The Gamecocks will look to kick off more than a year of rust off Saturday when the team takes to the pitch that is named in honor of their new head coach, John Roberts.
The Cocks will play a series of shortened halves against Furman, Belmont Abbey and the Citadel. In total, the team will get about 60 minutes of time on the pitch in these controlled scrimmages.
The complete schedule is:
11:00 FU - Belmont Abbey
11:25 FU – USC
11:50 USC v Belmont Abbey
12:20 FU v Citadel
12:45 Citadel v USC
1:10 Citadel v Belmont Abbey
All games will be played on John S. Roberts Rugby Field on the Furman campus. The pitch is named in honor of USC Coach John Roberts, who coached the Furman team for nearly 20 years before stepping away in 2018.
He joined the USC program, his alma mater, just weeks ago.
The Gamecocks are coming off a 1-4 fall 2019 campaign, finishing fourth in the Southeastern Collegiate Rugby Conference. South Carolina has had only four practices as the team and new coaching staff (including Chris Holmes and Tony Coggiola) work to become acquainted and establish new systems.
“Everyone has been drinking from a fire hose this week,” said Roberts. “We have all new coaches and a ton of new players. This will be our first opportunity to see everyone under live fire.”
He added that team enthusiasm is elevated, and the squad is anxious to get back on the field.
“Like every team, our boys are just ripping at the chance to get back on the pitch and play the game they love. It has been a long time.”
The Cocks will play a series of shortened halves against Furman, Belmont Abbey and the Citadel. In total, the team will get about 60 minutes of time on the pitch in these controlled scrimmages.
The complete schedule is:
11:00 FU - Belmont Abbey
11:25 FU – USC
11:50 USC v Belmont Abbey
12:20 FU v Citadel
12:45 Citadel v USC
1:10 Citadel v Belmont Abbey
All games will be played on John S. Roberts Rugby Field on the Furman campus. The pitch is named in honor of USC Coach John Roberts, who coached the Furman team for nearly 20 years before stepping away in 2018.
He joined the USC program, his alma mater, just weeks ago.
The Gamecocks are coming off a 1-4 fall 2019 campaign, finishing fourth in the Southeastern Collegiate Rugby Conference. South Carolina has had only four practices as the team and new coaching staff (including Chris Holmes and Tony Coggiola) work to become acquainted and establish new systems.
“Everyone has been drinking from a fire hose this week,” said Roberts. “We have all new coaches and a ton of new players. This will be our first opportunity to see everyone under live fire.”
He added that team enthusiasm is elevated, and the squad is anxious to get back on the field.
“Like every team, our boys are just ripping at the chance to get back on the pitch and play the game they love. It has been a long time.”