On Georgetown’s campus, the rugby team is a visible presence.

aybe you’ve seen three or four players walking to class together wearing those unmistakable blue and gray windbreaker pullovers. Perhaps you’ve been on your way to Yates Field House as the sun began to set, and as you walked the perimeter around the Multi-Sport Facility, you couldn’t help but watch as members of the 66-man squad effortlessly moved that oddly shaped ball up and down the field. Better yet, maybe you’ve enjoyed yourself at a few of the team’s many house parties. You knew it was a rugby party because there were a couple of “Georgetown Rugby” bumper stickers on the door.

Yet there’s something that you probably didn’t know about them.

This team is good – really good.

“We know there’s this stereotype, not just as a club team, but as a rugby team,” junior center/fullback and team captain Phil Cooney says. “There’s a stereotype that we’re just a bunch of drunken buffoons, which is frustrating. But we practice four days a week, two hours a day, plus going to the gym both as a team and on our own. We do varsity-caliber work and we’re proud of it.”

Indeed, the Hoyas are a club-level program, which means there are no scholarships, minimal school funding, and a perception that their talent level is inferior to that of varsity-level athletics. Unlike the most high-profile team on the Hilltop, however, Georgetown Rugby is headed to the Sweet 16 this season. The team left for Sanford, Fla., yesterday and will face off against the University of Maine, Orono, later today for a spot in the national quarterfinals.

A large part of the Hoyas’ success can be attributed to a group of upperclassmen that has grown up together within the program and has instilled a culture of winning that should last until well after they have graduated.

“The 2005 team went to the Final Four, and none of the players on this team were on that team,” Cooney explains. “Our great success this year comes from the juniors and seniors who have played together for a few years. This fall’s captain, [senior scrumhalf/flyhalf] Dan Castrigano, is still as much a leader as he ever was. There are other seniors without titles, like [center] Joe Kemper and [lock/8-man] John Fisher-Thompson, who are team leaders, too. Last year, eight underclassmen started on the A-side, so our classes have moved up together to kind of drive the spirit of the team.”

Playing in the Potomac Rugby Union’s Men’s College Division II, the Georgetown University Rugby Football Club, or GURFC, was founded in 1967 and currently plays both fall and spring schedules. It is also a member of the Mid-Atlantic Rugby Football Union and the USA Rugby Football Union. The team is coached by J.P. Perez, who coached Cooney in high school, and Pat “Blue” McKenna, who also maintains the club’s web site (www.georgetownrfc.org).

The program’s marquis season came during the 2004-2005 school year when the club went a sparkling 22-2-1 on its way to the Final Four and the No. 3 ranking in the country. This year’s version of the Hoyas, which is clearly a tight-knit group, sits at 13-7 as they enter today’s match.

“Our team’s close relationship off the field actually comes from what we do on the field and not the other way around,” Cooney says. “Everyone is involved. Everyone can score, everyone plays defense and there’s an opportunity for everyone to showcase their skills. It takes 15 guys working together, so playing rugby naturally breeds camaraderie. Off the field, most of my friends are rugby players.”

Cooney is an especially vital cog in Georgetown’s rugby machine as he was elected team captain for the spring campaign and is one of the squad’s better players. The Southlake, Texas, native saw playing time from day one – he was already a four-year rugby veteran by the time he joined the club as a freshman.

“Rugby is something that I’ve always loved,” he reflects. “I love the game, I love my teammates, and my friendships have only gotten stronger as the years have gone by.”

Evidently, rugby is a sport on the rise in the United States – Cooney actually compares the sport to lacrosse circa 1980 – but most programs still do not have the benefit of a Division I label. Because it falls into this category, GURFC has become self-sufficient in raising money and promoting its winning brand.

“Recruiting is tough because there are no scholarships,” Cooney explains. “It’s tough to get people to come out and to then stick with it. We have had a lot of success with alumni fundraising; they check the Web site, there’s a lot of feedback, we had an alumni game last fall. Parents have been great and of course the social at Rhino’s [Bar and Pumphouse] helped, too.”

In its 43rd year of existence, the Georgetown rugby team now looks to take yet another step in its continual evolution. Players like Cooney have made an indelible impact on the future of the program through devoted commitment to their teammates and a pure love of the game.

“Hopefully in the next 10 years interest in rugby will increase nationwide,” Cooney predicts. “Hopefully here at Georgetown our success will continue.”

If all goes well for the Hoyas, the members of GURFC could be well known around campus as national champions on top of everything else. Win or lose today, this team has certainly earned its time in the sun.

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