player Jarvis Albury.
The first two
meetings between ASU and USC weren't
pretty, but the Gamecocks are hoping to
correct that this year. Having
confidently made progress against
top-notch clubs such as UNC Chapel Hill,
South Carolina is a team determined
unlike any other year this season.
Though many see an ASU victory as a
foregone conclusion, USC stands a
puncher's chance if it can limit the
chances provided to the Red Wolves'
backline. The Gamecocks arguably have
the South's finest pack of forwards, and
this year USC has been particularly
effective at controlling possession in
the rucks.
Should the Gamecocks
emerge victorious, they will go on to
face the winner of the clash between #15
Tennessee and #14 Florida. Though the
Gators were able to top the Volunteers
in a January exhibition, the match is
thought to be anyone's game, and UT
certainly has the historical edge over
their opponent.
The Championship and 3rd-Place matches
will be held on Sunday, with the
Championship game serving largely as a
seeding match for the National Round of
16 on April 16th and 17th. The South's
top seed will travel to Santa Barbara,
CA, while its second seed will travel to
Marietta, GA.
Before the season it
was thought that the 3rd-Place match
would decide the conference seedings for
next year's South Final Four, but with
the prospect of a collegiate premier
league looming, re-organization is
taking place across the South once
again. Four of USC's Carolinas Rugby
League opponents have already defected
to the newly-formed Atlantic Coastal
League, which is made up of 9 of the 12
ACC schools from NCAA sports. The ACL
will play a late-spring schedule,
bypassing qualification for nationals
for a more regional focus on the game.
The Gamecocks could potentially join the
Southeastern League (made up of schools
from the SEC in NCAA sports), or may
even be invited to the premier league
should its finances be considered sound
enough. Either way, USC will be doomed
to longer travel next season, and the
club will spend its summer evaluating
the future of its competition.
USC's match versus Arkansas State will
take place on Saturday at 4:00 PM, with
a hopeful Sunday Championship event to
follow. We encourage our friends, fans,
and alumni to travel with us this
weekend to Murfreesboro, TN for what we
hope to be a monumental weekend in
Carolina history. Go Cocks! |
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Copyright 2010. Erik V. Geib
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